See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228279871
Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-Commerce by Small Businesses: A Case
Study
Article in SSRN Electronic Journal · October 2010
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1700643
CITATIONS
READS
4
5,462
2 authors:
Ali Acılar
42 PUBLICATIONS 161 CITATIONS
Çağlar Karamaşa
Anadolu University
57 PUBLICATIONS 150 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Special Issue - SI: "Application of operations research tools in transport and logistics" View project
Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Çağlar Karamaşa on 29 March 2019.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.
Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-Commerce by Small Businesses: A Case Study
Ali Acılar
Bilecik University,
Bilecik University, the Department of Business Administration, 11000, Bilecik, Turkey
Phone: (228) 212 40 25, Fax: (228) 212 91 40
E-Mail: ali.acilar@bilecik.edu.tr
Çağlar Karamaşa
Bilecik University,
Bilecik University, the Department of Business Administration, 11000, Bilecik, Turkey
Phone: (228) 212 40 25, Fax: (228) 212 91 40
E-Mail: caglar.karamasa@bilecik.edu.tr
1
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1700643
Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-Commerce by Small Businesses: A Case Study
Abstract
In recent years, computers and the Internet have become an integral part of the societies.
The Internet has created a new medium for communication and commerce for the businesses.
Today, it is hard to imagine a business working without using a computer.
These technological advances have also largely affected small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs). While large companies have been quick to adopt information and communication
technologies, SMEs have been slow to adopt these technologies in general for various reasons,
especially in developing countries.
The main purpose of this present study is to explore the factors affecting the adoption of ecommerce by small businesses. To attain this purpose a case study was conducted in a small hotel,
using the website to keep up with customer expectations and competition. Although having a
website is critically important and it provides some benefits for the hotel, in order to become
successful in e-commerce, it just is not enough. Conclusions and suggestions derived from this
study will provide a meaningful contribution to the understanding of e-commerce adoption in small
businesses.
Keywords: e-commerce, small businesses, hospitality industry
2
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1700643
Küçük İşletmelerin E-Ticareti Benimsemesini Etkileyen Faktörler: Bir Örnek Olay Çalışması
Özet
Son yıllarda, bilgisayar ve İnternet toplumların ayrılmaz bir parçası haline gelmiştir. İnternet
eğitim, iletişim, eğlence ve ticaret için işletmelere yeni bir ortam yaratmıştır. Bugün, bilgisayar
kullanmadan çalışan bir işletme hayal etmek zordur.
Bu teknolojik gelişmeler Küçük ve Orta Büyüklükteki İşletmeleri (KOBİ) de büyük ölçüde
etkilemiştir. Büyük şirketler bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerini hızlı bir şekilde benimserken,
KOBİ'lerin bu teknolojileri benimsemeleri çeşitli nedenlerle genel olarak yavaş olmuştur, özellikle
gelişmekte olan ülkelerde.
Bu çalışmanın ana amacı küçük işletmelerin e-ticareti benimsenmesini etkileyen faktörleri
incelemektir. Bu amacı gerçekleştirmek için müşteri beklentilerine ve rekabete ayak uydurabilmek
amacıyla web sitesini kullanan küçük bir otelde örnek olay çalışması yapılmıştır. Web sitesine sahip
olmak kritik önemde ve otele bazı faydalar sağlıyor olmasına rağmen işletmenin e-ticarette başarılı
olabilmesi için sadece web sitesi yeterli değildir. Bu çalışmadan elde edilen sonuç ve önerilerin eticaretin küçük işletmelerde benimsenmesinin anlaşılmasına anlamlı bir katkı yapacağı
düşünülmektedir.
