ECommerce Management Skills – Perceptions of Managers and Technologists
Trevor Nesbit
nesbitT@cpit.ac.nz
School of Computing and School of Business
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
PO Box 540, Christchurch
Phone (03)940-8307
Fax (03)940-8648
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the different perceptions that people in management and
technical roles have in relation to the question “what are the most important management skills
needed in eCommerce organisations?”
The research is based largely on the work of Davis & Hajnal (1998) who identified a range of
management skills that are important for eCommerce organisations, and on the work of Nesbit
(2002) who identified a range of management skills and competencies that were determined to
be the most important for a sample of New Zealand eCommerce/eBusiness organisations.
The focus of this paper is to examine the findings of Nesbit (2002) based on the roles that the
respondents have in their organisations.
The results suggest that those in solely management roles and those in technical roles all
perceive that skills relating to strategic change are of vital importance when it comes to what are
the most important management skills for eCommerce organisations. There is also an indication
that those in management roles and those in technical roles may have a different understanding
of what the nature of strategic issues are.
Keywords
eCommerce
eBusiness
Management Skills
Strategic Change
1. INTRODUCTION
Davis and Hajnal (1998) identified a list of 22 management skills and competencies that are
seen as being important to the success of eCommerce organisations. Nesbit (2001a, 2001b,
2002) built on this work in a New Zealand context. This work included interviews with
managers in three eCommerce organisations in New Zealand.
Nesbit (2002) conducted a survey of a wider range of eCommerce organisations with the aim of
exploring what are the most important management skills for an eCommerce organisation. This
work involved extending the list of 22 skills and competencies identified by Davis and Hajnal
(1998) to 31, with these skills and competencies being shown in Appendix 1. The respondents
were asked to rate each of these skills from “vitally important” through to “not important at all”
on a likert scale.
Three different ranking methods were used to rank the 31 skills and competencies. Table 1
shows the 5 skills that had the highest percentage of respondents that rated the skill/competency
as a “1”. Table 2 shows the 5 skills that had the highest percentage of respondents rated the
skill/competency as a “1” or a “2”. Table 3 shows the 7 skills that had the highest number of
respondents rated the skill/competency as the most important.
Table 1 - Skills/Competencies By Percentage of Respondents Rating "1"
Skill
Percentage
Openness to change
77.8%
Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty
61.5%
Thinks creatively and is innovative
55.6%
Learns quickly
51.9%
Can operationalise and implement strategic vision
51.9%
Table 2 - Skills/Competencies By Percentage of Respondents Rating "1" or "2"
Skill
Percentage
Openness to change
100.0%
Thinks creatively and is innovative
100.0%
Learns quickly
96.3%
Builds relationships
96.2%
Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty
96.2%
Table 3 - The Most Important Skill/Competency - Frequency of Reponses
Skill
Frequency
Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty
5
Can operationalise and implement strategic vision
4
Builds relationships
3
Has an understanding of the business on a business level
3
Learns quickly
2
Openness to change
2
Thinks creatively and is innovative
2
The following skills were rated in at least fifth equal place using all three of the above ranking
methods, with this suggesting that amongst the respondents covered by the survey, they are the
most important management skills:
 Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty
 Learns quickly
 Openness to change
 Thinks creatively and is innovative
2. METHOD
2.1 Role of the Respondent
The survey conducted by Nesbit (2002) asked the respondents to indicate whether they were in a
management role, a technical role, a mixed management/technical role or in another role. The
responses to this question enabled the views and responses of those who are in solely
management roles to be separated from those with a technical role or a mixed
management/technical role. Those who were in a solely management roles were classified as
Group M, with those in a role that was at least in part technical being classified as Group T.
2.2 Ranking of Skills
The skills that were rated “1” by 30% or more of the respondents were extracted from the
complete list. The responses were then separated into those made by respondents in Group M
and those made by respondents in Group T. The percentage of each group rating the skills as “1”
was then calculated. Where, for a particular skill, there was a difference of more than 10%
between Group M and Group T, the skill was extracted. These skills were then separated into
two groups – one where a higher percentage of respondents in Group M rated the skill “1” than
the respondents in Group T, with the other being where a higher percentage of respondents in
Group T rated the skill “1” than the respondents in Group M.
This gave one measure of skills that were perceived as being of different levels of importance by
people in solely management roles as opposed to technical roles.
The skills that were rated “1” or “2” by 70% or more of the respondents were extracted from the
complete list. The responses were then separated into those made by respondents in Group M
and those made by respondents in Group T. The percentage of each group rating the skills as “1”
or “2” was then calculated. Where, for a particular skill, there was a difference of more than
10% between Group M and Group T, the skill was extracted. These skills were then separated
into two groups – one where a higher percentage of respondents in Group M rated the skill “1”
or “2” than the respondents in Group T, with the other being where a higher percentage of
respondents in Group T rated the skill “1” or “2” than the respondents in Group M.
This gave a second measure of skills that were perceived as being of different levels of
importance by people in solely management roles as opposed to technical roles.
The skills that were selected as being the most important skills by some respondents in Group
M, but by no respondents in Group T were placed in one group. The skills that were selected as
being the most important skills by some respondents in Group T, but by no respondents in
Group M were placed in another group.
This gave a third measure of skills that were perceived as being of different levels of importance
by people in solely management roles as opposed to technical roles.
3. RESULTS
3.1 Role of the Respondent
The respondents were asked to indicate the nature of their role with the results being shown in
Table 4.
The "Other" roles that were identified were consultant, tutor with a bit of technical, and
sales/marketing. It was decided to include these three respondents in the analysis that follows,
and to treat the respondents in the consultant role and sales/marketing roles as being in
management roles, and to treat the tutor with a bit of technical as being in a technical role.
Table 4 - Classification Of Respondents By Role
Number
Management role
18
Technical role
1
A mixed management/technical role
9
Other (please specify)
3
Total
31
Percent
58.1%
3.2%
29.0%
9.7%
100.0%
The respondents were then placed in two groups. The 20 respondents who were in management
roles were placed in Group M. The 11 respondents who were in mixed management/technical
roles were placed in Group T.
Respondents had also been asked to indicate the nature of their organisation as it relates to
eCommerce/eBusiness and where their organisation is based. This resulted in four of these
organisations being excluded from further analysis as they were not involved in
eComerce/eBusiness or were not based in New Zealand. This resulted in there being 17
respondents in Group M and 10 respondents in Group T.
3.2 Ranking of Skills
Table 5 shows skills that were rated “1” by 30% or more of the respondents, where the
percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skills as “1” was at least 10% higher than
the percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skills as “1”. For each of these skills the
following is shown:




