李木菊+文献翻译.docx

李木菊+文献翻译.docx

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李木菊+文献翻译

英文翻译

管理科学与工程系

ElectronicCommerceResearch,4:

263–286（2004）

©2004KluwerAcademicPublishers.ManufacturedintheNetherlands

E-CommerceInfrastructureSuccessFactorsforSmall

CompaniesinDevelopingEconomies

MURRAYE.JENNEX﹡andDONAMOROSO{murphjen@;amoroso@mail.sdsu.edu}

InformationandDecisionSystems,CollegeofBusinessAdministration,SanDiegoStateUniversity,SanDiego,CA92182,USA

OLAYELEADELAKUNOAdelakun@cti.depaul.edu

SchoolofComputerScience,TelecommunicationsandInformationSystems,DePaulUniversity,Chicago,IL60604,USA

ABSTRACT

ThispaperlooksintothekeyinfrastructurefactorsaffectingthesuccessofsmallcompaniesindevelopingeconomiesthatareestablishingB2Be-commerceventures.Thefactorswereidentifiedthroughaliteraturereviewandapilotstudycarriedoutintwoorganizations.TheresultsofthepilotstudyandliteraturereviewrevealfivefactorsthatcontributetothesuccessofB2Be-commerce.Thesefactorswerelaterassessedforimportanceusingasurvey.Theoutcomeofouranalysisrevealsthatworkers’skills,clientinterface,andtechnicalinfrastructurearethemostimportantfactorstothesuccessofaB2Be-commercerelationship.

Keywords:

e-commerce,developingcountries,successfactors,SMEs,B2B,B2C,infrastructure

1Introduction

InformationandCommunicationTechnology,ICT,canprovideasmallenterpriseanopportunitytoconductbusinessanywhere.UseoftheInternetallowssmallbusinessestoprojectvirtualstorefrontstotheworldaswellasconductbusinesswithotherorganizations.HeeksandDuncombe[23]discusshowITcanbeusedindevelopingcountriestobuildbusinesses.Domaracki[16]discusseshowthetechnologygapbetweensmallandlargebusinessesisclosingandeveningtheplayingfield,makingB2BandB2Ce-commerceavailabletoanybusinesswithaccesstocomputers,webbrowsers,andtelecommunicationlinks.ThispaperdiscusseshowsmallstartupcompaniescanuseICTtoestablishe-commerceapplicationswithindevelopingeconomieswheretheinfrastructureisnotclassifiedas“high-technology.”

E-commerceistheprocessofbuying,selling,orexchangingproducts,services,andinformationusingcomputernetworksincludingtheInternet[Turbanetal.,42].KalakotaandWhinston[27]definee-commerceusingtheperspectivesofnetworkcommunications,automatedbusinessprocesses,automatedservices,andonlinebuyingandselling.Turbanetal.[42]addperspectivesoncollaborationandcommunity.Deiseetal.[14]describethee-sellingprocessasenablingcustomersthroughe-browsing（catalogues,whatwehave）,e-buying（ordering,processing,invoicing,costdetermination,etc.）,ande-customerservice（contact,etc.）.Partiale-commerceoccurswhentheprocessisnottotallyusingnetworks.B2Ce-commerceistheelectronicsaleofgoods,services,andcontenttoindividuals[Noyce,33;Turbanetal.,42].B2Be-commerceisatransactionconductedelectronicallybetweenbusinessesovertheInternet,extranets,intranets,orprivatenetworks.Suchtransactionsmaybeconductedbetweenabusinessanditssupplychainmembers,aswellasbetweenabusinessandanyotherbusiness.Abusinessreferstoanyorganization,publicorprivate,forprofitornonprofit[Turbanetal.,42,p.217;Noyce,33;PalviaandVemuri,35].Initially,B2Bwasusedalmostexclusivelybylargeorganizationstobuyandsellindustrialoutputsand/orinputs.MorerecentlyB2Bhasexpandedtosmallandmediumsizedenterprises,SMEs,whocanbuyand/orsellproducts/servicesdirectly[Mayer-Guell,29].B2Btransactionstendtobelargerinvalue,morecomplex,andlongertermwhencomparedtoB2CtransactionswiththeaverageB2Btransactionbeingworth$75,000.00whiletheaverageB2Ctransactionisworth$75.00[Freeman,18].TypicalB2Btransactionsinvolveordermanagement,creditmanagementandtheestablishmentoftradeterms,productdeliveryandbilling,invoiceapproval,payment,andthemanagementofinformationfortheentireprocess[Domaracki,16].Noyce[33]discussescollaborationastheunderlyingprincipleforB2B.Thecompanieschosenasmini-casesforthisstudymeetthebasicdefinitionofB2BasbotharesellingservicesovertheInternettootherbusinessorganizations.Additionally,bothprovidequotesandtheabilitytonegotiatepricingovertheInternetandbothareattemptingtoestablishrelationshipswiththeirbuyers.