Anahtar kelimeler: e-ticaret, küçük işletmeler, konaklama sektörü
Introduction
Information and communication technologies are progressing at a relentless pace, affecting
almost all aspects of our everyday lives. Today, computers and the Internet have become an
indispensable part of the modern society. It is estimated that there are approximately 2 billion
(28.7% of the world's population) Internet users in the world. From 2000 to 2010, the number of
Internet users around the world increased by 444.8%1 and Internet use in all areas of life has
1
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm (18-08-2010)
3
become more common over time. The use of Internet for commercial purposes has also greatly
increased. According to the US Census Bureau, the total volume of e-commerce transactions in the
US was about 3,704 billion dollars in 2008. 92.2% of these transactions were B2B.2
Computers and the Internet have changed the way we live, the way we communicate, the
way we get education, and the way we make business (Lee and Chan, 2008). Today, many
businesses depend on computers and Internet for their daily operations.
The Internet has many benefits and advantages to small businesses. It serves the small
businesses in many ways. As a means of transaction, the Internet serves as a marketplace to bring
sellers and buyers together for conducting sales. As a communication medium, the World Wide Web
provides an inexpensive, easy and fast way for interacting with customers, suppliers and other
businesses. A company's Web presence helps enhance credibility, gather feedback, improve
customer service, and facilitate business process. (Chen, et al., 2003)
SMEs face various difficulties when adopting the Internet and e-commerce. These
difficulties are mainly related with SME's structure and their surrounding environment (Al-Qirim,
2007). Small businesses usually lack the technical knowledge, the financial power, the know-how,
and the experience (Al-Hawari, Al–Yamani, and Izwawa, 2008). Overall, the literature suggests that
Internet use is not prevalent among small enterprises (Karanasios, 2007), especially in developing
countries.
The tourism and hospitality industry is very important for developing countries to prevent
unemployment and to achieve economic development. Tourism is the top national priority for
economic development in many developing countries, and because of its relatively low start-up
costs and its high potential to attract foreign capital, e-tourism is being promoted. (Bui, Le and
Jones, 2006) The vast majority of hospitality businesses around the world are small and medium
sized, belong to local entrepreneurs, are run by family, generally employ members of the local
society (Main, 2002). Despite their size, small and medium sized hospitality organizations are very
2
http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2008/2008reportfinal.pdf (18-08-2010)
4
important. These organizations provide stable employment opportunities and support the integration
of local economies in peripheral areas, even during recession periods. (Buhalis and Main, 1998)
The tourism and hospitality industry has relied mainly on information. While tourism
services are produced and consumed in a physical world in a regional or local context, purchase
decision of a tourism product is generally based on information received through direct or
intermediary market channels; prior knowledge; word of mouth; and perceptions of trust and
service quality. (Braun, 2006: 234) In this case, information and communication technologies can
provide the information to customers looking for data as part of their purchase process.
Information and communication technologies can significantly enhance the way in which
tourism and hospitality enterprises conduct their business (Nodder at al., 2003). These technologies
can reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, help to access international markets and most
importantly to improve service quality and customer experience in tourism and hospitality
enterprises (Law, Leung and Buhalis, 2009). The Internet can create a direct link between the
members of the hospitality industry and consumers, and also websites can provide information
about the services and create an instant confirmation response to an inquiry such as room
availability (Braun, 2006: 234). Despite these apparent benefits and advantages, the small
hospitality business owners do not use the Internet and Web to its full advantage (Lituchy and Rail,
2000; Hudson and Gilbert, 2006).
Given these issues, the main objective of this paper is to examine factors affecting the
adoption of e-commerce by small businesses by using a case study approach. For this reason, this
paper investigates the case of a family owned small hotel, using the website to keep up with
customer expectations and competition.
Review of Related Literature
Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption in Small Businesses
Several factors were identified from the literature reviewed as having considerable influence
on the adoption of e-commerce among small businesses. These factors can be summarized as
5
follows: organizational factors, technological factors, individual factors, management factors and
environmental factors (Al-Qirim, 2007; Upadhyaya and Mohanan, 2009; Rogers, 2003; Cloete,
Courtney and Fintz, 2002).