The percentage of all respondents who rated the skill as “1”
The percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skill as “1”
The percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skill as “1”
The difference between the percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skill as
“1” and the percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skill as “1”
Table 5 – Skills Rated “1” By Higher Proportions Of Group M than Group T
Skill/Competency
% of all
% of
% of
respondents Group M Group T
rating “1” rating “1” rating “1” Difference
Possesses an attitude that is
appropriate for "business and people"
management
37.0%
47.1%
20.0%
27.1%
Has the ability to manage cultural
change
33.3%
41.2%
20.0%
21.2%
Possesses knowledge of the industry
that the organisation is in
40.7%
47.1%
30.0%
17.1%
Maintains clarity of vision within
uncertainty
59.3%
64.7%
50.0%
14.7%
Openness to change
77.8%
82.4%
70.0%
12.4%
Table 6 shows the same information as Table 5, except that the skills shown are those where the
percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skills as “1” was at least 10% higher than
the percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skill as “1”.
Table 6 – Skills Rated “1” By Higher Proportions Of Group T than Group M
Skill/Competency
% of all % of Group % of Group
respondents
M
T
rating “1” rating “1” rating “1” Difference
Can operationalise and implement
strategic vision
51.9%
47.1%
60.0%
-12.9%
Table 7 shows skills that were rated “1” or “2” by 70% or more of the respondents, where the
percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skills as “1” or “2” was at least 10% higher
than the percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skills as “1” or “2”. For each of
these skills the following is shown:



