A framework to assess the factors affecting success or failure of the implementation of government-supported regional e-marketplaces for SMEs

Regional electronic marketplaces (REMs) have been used to promote e-commerce uptake by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, the community and regional economic development motives underpinning REM creation can cause complexities. While REM development and management can be informed by existing theoretical frameworks, there is no comprehensive framework that can be used to examine the factors affecting the success or failure of government-supported SME-REMs. The objective of this paper is to construct such a framework that can be used to examine these factors. The literature on e-marketplaces and IT/IS/e-commerce adoption by SMEs is examined to determine the appropriateness of existing theoretical frameworks, the key constructs of which are synthesised to form an integrated theoretical framework. The value of the framework is confirmed by content analysis of published case studies and empirical results from in-depth case studies of two SME-REMs. The most significant factors affecting success or failure of government-supported SME-REMs are as follows: SME-owner innovativeness; REM ownership structure and governance that engender trust and build critical mass by including SMEs in REM development and management; matching REM focus and structure with regional profile by leveraging community ties and existing business relationships; adopting a staged approach to REM development; and ensuring REM benefits are understood by SMEs.     

Intelligent environmental management for SMEs in manufacturing

Currently environmental management is at the forefront of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in certain sectors where its presence is mandatory in order to operate in business. Although SMEs in certain sectors are catching up on their larger counterparts in reducing their environmental impacts, which are mainly due to supply chain demands, statistics clearly show that the majority of manufacturing SMEs are not incorporating formal environmental management system (EMS) into their businesses. The treatment of SMEs as one homogenous group by research has led to a lack of providing real strategies and tools that SMEs can implement and use. Current strategies are fragmented and seen as piecemeal, requiring adaptation and application to a particular sector by SMEs. SMEs do not have the resources required to research all environmental aspects of their businesses, which is a fundamental part of an EMS. Irish EMS support initiatives have but provided grant assistance in contributing towards the fees of external environmental consultants. As a result the majority of SMEs must rely on the help and assistance of external environmental consultants to assist them in taking account of their environmental impacts. Recent research obtained data on the current practices and experiences of Irish SMEs in areas of manufacturing and environmental management. Results of which, compares with previous research carried out in other European countries, however their significance and weightings differ considerably. Responses obtained regarding waste minimisation, recycling and reuse were positive, however, Irish manufacturing SMEs are falling short of initiating formal environmental management systems and front of pipe technologies. The use of information technology in assisting SMEs manage their environmental impacts holds much potential in providing a complete holistic environmental information management system (EIMS), which is already implemented in larger companies. Initial research has identified and developed proven strategies, solutions and tools from ISO 14001 certified Engineering SMEs, which will be used to form an initial base for an EIMS.     

An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting e-Commerce Adoption among Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in a Developing Country: Evidence from Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine determinants of e-commerce adoption among Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study tested eight hypotheses on determinants affecting e-commerce adoption with empirical data from several survey instruments: an online questionnaire-based survey, mailed survey and questionnaire collected in-person from a sample of 307 SMEs in Malaysia. The findings show that e-commerce adoption within Malaysian SMEs is affected by perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, managers/owner's knowledge and expertise, management characteristics and external change agents. This study contributes to enhancing the understanding of the determinants of adopting e-commerce in SMEs and provides some interesting perspective from Malaysia. Those parties interested in promoting their business online may find these results helpful in guiding their efforts.     

Understanding web site redesigns in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a U.K.-based study on the applicability of e-commerce Stage Models

Despite the efforts of governments and the various support programmes, achievement of advanced stages of e-commerce by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is still very low. There have been some attempts to study the dynamic nature of websites, but there is still little research evidence to explain why and how SMEs evolve their web presence. This paper aims to develop a comprehensive classification of drivers for web site redesign based on interviews with various members of staff from SMEs in the U.K. that have recently redesigned their web sites. A sequential mixed-methodological analysis, involving the use of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, was used to develop the classification. This enabled the development of a framework that classified seven main categories of drivers for web site redesign. The drivers identified were: changing business requirements, evolving internet strategies, addressing user needs, maintenance, changing technology, pressure from peers/competitors, and the influence of developers. However, only the first four were found to be significant in the study. The categorisation and the findings suggest a number of key determinants not explicitly addressed by other work. In addition, the findings provide little support for the staged approach to e-commerce progression as few companies reported the implementation of sophisticated internet technology features as a main reason for their web site redesigns. The contributions of this paper are firstly, to provide an instrument to the academic and practitioner communities interested in the topic of web site evolution. Secondly, the categorisation of drivers for redesign and the individual reasons found in this study are expected to provide assistance to SME managers to justify, plan and strategise internet investments realistically and effectively.     

