The ten commandments for global electronic commerce success in small business

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to national economies and employment levels and represent a viable source for inventions and innovations. The emergence of electronic commerce in the early 90's could provide different opportunities to the small business sector to overcome its inadequacies. However, in view of the electronic commerce/business (EC) literature in organizations in general and in SMEs specifically, EC research is scarce. Available research portrays a gloomy picture about EC uptake and use by SMEs. Therefore, this chapter attempts, by reviewing recent EC research, to depict an agenda for EC success in SMEs made up of ten influencing factors. Thus, an attempt is made to develop deeper understanding about the factors influencing EC success in SMEs. By following the suggested guidelines in this chapter, SMEs would be in a better position to assess the Viability o/the new EC perspective 10 their organizations. The same factors are highly important to researchers, SMEs, professionals (including educational institutions) and policymakers in driving SMEs and EC forward.

Innovation theories in retrospect : the case of electronic commerce adoption in small business in New Zealand

A review of the technological innovation adoption literature on small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) provides useful insights into factors influencing innovation adoption but points to the need to introduce more determinants of innovation adoption to SMEs research. This research is interested in identifying these factors and hence, introducing more potential determinants to electronic commerce (EC) adoption research in SMEs. Therefore, this research attempts to extend the technological innovation theories to EC adoption research in SMEs by identifying potential constructs and factors from these theories and then checking their face validity using three case studies in New Zealand. This research endeavours to shortlist and discuss the most important determinants of EC adoption and to eliminate the least relevant ones.

A framework for electronic commerce research in small to medium-sized enterprises

It is believed that the recent emergence of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the early '90s could provide different opportunities to small to medium-sized enterprises (SME's) in overcoming part of their technological, environmental, organizational, and managerial inadequacies. However, recent research portrays a gloomy picture about e-commerce uptake and use in SME's. Therefore, the implication here is twofold. Initially, there is a need to generate more e-commerce research that could penetrate much deeper into main impending issues pertaining to the SME’s in their potential uptake and use of e-commerce. On the other hand, e-commerce is characterized of being embryonic but growing very fast and fragmented across the different disciplines, which makes the task of capturing its different perspectives a very complex one. The preceding two implications represent the greatest challenge for researchers and professionals interested in undertaking e-commerce research in SME’s. In line with the above implications, the first objective of this research aims at capturing the different e-commerce perspectives from the SMEs' point of view, and the second objective aims at capturing the e-commerce perspective from the theoretical and the methodological point of view. Addressing the preceding implications in this research could shed some light into some of the gray areas in the e-commerce research in SMEs.

Web-TRECS: teaching electronic commerce

Effective Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) education for students in such disciplines as Management Information Systems, Accounting and Marketing is paramount. This is because organisations globally need people who are skilled in e-Commerce, from a technical and/or organisational perspective, so that the firms can take advantage of such technologies as the Web. The challenge for business and e-Commerce educators, therefore, is the development of teaching tools and environments which provide tertiary students and business people with practically-based opportunities for learning about the potential of e-Commerce. Business simulation approaches to e-Commerce education are a particularly effective way in which to provide students with these pedagogic opportunities. This paper provides an overview of a Web-based e-Commerce business simulation called Web-TRECS (Teaching Realistic Electronic Commerce Solutions). It then describes how the software components of Web-TRECS have been designed to form the e-Commerce teaching tool. The paper then discusses how Web-TRECS could be used to teach a range of e-Commerce concepts and skills, based on six years of research into the use of e-Commerce business simulations. The paper finally concludes by outlining our future research plans to extend Web-TRECS so that additional e-Commerce concepts and skills might be taught using this tool.

Ethics and electronic commerce

Ethics is an important element in all aspects of computing, but proves to be a real problem in the development and delivery of electronic commerce systems. There are many aspects of ethics that can affect electronic commerce systems, but perhaps the most notable and worrying to both consumers and developers is that of trust.

In a world where so much information is transmitted and shared electronically, ethical standards that in general society are applied to this medium, are often ignored or forgotten. This paper will discuss some of the ethical considerations that should be considered in electronic commerce and offer the possible solutions that can encourage developers to consider ethical considerations and prove excellence and trust to the consumer.

Implemetation of electronic commerce and human resource strategies in an Australian retail banking context

As organisations deploy eCommerce and internet technologies for competitive advantage and to satisfy increasingly demanding customers, they will need to develop human resource (HR) strategies that prepare their employees to work with these technologies effectively. Little systematic investigation has been undertaken to discover how companies manage their HR functions to achieve these outcomes. In the retail banking sector these issues have become very important with increased competition, industry changes and heightened competition. This paper examines HR management strategy in one Australian bank as it moves towards online service provision and adopts other eCommerce applications. The paper draws on theoretical insights from Porter’s (2001) views of competitive advantage from the internet and writers discussing the informational society (Castells, 2001) and post-fordist organisations (Clegg, 1990). An analysis of interview data from this case study shows the issues that one bank is dealing with as it seeks competitive advantage from its customer service offerings while it revises its HR strategies.

Critical factors for electronic commerce success in small business : a meta study

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to the national economies and to the employment levels of different countries and represent a viable source for inventions and innovations. The recent emergence of electronic commerce in the early nineties could provide different opportunities to the small business sector to overcome its inadequacies. However, in view of the electronic commerce/business (EC) literature in organisations in general and in SMEs specifically, it was observed that EC research is scarce. Therefore, this research attempts, by reviewing relevant EC literature, to develop deeper understanding about the factors influencing EC success in SMEs. The researcher found the following issues significantly influence EC success in SMEs: e-Value, e-Cost, e-Transformation, e-Product, e-Nvolvement, e-Nnovativeness, e-Competition, external e-Support, and e-Pressure. These factors are of importance to researchers, SMEs, professionals including educational institutions and policymakers in driving SMEs and EC forward.

Electronic commerce strategic investment justification frameworks : an Australian perspective

Strategic use of information technology, especially electronic commerce, has been used by organisations throughout the world in a vast array of industries to gain a competitive industry. With growing interest in electronic commerce organisations are now developing a new range of electronic commerce applications. However, justification in allocating organisation resources does not always follow the more commonly accepted methods. This paper explores why organizations invest in electronic commerce applications and highlights several approaches to justification. Central to the work was to determine the underlying benefits of investing in Web applications. This paper examines various models and frameworks that can be used as a form of justification. A conclusion of this paper is a framework for the justification of web-based applications by utilizing the Delphi methodology.

Justifying investments in electronic commerce

This paper explores why organizations invest in eCommerce applications and highlights some of the expected returns. A Delphi study was used to determine the underlying benefits of eCommerce investments and several formal financial and non-financial approaches to justification are identified and discussed. A framework is outlined which can be used to select a justification approach based on the aims of the project and the type of values and benefits expected. Attaining competitive advantage and developing new business opportunities were identified as factors that could be best justified using strategic or analytical approaches rather than financial justification.

Electronic commerce in small to medium-sized enterprises : frameworks, issues and implications

Electronic Commerce in Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises: Frameworks, Issues and Implications addresses eCommerce issues in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a global setting. The book aims at addressing issues that are of importance to researchers, to students, and to professionals interested in the eCommerce field in SMEs and hence, interested in addressing issues pertaining to theory and to practice.