Factors Affecting E-Business Adoption by SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa

The use of information communication technologies (ICT) especially the Internet by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is on the increase in many regions of the world, including Africa. Nevertheless, empirical evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regarding the factors that affect the adoption of e-business is scarce. In that regard, the main objective of this chapter is to fill the research gap with an exploratory study that is aimed at eliciting views from SMEs in Nigeria. This article made use of a theoretical framework encompassing organizational, external and technological contexts to deliberate the issue. A survey is conducted in three Nigerian cities and the findings of the study are presented. The implication of the study is discussed and future research directions also given.

SMEs and Government Policies—Worlds Apart

A significant number of government projects and policy initiatives have been introduced in recent years to motivate e-business adoption and implementation by SMEs. This chapter examines a number of those introduced during the five-year period 1999-2004. This research aims to develop our understanding of UK government policies and initiatives directed towards SMEs. It was constructed with a view to instruct feasible changes in policymaking, in order to render the process and outcome more relevant to SMEs. The implication is that future policy initiatives may become more appropriate, coherent, and accessible to SME owner/managers.

A Community Web Site Initiative

This chapter reports on a study investigating a community Web site project operating in a UK village community. The aim of the study is to determine the impacts the online business directory component of this community Web site is having on the small businesses in the village, including consideration of the benefits they are deriving from their participation in the directory, the problems they have encountered through their participation, and the effects their involvement is having on their wider Internet adoption strategy and decisions. The findings highlight the value of community Web sites for small businesses, both for those that have already adopted various Internet applications into their operations, as well as for non-adopters of the Internet. It is suggested that existing discussions of small business approaches to Internet adoption might usefully be extended to incorporate the role of community Web sites.

An Investigation of SMTE Web Site Usage in Australia

This chapter examines the Web site development and usage practices of Australian small and medium tourism businesses (SMTEs). A list of barriers and motivators to the successful use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in small business are examined, and a profile of Internet usage practices in Australian small businesses in general and SMTEs in particular is provided. One particular barrier that is not matched by a motivator is the lack of effective planning by small businesses. A number of planning models are examined, with one (Burgess, 2002) selected for comparison with the activities of SMTEs in selected parts of urban and rural Australia. Some 59 SMTEs were interviewed for the purpose of assessing their Web site development. In general, SMTEs generally performed a little better than we expected—but not all of them and even those that did had room for improvement. There were some variations between urban and rural SMTEs, but not as many as we expected. The main outcome of this investigation is that, although SMTEs performed slightly better than we would have expected in relation to the planning model, there is still a great deal of scope for those that have performed adequately to perform better and still a great number of SMTEs that do very little planning at all for their Web site implementations.

Managing Knowledge in SMEs

In this chapter we discuss seven peculiarities about knowledge management practices at small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We draw our findings from a nine-month investigation of knowledge management practices at 25 SMEs. Managing knowledge is a critical capability for SMEs to master because it helps them leverage their most critical resource. Organizational knowledge is the most salient resource at the disposal of SMEs in terms of availability, access, and depth. Successful SMEs are those who can leverage their knowledge in an effective and efficient manner, so as to make up for deficiencies in traditional resources, like land, labor, and capital. In our research, we discovered that SMEs do not manage knowledge the same way as larger organizations do. Viewing SME knowledge management practices as scaled down versions of the practices found in larger organizations is incorrect. SMEs have understandable resource constraints, and hence have to be creative in working around these limitations in order to manage knowledge. Therefore, the goal of this chapter is to describe peculiarities in SME knowledge management practices, with the hope of enticing scholars and practitioners to follow-up with more detailed research undertakings.