Interrogating the effect of environmental factors on e-commerce institutionalization in Tanzania: a test and validation of small and medium enterprise claims

The purpose of this study is to interrogate the claims made by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania regarding the environmental factors that negatively affect their institutionalization of e-commerce. SMEs made claims that there was a lack of institutional readiness for e-commerce in Tanzania, as well as inadequate market forces readiness, supporting industry readiness, and socio-cultural readiness. A content analysis approach was used to interrogate institutional policy documents to determine the frequency of use of specific arguments that either support or negate the SMEs’ claims. The theory of communicative action was used as a framework to analyze the truthfulness, sincerity, clarity, and legitimacy of the claims made. The findings from the content analysis show that the Tanzanian Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) policy and SME policy pay scant attention to e-commerce readiness factors. The validity claim analysis did not reveal distorted communications by SMEs, but corroborated their claims that indeed environmental factors were not conducive to the institutionalization of e-commerce in Tanzania. These findings call for a national-level reassessment of e-commerce policies in Tanzania.     

Electronic commerce in China: emerging success stories

Enterprises across the People’s Republic of China (China) seek to gain the benefits of electronic business, but very few of their electronic commerce (e-commerce) initiatives have been successful to date. A recent multiple case study examined some of the exceptions. This paper illustrates the distinctive nature of e-commerce with Chinese characteristics by profiling an online retailer, a traditional B2B intermediary, and an electronic marketplace or marketspace. Their key success factors were found to include the abilities to leverage core capabilities and to overcome institutional deficiencies through relationship building. The prospects for e-commerce in mainland China are related to the development of the rules and infrastructure that are fundamental to a modern market economy.     

Fostering e-commerce among Australian SMEs

It is difficult to accurately assess the overall global market for SME-related e-commerce. However, we do know that Australia has more than 1 million SMEs; they are vitally important to Australia's economic prosperity. Thus, in September 2001 the government announced a $6.5 million initiative to accelerate SMEs' adoption of e-commerce to facilitate online access to government purchasing within two years. Helping these SMEs efficiently build their e-commerce systems has become a high priority of Australia's government and IT/IS researchers. To find solutions to Australian SMEs' e-commerce concerns, we conducted research using Citysearch, an online business directory, in early 2002. We selected 10 cities/areas to research: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Tasmania, and Townsville, and studied industry sectors that include many SMEs.     

Can competitive advantage be achieved through knowledge management? A case study on SMEs

Unlike most Knowledge Management (KM) studies which focus on large enterprises, this study focuses on SMEs in Malaysia which represent 99.2% of the total business establishments, the largest percentage of establishments in the country. The tridimensional relationship between KM practices, technological innovation (TI) and competitive advantage (CA) was examined in this case study. Survey approach was conducted to gather data from managers of the manufacturing SMEs and 195 samples were usable for statistical analysis using Partial-Least-Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)-Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The use of the combined PLS-SEM and ANN analysis can provide a significant methodological contribution and substantial impacts to the world of expert and intelligent systems and could be the next methodological research paradigm. Findings validated that KM has a direct positive and significant relation with both TI and CA; while TI positively and significantly affects CA. Most outstandingly, the mediating role of TI that connects KM and CA has been proven to be positive and significant. This paper utilizes samples that were collected from Malaysian SMEs only; therefore the findings cannot be generalized to represent the larger firms. Nevertheless, conclusions garnered from the present research can help both practitioners of the manufacturing SMEs and scholars in implementing the correct KM strategies, so that both TI and CA can be enhanced and improved.     

Realising B2B e-commerce benefits: the link with IT maturity,evaluation practices,and B2BEC adoption readiness

Actual realisation of business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B e-commerce) benefits from IT investments has been a critical issue for large organisations. However, relatively little research has been undertaken to determine the drivers for realising B2B e-commerce benefits within these organisations. A survey research was conducted to examine the relationships between B2B e-commerce benefits, IT investment evaluation methodologies (IEM), IT benefit realisation processes (BRP), B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and IT maturity in large Australian organisations. An IT investment management model was developed to test these relationships. The results had empirically validated the model and indicate that a higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness had a significant direct relationship with B2B e-commerce benefits. In addition, the level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and the level of IEM and BRP adoption were significantly influenced by the level of IT maturity. However, the use of IEM alone had only an indirect positive influence on B2B e-commerce benefits through the higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness.     

A Managerial Perspective on Electronic Commerce Development in Malaysia

This research investigates the development of electronic commerce in Malaysia. It reviews the nation's e-commerce readiness and surveys local firms, a majority of them small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on their Web presence and e-commerce initiatives, management, capabilities and performance. Overall, while e-commerce in Malaysia is in its formative phases, a majority of firms in the survey sample have progressed beyond brochureware into the interactions phase; few have reached the e-commerce phase but many are planning to. They are driven primarily by marketing considerations and have seen the greatest impact of e-commerce on their marketing and overall business operations. Taking the lead are SMEs in IT/Internet services and solutions that see great opportunities in the nation's need to build the foundation layers for its emerging Internet economy. Most reluctant and least satisfied to date are SMEs in manufacturing that find the business-to-business sector largely undeveloped. The government can take some credits for its leadership in addressing the barriers to e-commerce development but the most significant barriers falls squarely within the private sector's domain. They will have to be overcome by entrepreneurial talents and management foresight.     