Auger and Gallaugher (1997) studied factors affecting the adoption of an Internet-based
sales presence for small businesses. They identified six factors that impacted the decision to go online: low development and maintenance costs, an interest in experimenting with a new marketing
tool, the desire to promote products and build the company's image, financial considerations,
benefits in obtaining and disseminating information, and competitive considerations. According to
the study results, among these factors, low development and maintenance cost was revealed as the
most significant. Auger and Gallaugher (1997) also found that small businesses that have made the
decision to go on-line perceive that deploying a Web-based sales presence is a relatively low-risk,
and high reward strategy.
Poon and Swatman (1999) found that the perception of long-term benefits and potential
business opportunities drive small business to adopt internet commerce. Premkumar and Roberts
(1999) studied factors that influence the adoption of various communications technologies in small
businesses located in rural communities in the US and they found that relative advantage, top
management support, organizational size, external pressure and competitive pressure are important
determinants of adoption.
Riemenschneider and Vicki R. McKinney (2001-2002) analyzed the differences in the belief
of small business executives regarding the adoption of Web-based e-commerce. They found that
security and cost were barriers to adoption of Web-based e-commerce. Daniel and Grimshaw (2002)
found that the use of e-commerce for responding to competitors, providing enhanced customer
services and improving relations with suppliers was driving the uptake by smaller businesses to a
greater extent than by their larger counterparts.
Cloete, Courtney and Fintz (2002) identified factors affecting e-commerce adoption in small
businesses as follows: owner’s perception and acceptance of e-commerce, characteristics of the
6
organization, and the context in which the business find itself. According to Cloete, Courtney and
Fintz (2002), adoption of e-commerce is mainly based on perceived benefit. Chen, et al., (2003)
studied the e-commerce case of a small traditional retailer and identified six critical success factors
for the firm, as following: incremental e-commerce involvement, allocating resources widely,
outsourcing the development, changing business process, studying the customer, and revising and
evaluating results.
Jennex, Amoroso and Adelakun (2004) investigated the key infrastructure factors affecting
the success of small companies in developing economies that are establishing B2B e-commerce
ventures. They found that workers’ skills, client interface, and technical infrastructure are the most
important factors to the success of a B2B e-commerce relationship. Jeon, Han and Lee (2004)
investigated determining factors for the successful adoption of e-business by SMEs in Korea and
they determined several factors for e-business adoption, i.e., CEO's knowledge of IT/e-business, the
relative advantages and benefits from adopting e-business, governmental support for e-business,
and using e-business as a globalization strategy for market expansion. They also found that business
size, the cost of e-business adoption and competitive pressure from the industry do not seem to be
an important factor in adopting e-business by SMEs in Korea.
Pearson and Grandon (2005) surveyed managers/owners of SMEs to identify variables that
differentiate between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. They found that organizational
readiness, perceived usefulness, compatibility, and external pressure differentiated between
adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce.
Al-Qirim (2007) investigated the impact of technological, organizational, individual and
environmental factors on e-commerce adoption in New Zealand SMEs. He found that technological
factors such as complexity, the compatibility, and the cost are affecting significantly, but
observability and trialability are not. Image was found to play a supplementary role by this study. At
organizational level, factors such as user involvement, external/internal communications, quality of
IT systems and capabilities, and specialization were found as insignificant. At the individual level,
7
the study found CEO's innovativeness played an important role in e-commerce adoption in SMEs.
At the environmental level, pressure from supplier/buyer on their adoption decision of e-commerce
was identified as important.
Bharadwaj and Soni (2007) found that a major reason for businesses not engaging in ecommerce is their perception that it is not strategically important for their businesses.
Upadhyaya and Mohanan (2009) researched the factors affecting electronic marketplace
adoption among manufacturing SMEs in India. They found that the owner’s knowledge of
computers and the Internet, organization’s familiarity with Internet-based applications and size of
the firm are the factors that contribute to the e-marketplace adoption. According to their study, the
government support and the extent to which the firm is globalized does not have any influence on
manufacturing SMEs to adopt e-marketplace.
Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption in Small Businesses in the Tourism and
Hospitality Industry
Buhalis and Main (1998) studied the process of information technology adoption in small
and medium-sized hospitality organizations (SMHOs) and identified several reasons for the lack of
use of technology in these organizations. These are as follows: a) the lack of training, b) the age,
educational level, and family arrangements of the SMHOs’ proprietors, c) the deficiency of rational
management and marketing functions, and d) the short-term, operational focus of managers.
Raymond (2001) administered a survey to travel agencies to study determinants of website
implementation in small businesses. He identified various factors determining the assimilation of ecommerce by small enterprises in the form of informational, transactional, and strategic
implementation of a website. Raymond (2001) found that the informational implementation and
transactional implementation are determined by environmental context (business partners’ influence
and environmental uncertainty), whereas strategic implementation is determined by travel agencies’
marketing strategy (in terms of distribution and communication), the organizational context (type of
8
ownership, nature of business), and the characteristics of e-commerce (perceived advantages and
technology attributes).
Morrison and King (2002) explored the perceptions and attitudes of small tourism business
owner-operators in regional areas towards investigating e-commerce as an element of destination
marketing. They identified two major challenges for small tourism enterprises: First, the impact of
online technologies supporting e-commerce in tourism is likely to increase rather than diminish,
because they enable and support new organizational configurations and have the capacity to reengineer market places and supply chains. Secondly, the success of many destination marketing
businesses is dependent upon the effective engagement of a significant proportion of small tourism
businesses. Morrison and King (2002) suggested that that public sector destination marketing
organizations need to: accept and work with the innate characteristics of the population; ensure the
utility and functionality of the proposed technology; enhance owner-operator understanding of the
benefits and costs of Internet-based trade; and utilize a combination of coercive push and voluntary
pull factors to engage them in both individual and destination-based e-commerce strategies.
Warden and S. Tunzelana (2004) found that organizational barriers exist in e-commerce
adoption initiatives of SMMEs (Small Medium Micro Enterprises) in the South African Tourism
industry.
Hudson and David (2006) studied small hospitality businesses to identify the underlying
success factors in utilizing the Internet as a marketing tool in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Their study results suggest that bed & breakfast hotel owners are using the Internet as a low-cost
method of increasing their customer base, especially from overseas markets. Hudson and David
(2006) found that success in adoption of the Internet is closely related to online experience, the
measurement of website efficiency, prompt responses to inquiries, making it easy for customers to
make a reservation, the development of relationships with customers, customer adoption of
technology, and the existence of online partners.
Karanasios (2007) identified four major Internet adoption obstacles in small tourism
9
enterprises in Ecuador. These are as follows: the cost of adoption, the ICT infrastructure,
government support, and a lack of ICT skills.
Methodology
The main aim of the present study is to explore the factors affecting the adoption of ecommerce by small businesses. The study uses a single-case research methodology. According to
Dul and Hak, (2008, p.4) “A case study is in which (a) one case (single case study) or a small
number of cases (comparative case study) in their real life context are selected, and (b) scores
obtained from these cases are analysed in a qualitative manner.” A family owned small hotel using
website since 2009 was selected for the study. The authors conducted interviews with the owner of
the hotel to explore the factors affecting e-commerce adoption in a small business. The owner of the
hotel was visited and interviewed three times by the authors. In interviews, we gathered information
on the background of the hotel and its owner, Internet and Web use in the hotel, benefits of these
technologies to the hotel and then we examined the factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce. In
addition to the interview, the website of the hotel was also explored.
Case Study
Otel Gören is a three-generation family owned and operated small hotel. It was established
in 1952 and since then has served customers. Otel Gören is located in one of the main streets of
Bilecik, a small but a historical city in the northwest of Turkey. Bilecik's population is about 45,000.
Besides the owner, the hotel currently employs four people; one of them is his wife. The owner
works on a full time basis in the hotel. The hotel is a bed and breakfast hotel. It serves
approximately 3000 customers annually with 20 rooms and 40 beds.
