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Explores the electronic commerce (e‐commerce) involvement of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in terms of the strategic, operational, and performance aspects. Findings are reported from a survey of SMEs in northern California. The results show that SMEs tend to pursue e‐commerce strategies associated with customer base expansion and customer service consistent with their bricks‐and‐mortar competitive strategies and build e‐commerce operations consistent with their e‐commerce strategies. These e‐commerce strategies also contribute to the SMEs’ sales growth and profitability. However, e‐commerce strategy associated with purchasing management is the least favored alternative and does not affect profitability. The implication of the findings for managers and future research are discussed.

This paper aims to examine the impact of e-commerce on business strategy, especially on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. It also investigates the relationship between e-commerce and business strategy and how the e-commerce niche changes SMEs’ strategic management approach. Additionally, this paper identifies the factors that moderate this relationship.

To evaluate and examines the impact of e-commerce on business strategy, the study used a quantitative method by conducting a questionnaire survey in Saudi Arabian SMEs.

The analysis of collected data confirms that e-commerce adoption has an impact on SMEs strategies. Many participants asserted that the introduction of e-commerce in Saudi market has changed their businesses’ plans and strategies. The findings identify the major factors that moderate and predict the relationship between e-commerce and business strategy.

This study contributes to the literature by discussing and examining the impact of e-commerce adoption on SMEs strategies in the context of Saudi Arabian SMEs. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between e-commerce and business strategies. The findings of this study can benefit SMEs’ owners, managers and employees to understand and acknowledge the impact of e-commerce on their plans and strategies. It also can assist policymakers and governments to develop suitable policies and initiatives.

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the relevant literature is reviewed briefly to provide a strategic context of the different views on strategy development. In the process, the linkages between the e-commerce view of strategy and previous views are explored. As such, the perspectives of different schools of thought on strategy are briefly highlighted. Second, the different dimensions of the e-commerce strategy and their impact on organizational performance are investigated.

A survey integrating different theoretical views of value creation was developed and sent to Portuguese e-commerce firms to assess the underlying dimensions of their strategies through factorial analysis. Then, a clustering analysis was performed to determine strategic groups to compare corporate performance.

Three e-commerce dimensions were identified: marketing, innovation and efficiency. Results of data analysis suggest that differentiation factors have impact on corporate performance in the context of virtual markets.

Although the Portuguese specific nature of the study could be seen as a limitation of the generalization of the findings, in the authors’ view, it is not truly a limitation because Portuguese executives face the same challenges that other countries counterparts, due to the universal application of e-commerce. Moreover, the use of a Portuguese sample validates findings from other cultural settings, contributing toward a unified theory and testing its applicability. In this way, it is an opportunity rather then a limitation.

The research identifies what is strategic and highlights the competitive methods that enhance differentiation in virtual markets, which could be useful as a framework for strategic formulation. Moreover, it provides a theoretical rational for investments in intangible assets.

The development of a survey to assess e-commerce strategies and the identification of the e-commerce strategic dimensions are the main contributions of this research, which highlights the importance of differentiation factors in virtual markets.

The recent pandemic period (COVID-19), while negatively impacting many companies, has contributed to the growth and adoption of online platforms such as marketplaces and e-commerce. This environment has led many companies, which previously acted only through offline channels, to adopt new technologies and online channels and develop new e-commerce strategies. Small and micro enterprises are most vulnerable due to their limited resources and lack of capabilities. For this reason, the main objective of this paper is to unveil the e-commerce implementation capabilities that micro and small enterprises should build and the challenges they must face when managing an e-commerce strategy.

The authors adopted an inductive qualitative research design approach focused on multiple case studies. The firms operate in the food and beverage industry.

The findings identify several e-commerce implementation capabilities that micro and small enterprises operating in the food and beverage industry should build to manage e-commerce strategies. These are related to outsourcing management, multichannel management, time management, internal stock management and marketplace choice. Moreover, the paper identifies key e-commerce implementation challenges these firms must cope with. These regard distribution management, potential loss of control, fresh product management and lack of resources, time and capabilities.

This research shows that proper capacity management in the implementation of micro and small enterprises e-commerce strategies is critical to achieving efficient results and preventing challenges that threaten such strategies. The research offers guidelines and frameworks for micro and small enterprises to understand how to manage e-commerce and face its challenges.