Integrated model of operations effectiveness of small to medium-sized manufacturing enterprises

The Small to Medium-sized Manufacturing Enterprise (SME) has consistently demonstrated the ability to innovate and bring to the market new technologies and advancement in manufacturing. SMEs in industrialized nations function as the supplier base for domestic manufacturing. However, as more businesses are going global, SMEs face a new challenge in competing in the competitive global market. In this research, we aim to answer the following question: by taking advantage of the challenge as new opportunities, how SMEs can reposition themselves to be more competitive in the global market. We analyze the data collected from over 3000 SMEs using an integrated productivity-oriented model. The results present us with information about SMEs’ operation and performance. We are able to link both qualitative and quantitative factors of multiple manufacturing input/output to further assess the performance of SMEs, making a set of efficiency benchmarks available. This information can be used to help SMEs better understand the problems and opportunities confronting their operations. So their business transformations can be cost-effectively conducted for more competitive edges.     

Collaborative design and analysis of supply chain network management key processes model

This study focuses on collaboratively designing a structured and comprehensive supply chain (SC) network management key processes model and analyzing the relative importance of these key processes for semiconductor industry. The collaborative design and analysis are performed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of over 20 members from both academia and industry. This research is based on experiences of these team members who joined a successful e-SCM project, used as a case study in this research, between the world's largest semiconductor foundry and the world's largest assembly and testing service provider. This study adopts focus group methodology for collaborative design and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) for collaborative analysis. The result of the design is a structured and comprehensive key processes model consisting of four dimensions: strategy and planning, manufacturing, logistics, and risk management (SMLR) with a total of 15 key processes included in these four dimensions. The resulting weightings from FAHP analysis can identify the most critical one dimension and four key processes since they account for approximately half of the overall weighting in their level. The SMLR model provides a structured and comprehensive reference model for future SC network management project executives, ensuring that all key processes are supported to avoid extremely costly failure. The resulting weightings provide these managers with the relative importance of these key processes and can help them make critical decisions in allocating limited resources to support the most critical processes. To confirm the results and further explore the managerial implications, a second session of focus group meeting was conducted and practices of the top three key processes in the semiconductor manufacturing industry were used to illustrate what actions can be performed to improve these processes and hence benefit the entire SC network. The research results can serve as a foundation for related academic researches.     

Adoption potential of occupational exoskeletons in diverse enterprises engaged in manufacturing tasks

Occupational exoskeletons (EXOs) provide the opportunity to reduce fatigue and physical demands, however little is known about adoption and use of such technologies especially among varying company sizes and especially small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Ten focus groups (including seven SMEs) were held across the state of Ohio, with participants representing line employees, management, and safety. Employees tried on a variety of EXOs and then participated in discussions focusing on the adoption and use of this new technology at their site. Consistent comments were obtained regarding donning, fitting, dissemination, and use strategies; space constraints related to EXO “footprints”; and potential undesirable impacts of EXO use. Major concerns expressed by participants were task-specific, and were related to costs and work conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature, dust). Overall, individuals from larger companies and diverse SMEs expressed a strong interest in how EXOs could help employees with repetitive tasks that were often difficult to modify or eliminate. Many concerns still exist, though, regarding specific benefits and costs, how to develop training programs on EXO use, and understanding potential adverse effects of EXO use. Findings from this study help capture the perspectives of diverse enterprises toward adopting and using occupational EXOs to reduce the risk of injury.     

Software SMEs’ unofficial readiness for CMMI<Superscript>®</Superscript>-based software process improvement

The goal of software process improvement (SPI) is to improve software processes and produce high-quality software, but the results of SPI efforts in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that develop software have been unsatisfactory. The objective of this study is to support the prolific and successful CMMI-based implementation of SPI in SMEs by presenting the facts related to the unofficial adoption of CMMI level 2 process area-specific practices by software SMEs. Two questionnaire surveys were performed, and 42 questionnaires were selected for data analysis. The questionnaires were filled out by experts from 42 non-CMMI-certified software SMEs based in Malaysia and Pakistan. In the case of each process area of CMMI level 2, the respondents were asked to choose from three categories, namely ‘below 50 %,’ ‘50–75 %,’ and ‘above 75 %’. The percentages indicated the extent to which process area-specific practices are routinely followed in the respondents’ respective organizations. To deal with differing standards for defining SMEs, the notion of the common range standard has been introduced. The results of the study show that a large segment of software development SMEs informally follows the specific practices of CMMI level 2 process areas and thus has true potential for rapid and effective CMMI-based SPI. The results further indicate that, in the case of four process areas of CMMI level 2, there are statistically significant differences between the readiness of small and medium software enterprises to adopt the specific practices of those process areas, and between trends on their part to do so unofficially. The findings, manifesting various degrees of unofficial readiness for CMMI-based SPI among SMEs, can be used to define criteria for the selection of SMEs that would be included in SPI initiatives funded by relevant authorities. In the interests of developing fruitful CMMI-based SPI and to enhance the success rate of CMMI-based SPI initiatives, the study suggests that ‘ready’ or ‘potential’ SMEs should be given priority for SPI initiatives.     