Taner Gören is the owner of the hotel. He is forty years old, graduated from commercial
high school, married and has one child. His computer skill is neither expert nor novice. The owner
indicates his level of computer skill as middle level.
Information technology resources of the hotel are limited. There are two computers in the
hotel; one is in the owner’s office and the other one is on the reception desk. The hotel has ADSL
10
Internet connection. Customer records are kept on the computer at the reception desk. The Hotel has
been using the Internet since 2000, but not mainly for business purposes until 2005. In Turkey,
Hotels have to report the identification information of their guests to the appropriate Turkish
authorities every day. Since 2005, keeping customer records on a computer and sending to the
police department via the Internet have become mandatory for the hotels above a certain size. For
this reason, Mr. Taner has started using ADSL broadband Internet connection since 2005. The hotel
also provides wireless Internet connection to its customers. Communication (E-mail), sending the
identification information of the guests to the police, information search and gathering were the
main uses of the Internet in the hotel.
At present, room reservations are usually made via telephone enquiries direct to the hotel.
Sometimes, customers use e-mail to book a room. Approximately 10% of the bookings are made via
e-mail in this year. Since the customers cannot get instant response via e-mail they may prefer to
book a room via phone.
Last year, the owner, Mr. Taner, decided to renovate the hotel and then the hotel building
was completely refurbished inside and out. With this renovation he wanted to have a website. The
hotel website was launched in 2009. The owner is aware of the importance of the Internet for
businesses and he believes that today, it is necessary to have a website. The website was designed
by a local Web solutions firm and was registered with one of the main search engines. The content
of the website is in Turkish. The website is relatively basic, simple and easy to use and navigate. It
contains some sample pictures of the rooms, a list of the services provided by the hotel, contact
information and daily weather of Bilecik. Audio, video and 360-degree photography weren’t used in
the website. The hotel website doesn't include Web-based booking system and doesn't offer online
payment. Because of owner’s concerns regarding the technology, he doesn't want to use Web-based
booking system. He believes that it may cause some problems. For now, Web-based booking system
is not seen as necessary by the owner. It seems that the main reasons for that the hotel is not using
Web-based booking system are the lack of technical knowledge of the owner about the system and
11
for now, it is not seen as necessary by the owner. Mr. Taner, hasn't registered the hotel to a booking
portal (i.e. www.booking.com) yet. He stated that he didn't know that there is such a service exists
in the Internet. But when asked, he states that he might register to an online booking portal in the
future.
The introduction of the website has provided the following benefits to the hotel:
Availability: The information on the hotel website is available to potential customers 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. This provides convenience to the customers and to the hotel. Today, the
most popular and convenient way of looking for a hotel is the Web.
Credibility: The website gives the hotel a mark of credibility and creates an image.
Keeping up with the competition: Having a website helps the hotel to keep up with the
competition.
In terms of e-commerce, it cannot be said that the hotel is successful. The hotel has not been
benefitting fully from the Web's potential. The hotel has not completed the e-commerce adoption
process yet.
Discussion and Conclusions
Today, computers and the Internet have become an important part of business life. The
Internet has affected many industries, but the hospitality industry has been one of the most
impacted. Nevertheless, the small hospitality business owners do not use the Internet and the Web to
its full advantage and only a small number use a secure server for online bookings (Hudson and
Gilbert, 2006). To be able to survive in the fast-changing environment, the small businesses in the
hospitality industry have to adapt technological advances such as e-commerce to stay competitive.
However, practicing e-commerce in developing countries is a major challenge (Bui, Le and Jones,
2006) for especially small businesses with scarce resources.
The main aim of the present study is to explore the factors affecting e-commerce adoption
by small businesses. For this reason, a family owned and operated small hotel was examined as a
case study.
