Simpson Poon

An exploratory study of small business Internet commerce issues

Internet adoption by small business is important to the generation of critical mass for Internet commerce – governments in the G8 countries are setting up initiatives to ensure that small businesses adopt Internet commerce. This paper reports of a qualitative study into why small businesses are online. The study found that the small business Internet commerce (SBIC) phenomenon is still in its infancy, although small businesses are finding e-mail useful for business communication and document transfer; the perception of long-term benefits and potential business opportunities is what is driving SBIC; at present, the uptake of Internet-based financial transactions is still slow; there is almost no integration between the Internet and internal applications; and, finally, that SBIC seems likely to continue to expand in this sector of market only if small firms actually experience tangible benefits in the future.

A combined-method study of small business internet commerce

Small business Internet use has gained much popularity among researchers in information systems and entrepreneurship over recent years-with many undertaking surveys of small business Internet commerce. The newness and dynamic nature of this area, however, means that multiple research methods are needed to obtain an all-around understanding of the key issues. In this paper, we demonstrate that, by combining survey techniques with case study research, we can combine quantitative and qualitative data for a better understanding of small business Internet commerce. Such multidimensional understanding is necessary as a foundation for ongoing longitudinal studies and hypotheses generation.

A preliminary study of product nature and electronic commerce

It may be logical to think that a firm offering products that can be delivered online will benefit more from Internet commerce. However, there is limited evidence to prove if this is entirely true. This paper reports a preliminary study that examines whether product characteristics have significant effect on Internet commerce benefit. The results indicate that product characteristics in isolation do not have a significant effect on Internet commerce benefit. No significant difference in experience of Internet commerce benefit is observed between those who offer physical goods and those who offer digital ones. Although the one‐sided result may have been sampling bias, it requires management to rethink their marketing strategy based not solely on product nature.

Product characteristics and Internet commerce benefit among small businesses

Conventional wisdom indicates that companies offering digital and information‐based products that can easily be delivered online, are likely to benefit from Internet commerce. However, the validity of this statement is not clear. Endeavours to explore the relationship between product characteristics and their impact on Internet commerce among small businesses. We classified products into search and experience, tangible and intangible goods and examined their effects on Internet commerce benefit. The key finding is that product characteristics alone might not have significant influence on Internet commerce benefit and further research into market scope, characteristics of business sector and value chain is needed to understand more precisely what contributes to Internet commerce benefit.

The nature of goods and Internet commerce benefit: a preliminary study

The conventional wisdom is that if a firm is offering products that can be delivered online will benefit more from Internet Commerce. However, there is limited evidence to prove if this is entirely true. This paper reports a preliminary study that examines whether the nature of goods has significant effect on Internet Commerce benefit. The result indicates that the nature of goods in isolation does not have a significant effect on Internet Commerce benefit No significant difference in experience of Internet Commerce benefit is observed between those who offer physical goods and those who offer digital ones. Although the one-sided result may have been sampling bias, it implies that product characteristics alone may not be a strong predictor of Internet Commerce success.

Communication media for supporting distributed engineering design

Looks at the communication media and organisational change requirements to support teamwork in a virtual organisation. A large engineering design organisation faced problems of coordinating concurrent engineering activity and geographical distribution. These problems were identified in detail, and the requirement for the design of an integrated communication support system was specified. Our analysis specifically related organisational requirements to existing media and technologies, and led to the specification and implementation of a cooperative design tool utilising groupware. Issues of changing organisational culture and evaluation of the prototype are discussed, and the generalisation to other virtual organisations is considered.

Diagnosing the Strategic Planning Process in Australian Companies

The long-term success of a company depends on its ability to maintain a sustainable strategic and competitive position. Researchers like Porter (1996) and Tellier & Pecaut (1995) have argued that tradeoffs are necessary for companies to create a sustainable position because they force the company to make choices and limit what they offer. The importance of strategy development in companies has been highlighted by the effect of the Asian financial crisis especially affecting companies that have been shortsighted in their strategy development processes. Michael Porter (1996) states that through the years managers have concentrated on achieving operational effectiveness rather than strategy development. Management tools, such as TQM, bench marking and outsourcing have replaced strategy. Even though both -operational effectiveness and strategy- are necessary for superior performance, they play different roles.

Strategy Development of Major Australian Companies: A Preliminary Investigation

During the 1990s there has been an awareness in the Australian business community and society of the need for Australia to compete effectively in the international economy if the current standard of living is to be maintained. This highlights the need for managers to understand the importance of their role in strategy development. Even though managers cannot control the external environment, they can make the appropriate strategic choices to assure business success.