李木菊+文献翻译.docx

1、李木菊+文献翻译英文翻译 管理科学与工程系Electronic Commerce Research, 4: 263286 (2004)2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in the NetherlandsE-Commerce Infrastructure Success Factors for SmallCompanies in Developing EconomiesMURRAY E. JENNEXand DON AMOROSO murphjen; amorosomail.sdsu.eduInformation and Decisio

2、n Systems, College of Business Administration, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USAOLAYELE ADELAKUN OAdelakuncti.depaul.eduSchool of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60604, USAABSTRACTThis paper looks into the key infrastruc

3、ture factors affecting the success of small companies in developing economies that are establishing B2B e-commerce ventures. The factors were identified through a literature review and a pilot study carried out in two organizations. The results of the pilot study and literature review reveal five fa

4、ctors that contribute to the success of B2B e-commerce. These factors were later assessed for importance using a survey. The outcome of our analysis reveals that workers skills, client interface, and technical infrastructure are the most important factors to the success of a B2B e-commerce relations

5、hip.Keywords: e-commerce, developing countries, success factors, SMEs, B2B, B2C, infrastructure1 IntroductionInformation and Communication Technology, ICT, can provide a small enterprise an opportunity to conduct business anywhere. Use of the Internet allows small businesses to project virtual store

6、fronts to the world as well as conduct business with other organizations. Heeks and Duncombe 23 discuss how IT can be used in developing countries to build businesses. Domaracki 16 discusses how the technology gap between small and large businesses is closing and evening the playing field, making B2

7、B and B2C e-commerce available to any business with access to computers, web browsers, and telecommunication links. This paper discusses how small startup companies can use ICT to establish e-commerce applications within developing economies where the infrastructure is not classified as “high-techno

8、logy.”E-commerce is the process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, and information using computer networks including the Internet Turban et al., 42. Kalakota and Whinston 27 define e-commerce using the perspectives of network communications, automated business processes, automated

9、 services, and online buying and selling. Turban et al. 42 add perspectives on collaboration and community. Deise et al. 14 describe the e-selling process as enabling customers through e-browsing (catalogues, what we have), e-buying (ordering, processing, invoicing, cost determination, etc.), and e-

10、customer service (contact, etc.). Partial e-commerce occurs when the process is not totally using networks. B2C e-commerce is the electronic sale of goods, services, and content to individuals Noyce, 33; Turban et al., 42. B2B e-commerce is a transaction conducted electronically between businesses o

11、ver the Internet, extranets, intranets, or private networks. Such transactions may be conducted between a business and its supply chain members, as well as between a business and any other business. A business refers to any organization, public or private, for profit or nonprofit Turban et al., 42,

12、p. 217; Noyce, 33; Palvia and Vemuri, 35. Initially, B2B was used almost exclusively by large organizations to buy and sell industrial outputs and/or inputs. More recently B2B has expanded to small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs, who can buy and/or sell products/services directly Mayer-Guell, 29

13、. B2B transactions tend to be larger in value, more complex, and longer term when compared to B2C transactions with the average B2B transaction being worth $75,000.00 while the average B2C transaction is worth $75.00 Freeman, 18. Typical B2B transactions involve order management, credit management a

14、nd the establishment of trade terms, product delivery and billing, invoice approval, payment, and the management of information for the entire process Domaracki,16. Noyce 33 discusses collaboration as the underlying principle for B2B. The companies chosen as mini-cases for this study meet the basic

15、definition of B2B as both are selling services over the Internet to other business organizations. Additionally, both provide quotes and the ability to negotiate pricing over the Internet and both are attempting to establish relationships with their buyers.This paper proposes a set of five infrastruc

16、ture success factors for SMEs that are starting e-commerce ventures. Tetteh and Burn 41 define SMEs as firms with less than 500 employees. This is further broken down into micro companies, those with less than 5 employees, small companies, those with from 5 to 20 employees, and medium companies, tho

17、se between 20 and 500 employees. Infrastructure is the underlying foundation of networks, hardware, software, skills, processes, and resources that must exist before an organization can build e-commerce applications. Infrastructure may be internal and/or external to the organization.These factors we

18、re determined through detailed study of two successful startup SMEs and a review of the literature. Inhibitors and obstacles to success are used to identify what is needed for infrastructure to support successful implementation of e-commerce ventures. Literature pertaining to developing countries wa

19、s used to ensure the infrastructure success factors are relevant to conditions in those countries.The paper first presents the literature review used to build the research model. The model is then presented followed by the methodology and the case studies used to generate the research model of infra

20、structure success factors and their attributes. This is followed by the results of the survey used to determine the importance of the attributes of these factors. The paper concludes with discussions on conclusions, limitations on the research, and future areas of research.2 Literature review2.1 Suc

21、cess factors for e-commerceSeveral studies have been done looking at success factors, issues, and requirements for e-commerce. Palvia and Vemuri 35 discuss obstacles and critical success factors for global e-commerce. Obstacles include e-tailers not shipping overseas due to complexities and issues w

22、ith customs, tariffs, currency exchange, and shipping. Other key obstacles include a lack of trust between transacting parties, lack of access to computers and the Internet, and limited electronic payment capability. They list as critical success factors the ability to maintain a personal touch whil

23、e using a web site for business; localizing the web site to fit local customer requirements including recognizing culture, local regulations, pricing constraints, and language; keeping automated processes simple and fast due to low attention spans of customers and less reliable connections in develo

24、ping countries; foster trusting relationships between customers or organizations involved in a B2B relationship; focus on processes that improve convenience, information, intermediation, and pricing; have the site found near the top of the search engine results; evolve the site as technology changes

25、 and capabilities expand, and plan for mobile connectivity. Sairamesh et al. 38 also discuss the importance of search and navigation but focuses on these features within the e-commerce site.Gattiker, Perlusz, and Bohmann 19 discuss the importance of economic and cultural factors. Global economic fac

26、tors include the cost of connecting and having disposable income for shopping online. Global cultural factors include differences in work habits and language. It has been found that simply translating documents does not ensure the translation will contain the same cultural meaning as the original. H

27、all 20 expands on cultural issues by discussing the importance of localization. Kang and Corbitt 28 discuss cultural issues with respect to the use of graphics and graphical components. Finally, Mayer-Guell 29 discusses the importance of organizational culture of the organization implementing an e-c

28、ommerce strategy and finds that e-commerce initiatives will not reach their full potential if the organizations workers cannot adapt to the changes in processes caused by e-commerce.Sairamesh et al. 38 discuss the importance of contracts. Freeman 18 discusses contract and other legal risks including

29、 intellectual property protection, conflict and dispute resolution, fulfillment of contracts, use of patented business processes, and trademark and copyright issues. The success factor from these risks is having legal consultation available for review of documents, processes, and contracts.Castelluc

30、cio 8 lists fourteen critical success factors. These are having adequate business processes, maintaining account information and a relationship profile, good site navigation, good use of graphics, providing decision support and communications, using shopping cart technology, monitoring post purchase

31、 delivery, acquiring and retaining customers, providing gift services, maintaining site content and continuity, providing international services and multi-channel integration. Additionally, Castelluccio 8 found several issues that detracted from success. These included dead links on sites, inaccessi

32、ble call/help centers, deceptive post-purchase spam, sites not living up to promise, and lack of convenience for potential customers who do not yet have an account.Developing strategies to adopt and market e-business technologies and services requires an organization to make significant investments. Deciding to make the initial and ongoing investments are contingent on the organizations perception that the future benefits will outweigh the costs involved. Mitra and Chaya 30 propose that there is a need to quantify the benefits from the investments in e-bu