12
The owner of the hotel appreciates the value of the Internet and the Web. However, it cannot
say that the hotel makes full use of them. E-mail, sending the identification information of the
guests to the police, information search and gathering were the main uses of the Internet in the
hotel. The hotel has a basic website that is not having Web-based booking system. Having a website
can be accepted as the first step to e-commerce for most businesses in the Internet. But, it is not
enough for a successful e-commerce application. In order to be successful in the Internet, the small
hospitality businesses should also add value to their websites with, such as Web-based booking
system, tourist information, and maps. Also, developing a website in only one language for a hotel
may not be sufficient in the hospitality industry. The hotel website should provide information in
common languages of the world, such as English and German.
The authors of the study suggest that the most important factor affecting the adoption of ecommerce in the case hotel is the perceived benefits by the owner. Other factors are identified as
follows: customer expectations, competition and the increased use of the Internet by people. The
main reasons for not using the Web-based booking in the website of the case hotel are found as
following: the owner lacks the technical knowledge and, for now, Web-based booking is not seen as
necessary by the owner.
In order to keep up with competition in the era of Internet, e-commerce awareness among
small businesses should be increased especially in developing countries. In addition to increasing
awareness, it is required to support small businesses with knowledge and experience about ecommerce. Because most small businesses cannot afford the necessary training, consulting or
outsourcing for e-commerce implementations, it is possible for chambers of commerce, or smallbusiness associations to organize training sessions for small businesses to attend at an affordable
price (Lituchy and Rail, 2000).
There are a number of limitations of this study. The first limitation is that the authors used a
single case study methodology, and investigated only one small business. The second limitation is
that investigated business is a hotel in the hospitality industry. The factors affecting adoption of e13
commerce in small businesses may differ in different industries. Another limitation is that the study
focused on a business that has not completed the e-commerce adoption process, yet. Finally, the
study was conducted in a developing country, Turkey. Therefore the generalization of the
conclusions may not be applicable.
References
Al-Hawari, M.; Al–Yamani, H. and Izwawa, B., “Small Businesses' Decision to have a
Website Saudi Arabia Case Study”, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 37,
(2008), pp.308-312.
Al-Qirim, Nabeel A., “E-Commerce Adoption in Small Businesses-Cases from New
Zealand”, Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, 9, 2, (2007), pp.2857.
Auger, Pat and Gallaugher, John M., “Factors Affecting the Adoption of an Internet-Based
Sales Presence for Small Businesses”, The Information Society, 13, (1997), pp.55-74.
Bharadwaj, Prashanth Nagendra and Soni, Ramesh G., “E-Commerce Usage and Perception
of E-Commerce Issues among Small Firms: Results and Implications from an Empirical Study”,
Journal of Small Business Management, 45, 4, (2007), pp.501-521.
Braun, Patrice, “E-Commerce and Small Tourism Firms”, , in Stewart Marshall, Wal Taylor
& Xinghuo Yu (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Developing Regional Communities with Information and
Communication Technology (Hershey, PA, USA: Idea Group Reference, 2006), pp.233-238.
Buhalis, Dimitrios and Main, Hilary, “Information Technology in peripheral small and
medium hospitality enterprises- Strategic analysis and critical factors”, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10, 5, (1998), pp.198–202.
Bui, Tung X.; Le, Truc and Jones, Wayne D., “An Exploratory Case Study of Hotel EMarketing in Ho Chi Minh City”, Thunderbird International Business Review, 48, 3, (May–June
2006), pp.369–388.
Chen, Lei-da; Haney, Steve; Pandzik, Alex; Spigarelli, John and Jesseman, Chris, “Small
14
Business Internet Commerce: A Case Study”, Information Resources Management Journal, 16, 3,
(2003), pp.17-41.
Cloete, Eric; Courtney, Steven and Fintz, Julia, “Small Business' Acceptance and Adoption
of E-Commerce in the Western-Cape Province of South Africa”, The Electronic Journal on
Information Systems in Developing Countries, 10, 4, (2002), pp.1-13.
Daniel, Elizabeth M. and Grimshaw, David J., “An exploratory comparison of electronic
commerce adoption in large and small enterprises”, Journal of Information Technology, 17, (2002),
pp.133-147.