Comparison-Shopping as an Emerging Channel to Increase Web Visibility for SMEs in the United States

This chapter introduces comparison-shopping as an emerging channel to increase Web visibility for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME). In Section I, we analyze two business models of comparison-shopping services (CSP): the BargainFinder model and the Pricewatch model. The latter can be further differentiated as Pricewatch-classic model and Pricewatch-innovative model. Through data collected from 60 CSPs, we found Pricewatch-classic model is dominant for the time being, Pricewatch-innovative model is picking up, and the BargainFinder model is only viable in niche market. In Section II, we examined the feasibility of using comparison-shopping to increase Web visibility for SMEs. We demonstrated that comparison-shopping can increase the welfare of consumers, participating in comparison-shopping is a Nash equilibrium dominant strategy for SMEs, and comparison-shopping has the disintermediary effect on underdeveloped economies and polarizing effect on developed economies. Overall, this chapter provides a comprehensive introduction of comparison-shopping and its potential for increasing Web visibility for SMEs.

The Development of Web Sites

Setting objectives precedes strategic planning and evaluation. Given the importance of setting objectives prior to any other marketing campaign planning and evaluation tasks, research into the objectives of Web sites is a necessary precursor of Web site planning and evaluation. This chapter seeks to gain insights into the Web site objectives of Australian SMEs and to provide a typology of the SMEs based on their Web objectives. The results of multivariate analyses, based on 139 Perth-based SMEs, have revealed that these businesses are motivated to develop their Web site to achieve three fundamental objectives: promoting corporate image or product branding, building customer relationships, and enhancing financial performance. At this early stage of Web site development, the most important objective for SMEs is to promote corporate image. Using the factor scores of these three dimensions as input, a further cluster analysis revealed four different segments in terms of SMEs’ Web site objectives. These four segments are image builder, harvester, servant, and optimistic explorer. The characteristics of SMEs in each segment are described and the reasons explained.

The Evolving Web Presence of SMEs

This chapter reviews current approaches to the study of the progression of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their use of Internet technologies. It is argued that a research framework that combines three different dimensions of organisational change (process, content, and drivers) offers an alternative approach to e-commerce stage models in understanding the evolution of SMEs Web sites over time. Furthermore, a study of 192 Web sites and their evolution over ten moths is described to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of the dimensions of the framework. The study describes the different approaches (monitoring, content analysis, and telephone interviews) and the characteristics of changes on these Web sites. The proposed framework is argued to be useful to academics, providing multiple perspectives enabling more insightful study of SMEs e-business adoption and progression, and avoiding breakdown, a priori theory, for example, stage models. The framework is also argued to be useful for SME managers seeking to make the most of their limited resources in this context.

The Shifting Sands of E-Commerce

Prior to the advent of e-commerce, the adoption and implementation of information technology (IT) in organisations was planned and controlled. As a result, the expected and actual (realized) benefits of the new technology could be mapped directly on to each other. However, no research has been carried out to date in order to determine whether this is still the case in the post-e-commerce era. This chapter aims to correct this by presenting the results of a study of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sweden that have adopted e-commerce technology. The study examined the correlations between the expected benefits of e-commerce (i.e., adoption criteria) as well as the correlations between the actual benefits. In both cases, the correlations were shown to exist. Finally, the study examined whether the direct mapping of criteria and benefits was still applicable. The results show that there is no direct mapping of IT criteria and benefits in the post-e-commerce era in SMEs.

E-Commerce Links for SMEs within the Industry Value Chain

The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the use of e-commerce across the value chains of several companies. In order to fulfil this objective, two different types of supply chain are analysed: the first type consists of buyer groups in the consumer goods sector; the second is dynamic networks in the manufacturing sector. Having identified what value activities are automated, the chapter examines the level of ICT and how value activity interactions between organisations are supported with e-commerce. Building on the analysis of e-commerce technology usage, the development of virtual structures is examined and the roles that SMEs can play in these. The chapter seeks to demonstrate that, with the introduction of e-commerce technologies in value activities across companies, the role of the current players is changing. Finally, the extent to which the traditional supply chain tiers change into more virtual value chain structures is evaluated.