ThispaperproposesasetoffiveinfrastructuresuccessfactorsforSMEsthatarestartinge-commerceventures.TettehandBurn[41]defineSMEsasfirmswithlessthan500employees.Thisisfurtherbrokendownintomicrocompanies,thosewithlessthan5employees,smallcompanies,thosewithfrom5to20employees,andmediumcompanies,thosebetween20and500employees.Infrastructureistheunderlyingfoundationofnetworks,hardware,software,skills,processes,andresourcesthatmustexistbeforeanorganizationcanbuilde-commerceapplications.Infrastructuremaybeinternaland/orexternaltotheorganization.

ThesefactorsweredeterminedthroughdetailedstudyoftwosuccessfulstartupSMEsandareviewoftheliterature.Inhibitorsandobstaclestosuccessareusedtoidentifywhatisneededforinfrastructuretosupportsuccessfulimplementationofe-commerceventures.Literaturepertainingtodevelopingcountrieswasusedtoensuretheinfrastructuresuccessfactorsarerelevanttoconditionsinthosecountries.

Thepaperfirstpresentstheliteraturereviewusedtobuildtheresearchmodel.Themodelisthenpresentedfollowedbythemethodologyandthecasestudiesusedtogeneratetheresearchmodelofinfrastructuresuccessfactorsandtheirattributes.Thisisfollowedbytheresultsofthesurveyusedtodeterminetheimportanceoftheattributesofthesefactors.Thepaperconcludeswithdiscussionsonconclusions,limitationsontheresearch,andfutureareasofresearch.

2Literaturereview

2.1Successfactorsfore-commerce

Severalstudieshavebeendonelookingatsuccessfactors,issues,andrequirementsfore-commerce.PalviaandVemuri[35]discussobstaclesandcriticalsuccessfactorsforglobale-commerce.Obstaclesincludee-tailersnotshippingoverseasduetocomplexitiesandissueswithcustoms,tariffs,currencyexchange,andshipping.Otherkeyobstaclesincludealackoftrustbetweentransactingparties,lackofaccesstocomputersandtheInternet,andlimitedelectronicpaymentcapability.Theylistascriticalsuccessfactorstheabilitytomaintainapersonaltouchwhileusingawebsiteforbusiness;localizingthewebsitetofitlocalcustomerrequirementsincludingrecognizingculture,localregulations,pricingconstraints,andlanguage;keepingautomatedprocessessimpleandfastduetolowattentionspansofcustomersandlessreliableconnectionsindevelopingcountries;fostertrustingrelationshipsbetweencustomersororganizationsinvolvedinaB2Brelationship;focusonprocessesthatimproveconvenience,information,intermediation,andpricing;havethesitefoundnearthetopofthesearchengineresults;evolvethesiteastechnologychangesandcapabilitiesexpand,andplanformobileconnectivity.Sairameshetal.[38]alsodiscusstheimportanceofsearchandnavigationbutfocusesonthesefeatureswithinthee-commercesite.

Gattiker,Perlusz,andBohmann[19]discusstheimportanceofeconomicandculturalfactors.Globaleconomicfactorsincludethecostofconnectingandhavingdisposableincomeforshoppingonline.Globalculturalfactorsincludedifferencesinworkhabitsandlanguage.Ithasbeenfoundthatsimplytranslatingdocumentsdoesnotensurethetranslationwillcontainthesameculturalmeaningastheoriginal.Hall[20]expandsonculturalissuesbydiscussingtheimportanceoflocalization.KangandCorbitt[28]discussculturalissueswithrespecttotheuseofgraphicsandgraphicalcomponents.Finally,Mayer-Guell[29]discussestheimportanceoforganizationalcultureoftheorganizationimplementingane-commercestrategyandfindsthate-commerceinitiativeswillnotreachtheirfullpotentialiftheorganization’sworkerscannotadapttothechangesinprocessescausedbye-commerce.

Sairameshetal.[38]discusstheimportanceofcontracts.Freeman[18]discussescontractandotherlegalrisksincludingintellectualpropertyprotection,conflictanddisputeresolution,fulfillmentofcontracts,useofpatentedbusinessprocesses,andtrademarkandcopyrightissues.Thesuccessfactorfromtheserisksishavinglegalconsultationavailableforreviewofdocuments,processes,andcontracts.

Castelluccio[8]listsfourteencriticalsuccessfactors.Thesearehavingadequatebusinessprocesses,maintainingaccountinformationandarelationshipprofile,goodsitenavigation,gooduseofgraphics,providingdecisionsupportandcommunications,usingshoppingcarttechnology,monitoringpostpurchasedelivery,acquiringandretainingcustomers,providinggiftservices,maintainingsitecontentandcontinuity,providinginternationalservicesandmulti-channelintegration.Additionally,Castelluccio[8]foundseveralissuesthatdetractedfromsuccess.Theseincludeddeadlinksonsites,inaccessiblecall/helpcenters,deceptivepost-purchasespam,sitesnotlivinguptopromise,andlackofconvenienceforpotentialcustomerswhodonotyethaveanaccount.

Developingstrategiestoadoptandmarkete-businesstechnologiesandservicesrequiresanorganizationtomakesignificantinvestments.Decidingtomaketheinitialandongoinginvestmentsarecontingentontheorganization’sperceptionthatthefuturebenefitswilloutweighthecostsinvolved.MitraandChaya[30]proposethatthereisaneedtoquantifythebenefitsfromtheinvestmentsine-bu