The percentage of all respondents who rated the skill as a “1” or a “2”
The percentage of respondents in Group M and Group T respectively who rated the skill
as a “1” or a “2”
The difference between the percentages in Group M and Group T.
Table 7 – Skills Rated “1” or “2” By Higher Proportions Of Group M than Group T
Skill/Competency
% of all
% of
% of
respondents Group M Group T Difference
Possesses knowledge of the industry
that the organisation is in
85.2%
94.1%
70.0%
24.1%
Has an understanding of the business
on a business level
81.5%
88.2%
70.0%
18.2%
Possesses good marketing skills
70.4%
76.5%
60.0%
16.5%
Learns quickly
96.3%
100.0%
90.0%
10.0%
Table 8 shows the same information as Table 7, except that the skills shown are those where the
percentage of respondents in Group T who rated the skills as a “1” or a “2” was at least 10%
higher than the percentage of respondents in Group M who rated the skill as a “1” or a “2”.
Table 8 – Skills Rated “1” or “2” By Higher Proportions Of Group T than Group M
Skill/Competency
% of all
% of
% of
respondents Group M Group T Difference
Has the ability to work with IT
professionals, data processors
70.4%
58.8%
90.0%
-31.2%
Has collaboration skills
85.2%
76.5%
100.0%
-23.5%
Can interact in an IT/business work
group
77.8%
70.6%
90.0%
-19.4%
Has the ability to contribute to
standards of service to constituents
77.8%
70.6%
90.0%
-19.4%
Possesses the ability to use telecommunications & information
technologies
77.8%
70.6%
90.0%
-19.4%
Can operationalise and implement
strategic vision
81.5%
76.5%
90.0%
-13.5%
Builds relationships
92.6%
88.2%
100.0%
-11.8%
Possesses analytical ability at the
strategic level
92.6%
88.2%
100.0%
-11.8%
Table 9 shows the skills that were selected as being the most important skills by at least one
respondent in Group M, and by no respondents in Group T.
Table 9 - Skills Rated The Most Important By Group M And Not Rated Most Important
By Group T
Skill
Respondents in Group M
Rating as Most Important
Can operationalise and implement strategic vision
4
Openness to change
2
Has the ability to manage cultural change
1
Understands the principles of human-computer interaction
1
Table 10 shows the skills that were selected as being the most important skills by at least one
respondent in Group T, and by no respondents in Group M.
Table 10 - Skills Rated The Most Important By Group T And Not Rated Most Important
By Group M
Skill
Respondents in Group T
Rating as Most Important
Possesses the ability and/or willingness to support
informed risk taking
1
Possesses analytical ability at the strategic level
1
Possesses knowledge of the industry that the organisation
is in
1
Has charisma (a leader, enthusiasm generator, problem
solver for others)
1
4 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Role of the Respondent
After looking at the role of the respondents and the nature and location of the organisation, 4 of
the 31 respondents were excluded from further analysis. This was to ensure that only
respondents in management or technical roles, who were involved in organisation utilising or
adopting eCommerce that were based in New Zealand were included in the analysis
4.2 Ranking of Skills
Three different methods were used to identify which skills are perceived as being more
important by respondents in Group M than respondents in Group T. Table 11 shows the skills
and which methods classified them as more important by those in solely management roles than
those in technical roles.
Table 11 – Skills Classified More Important By Respondents in Group M than
Respondents in Group T
Skill
Rated
Rated
Most
“1”
“1” or “2” Important
Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty

Learns quickly

Possesses good marketing skills

Possesses knowledge of the industry that the


organisation is in
Understands the principles of human-computer

interaction
Has the ability to manage cultural change


Openness to change


Possesses an attitude that is appropriate for

"business and people" management
Has an understanding of the business on a

business level
Can operationalise and implement strategic vision

There were only three skills that were classified as more important for Group M respondents
than Group T respondents using two of the three methods used. These were:
 Possesses knowledge of the industry that the organisation is in
 Has the ability to manage cultural change
 Openness to change
Three different methods were used to identify which skills are perceived as being more
important by respondents in Group T than respondents in Group M. Table 12 shows the skills
and which methods classified them as more important by those in technical roles than those in
solely management roles.
Table 12 – Skills Classified More Important By Respondents in Group T than
Respondents in Group M
Skill
Rated
Rated
Most
“1”
“1” or “2” Important
Builds relationships