Adoption and use of e-commerce in SMEs

In this study, nonlinear Logit and probit models are used to analyse the important factors that impact on the tendency of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to use electronic commerce in one of the industrial parks in Kermanshah province of Iran. Furthermore, it identifies the major barriers of e-commerce adoption in these SMEs. The Sample of the study includes 35 SMEs in this province. The results of probit and Logit models suggest that a lower level of the internet service costs, motivates firms to adopt e-commerce. In addition, if the government provides free e-commerce facilities for SMEs, it can encourage SMEs to adopt e-commerce. Furthermore, the results show that due to uncertainty in the e-commerce, producing high-quality products and traditional exports cannot raise the tendency of sample firms to adopt e-commerce.     

Towards industrial robots as a service (IRaaS): Flexibility,usability, safety and business models

Industrial robots form an integral part of today's manufacturing industry, due to their high versatility, precision, and fatigue proof nature. Yet, many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) still predominantly rely on manual labor. The main barriers that prevent SMEs from utilizing robots to a larger degree are described to be the large initial investment, uncertainty about costs (total cost of ownership), and lack of expertise. An opportunity to eliminate these barriers can be found in servitisation. While paradigms such as software as a service (SaaS) or Robot as a Service (RaaS) already exist, these focus mostly on software (functionality) via cloud computing. In this paper, a new paradigm based on software and hardware is proposed as Industrial Robots as a Service (IRaaS), which is composed of four elements: Flexibility (Plug and Produce, mobility), Usability (Easy Programming, Intuitive Interaction), Safety (Standards, Strategies), and Business Models (Time-based, Usage-based). To provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art a scoping survey is performed on each of the four key elements from an IRaaS perspective.     

Retracted: Critical Human Factor Evaluation of Knowledge Sharing Intention in Taiwanese Enterprises

Knowledge management (KM) is important in the Taiwan business world. Only 0.1% of SMEs, however, have been guided by the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) to introduce knowledge management from 1993 through 2008. The population of KM‐implementing SMEs is low. The climate of knowledge sharing has been recognized as the critical factor to successful KM. According to the research results obtained in this study, relation‐based motivation is positively related to one's intention to share knowledge. Individual workers can have increased relation‐based motivation to become leaders of SMEs building the culture of interpersonal trust and offering group‐based reward mechanisms in an organization. This research can help business managers to identify the motivational elements that can encourage investment and propose pragmatic suggestions for introducing initiatives to reinvigorate the number of SMEs implementing KM in Taiwan. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Adopters and non-adopters of business-to-business electronic commerce in Singapore

Although there has been an increase in research studies of business-to-business (B2B) electronic commence (e-commerce), most studies were carried out in the United States or Europe. There are very limited studies on B2B e-commerce in the Asian context. Our effort examined Web-based B2B e-commerce initiatives in Singapore, an island of 650 km² in South–East Asia. Data were collected from 108 firms using a mail survey, which showed that 52.8% firms have adopted B2B e-commerce; of these, two-third had a formal plan and/or task force for B2B e-commerce deployment. Customer-related applications were generally more common than supplier-related applications. Problems in B2B e-commerce adoption included the difficulty of measuring benefits, fear of granting suppliers and customers access to corporate systems and insufficient time for staff to develop new skills in e-commerce. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Adopters and non-adopters of business-to-business electronic commerce in Singapore

Although there has been an increase in research studies of business-to-business (B2B) electronic commence (e-commerce), most studies were carried out in the United States or Europe. There are very limited studies on B2B e-commerce in the Asian context. Our effort examined Web-based B2B e-commerce initiatives in Singapore, an island of 650 km² in South–East Asia. Data were collected from 108 firms using a mail survey, which showed that 52.8% firms have adopted B2B e-commerce; of these, two-third had a formal plan and/or task force for B2B e-commerce deployment. Customer-related applications were generally more common than supplier-related applications. Problems in B2B e-commerce adoption included the difficulty of measuring benefits, fear of granting suppliers and customers access to corporate systems and insufficient time for staff to develop new skills in e-commerce. Implications of the results are discussed.