Dul, Jan and Hak, Tony, Case Study Methodology in Business Research, (Burlington:
Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008).
Hudson, Simon and Gilbert, David, “The Internet and Small Hospitality Businesses: B&B
Marketing in Canada”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 14, 1, (2006), pp.99-116.
Jennex, Murray E.; Amoroso, Don and Adelakun, Olayele, “E-Commerce Infrastructure
Success Factors for small companies in developing economies”, Electronic Commerce Research, 4,
(2004), pp.263-286.
Jeon, Bang Nam; Han, Kyeong Seok and Lee, Myung Jin, “Determining Factors for the
Adoption of E-Business: The Case of SMEs in Korea”, The 2004 AIB Meetings, Stockholm,
Sweden (2004).
Karanasios, Stan, “Ecuador, the Digital Divide and Small Tourism Enterprises”, Journal of
Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 2, 3, (2007), pp.21-34.
Law, Rob; Leung, Rosanna and Buhalis, Dimitrios, “Information Technology Applications
in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007”, Journal of Trave &
Tourism Marketing, 26, (2009), pp.599-623.
Lee, Wanbil W. and Chan, Allan K. K. “Computer Ethics: An Argument for Rethinking
Business Ethics”, 2nd World Business Ethics Forum: Rethinking the Value of Business Ethics, Hong
Kong Baptist University, 1-12 December 2008.
15
Lituchy, Terri R. and Rail, Anny, “Bed and Breakfasts, Small Inns, and the Internet: The
Impact of Technology on the Globalization of Small Businesses”, Journal of International
Marketing, 8, 2, (2000), pp. 86-97.
Main, Hilary C. “The Expansion of Technology in Small and Medium Hospitality
Enterprises with a Focus on Net Technology”, Information Technology & Tourism, 4, (2002),
pp.167–174.
Morrison, Alison J. and King, Brian E.M., “Small tourism businesses and e-commerce:
Victorian tourism online”, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4, 2, (2002), pp. 104-115.
Nodder, Carolyn; Mason, David; Ateljevic, Jovo and Milne, Simon, “ICT adoption and use
in New Zealand's small and medium tourism enterprises: A cross sectoral perspective” (2003)
http://nztri.aut.ac.nz/triweb/documents/ICTSME.pdf (20-08-2010).
Poon, Simpson and Swatman, Paula M.C., “An exploratory study of small business Internet
commerce issues”, Information & Management, 35, (1999), pp.9-18.
Pearson, J. Michael and Grandon, Elizabeth E., “An Empirical Study of Factors That
Influence E-commerce Adoption/Non-Adoption in Small and Medium Sized Businesses”, Journal
of Internet Commerce, 4, 4, 2005, pp.1-21.
Premkumar, G.; Roberts, Margaret, “Adoption of New Information Technologies in Rural
Small Businesses”, Omega, International Journal of Management Science, 27, (1999), pp.467-484.
Raymond, Louis “Determinants of Web site implementation in small businesses”, Internet
Research, 11, 5, (2001), pp.411-422.
Riemenschneider, Cynthia K. and McKinney, Vicki R., “Assessing Belief Differences in
Small Business Adopters and Non-Adopters of Web-Based E-Commerce”, Journal of Computer
Information Systems, Winter 2001-2002, pp.101-107.
Rogers, Everett, Diffusion of Innovations, (New York: Free Press, 2003).
Upadhyaya, Pallavi and Mohanan, P. “Electronic Marketplace Adoption: A case study of
manufacturing SMEs”, The Icfaian Journal of Management Research, 8, 6, (2009), pp.30-40.
16
Warden, S.C. and Tunzelana, S. “E-Commerce: A Critical Review of SMME Organisational
Barriers in Tourism”, 6th WWW Applications Conference 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa.
http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2008/2008reportfinal.pdf (18-08-2010)
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
(18-08-2010)
17
View publication stats