Possesses the ability and/or willingness to support

informed risk taking
Possesses analytical ability at the strategic level


Has collaboration skills

Possesses knowledge of the industry that the

organisation is in
Can interact in an IT/business work group

Has the ability to work with IT professionals, data

processors
Has the ability to contribute to standards of

service to constituents
Possesses the ability to use tele-communications

& information technologies
Has charisma (a leader, enthusiasm generator,

problem solver for others)
Can operationalise and implement strategic vision


There were two skills that were classified as more important for Group T respondents than for
Group M respondents using two of the three methods. These were:
 Possesses analytical ability at the strategic level
 Can operationalise and implement strategic vision
The unusual feature of this is that the skill of “Can operationalise and implement strategic
vision” was chosen by more respondents in Group M as being the most important skill of all as
shown in Table 9.
5. CONCLUSIONS
When considering the management issues that arise in eCommerce organisations, and the
perceived important management skills, it appears that the respondents in solely management
roles see issues relating to change, in particular strategic change, and the ability to be open to
change and to manage cultural change as of more significance than the respondents in technical
roles. The skills that are seen by the respondents in technical roles as being of more importance
than those in solely management roles were those of having analytical ability at the strategic
level and being able to operationalise and implement strategic vision.
Thompson and Strickland (2000) in describing the role of strategic management quite clearly
point to strategic issues being intertwined with culture and change, which suggests that the
differences in perception between the two groups may not be great. The difference could be due
to the respondents in each group having a different understanding of what strategic issues are.
This could also explain how those in technical roles see “can operationalise and implement
strategic vision” as being more important than those in solely management roles, yet at the same
time more respondents in management roles saw this skill as being the most important of all
skills than any other skill.
This is based on the responses of a relatively small sample of eCommerce organisations in New
Zealand, and as such it is not possible to make generalisations about the entire population of
eCommerce organisations. It does however point to the possibility that those in management
roles might have a different understanding of the nature of strategic issues than those in
technical roles, with this being a possible starting point for a future study.
REFERENCES
Davis, C. and Hajnal C. (1998) Management Skill Requirements for Electronic Commerce: A
"Business-Centric" Approach. Proceedings of ISMOT 98, Zhejiang University, China, Nov.
1998
Nesbit, T.R. (2001a) eManagement Skills For Success - A Study Of Three eCommerce
Organisations in New Zealand. Proceedings of the Twelth World Productivity Congress,
November 2001, Hong Kong
Nesbit, T.R. (2001b) What Do Pigs and Chickens Have To Do With E-Commerce. Proceedings
of the 14th Annual Conference of National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications,
July 2001, Napier, New Zealand.
Nesbit, T.R. (2002) Management for Success in eCommerce. Proceedings of the 15th Annual
Conference of National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications, July 2002,
Hamilton, New Zealand.
Thompson, A. and Strickland, A. (2000) Strategic Management – Concepts and Cases (10th
edition) Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill
APPENDIX 1
The 31 Management Skills and Competencies Included in the Survey by Nesbit (2002)
1 Possesses general management education
2 Builds relationships
3 Maintains clarity of vision within uncertainty
Possesses basic understanding of computers from a non-technical
4 perspective
5 Learns quickly
6 Possesses the ability and/or willingness to support informed risk taking
7 Possesses analytical ability at the strategic level
8 Has collaboration skills
9 Has traditional reporting skills
10 Possesses good marketing skills
11 Possesses knowledge of the industry that the organisation is in
12 Can interact in an IT/business work group
13 Understands the principles of human-computer interaction
14 Has a broad perspective on electronic commerce
15 Possesses operational skills (such as product development)
16 Has the ability to work with IT professionals, data processors
17 Has the ability to manage cultural change
18 Possesses the ability to manage multiple projects
19 Possesses negotiation skills
20 Has the ability to market in a one-to-one environment
21 Openness to change
22 Has the ability to contribute to standards of service to constituents
Possesses the ability to use telecommunications & information
23 technologies
24 Has charisma (a leader, enthusiasm generator, problem solver for others)
Possesses an attitude that is appropriate for "business and people"
25 management
26 Has an understanding of the business on a business level
27 Thinks creatively and is innovative
Has a non-technical person's understanding of technological security &
28 perceptions surrounding security
29 Is comfortable with emergent properties – not being a “control freak”
30 Is comfortable interacting with government and regulatory bodies
31 Can operationalise and implement strategic vision