Electronic commerce or business is more than just another way to sustain or enhance existing business practices. Rather, e‐commerce is a paradigm shift. It is a “disruptive” innovation that is radically changing the traditional way of doing business. The industry is moving so fast because it operates under totally different principles and work rules in the digital economy. A general rule in e‐commerce is that there is no simple prescription and almost no such thing as an established business or revenue model for companies even within the same industry. Under such conditions, an analytical framework is needed to assist e‐commerce planners and strategic managers in assessing the critical success factors when formulating e‐commerce business models and strategies. This research develops an analytical framework based on the theories of transaction costs and switching costs. Both demand‐side and supply‐side economies of scale and scope are also applied to the development of this framework. In addition, e‐commerce revenue models and strategies are also discussed. Based on the analytical framework developed by this research, this paper discusses the five essential steps for e‐commerce success. They are: redefine the competitive advantage; rethink business strategy; re‐examine traditional business and revenue models, re‐engineer the corporation and Web site; and re‐invent customer service. E‐commerce planners and strategic managers will be able to use the framework to analyze and evaluate the critical successful factors for e‐commerce success.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth investigation of e-commerce strategy implementation in mature franchise organisations from both franchisor and franchisee perspectives.

This research employed a multiple case study method where the e-commerce strategies of two mature franchise organisations were investigated in depth. Franchising experts were interviewed to provide an additional dimension to this study.

This research found that e-commerce must be integrated with the overall business strategy for optimal franchise performance. Since all parties to the franchising relationship are affected by the introduction of e-commerce, both the franchisees’ and the franchisor’s interests must be considered when the strategy is being developed. In addition, the consumer’s perspective is central to how e-commerce is structured, and franchisees are best placed to know their customers’ needs because they are directly involved in operating their business and interfacing with customers.

A preliminary model for e-commerce structures in service and retail franchising has been developed that depends on the nature of the business, the distribution arrangements and the order fulfilment arrangements. The two main avenues in e-commerce structuring were centralisation and decentralisation.

This study contributes to knowledge through an in-depth investigation of the internal process of e-commerce implementation in franchise networks from both franchisor and franchisee perspectives.

Poor planning practice is one of the reasons for the inferior results of some e‐commerce ventures. In this paper, it is suggested that a strategy‐based e‐commerce planning model containing seven specific dimensions, with strategy at its core, should be considered when entering into a new e‐commerce venture. Implications for managerial practice upon the adoption of such a planning model are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore a central issue in industrial marketing, namely the buyer‐seller relationship, by focusing on how its development influences and is influenced by the use of B2B e‐commerce strategies. More specifically, the paper aims at identifying what kinds of B2B electronic interactions are imposed by influential buyers; exploring the link between these electronic interactions and the buyer‐seller relationship; and seeing how influential buyers and SME suppliers adapt their own strategies in this online environment.

The multi‐case study methodology was used to allow for rich data collection and analysis and to support the discovery of patterns.

The results indicate that large buyers use specific e‐commerce processes and tools for the different relationships they have with their SME suppliers. The latter must adapt to these requirements to attain the next relationship level or risk forfeiting their established position. When a supplier reaches the new level, other requirements arise, forcing it to continuously adapt its e‐commerce strategy.

The model proposed in this paper can serve as a tool to align B2B e‐commerce strategies and buyer‐seller relationship levels.

Some SME suppliers have developed a competitive advantage by going through this cycle faster than their competitors. The following relationship stages were observed: pre‐relationship, spot relationship and contractual relationship. Interestingly, there was no collaboration stage in the relationships studied.

The paper contributes to an understanding of the link between electronic interactions and the buyer‐seller relationship. Its information is particularly relevant to organizations that transact or plan on transacting electronically with clients or suppliers in a B2B setting.

Websites are the most important element of company strategy in the digital space. Therefore, establishing strategic management of online business is essential to improve firm connectedness and competitiveness and to achieve global company reach. This paper aims to propose the analysis of technical and content quality of websites to identify the main weaknesses and strengths of online business.

An innovative measurement instrument called IWebQEI is designed to measure web quality level. This instrument is validated with data from 104 international companies. The results are used to verify whether there are quality differences between informative and e-commerce websites.

The main findings indicate that e-commerce websites achieve greater levels of technical and content quality than informative sites, and companies implementing e-commerce pay more attention to the content quality dimension. In contrast, companies using an informative website are more focused on the technical quality dimension. Based on these results, practical insights are offered to improve the strategic management of e-commerce.

Few studies have focused on analysing the technical and content quality of websites to identify the main weaknesses and strengths of online business. The results offer important theoretical and practical contributions for companies on how to manage their website to improve firm connectivity and competitiveness.

Los sitios web son el elemento más importante de la estrategia digital de la compañia. Una gestión estratégica del negocio online es esencial para mejorar su conectividad, competitividad y para conseguir su alcance global. Este trabajo propone el análisis de la calidad técnica y de contenido de sitios web para identificar las principales debilidades y fortalezas del negocio online.

Para medir el nivel de calidad web, se ha diseñado un innovador instrumento de medición, denominado IWebQEI. Este instrumento se valida con datos de 104 empresas internacionales. Los resultados se utilizan para comprobar si existen diferencias de calidad entre las webs informativas y los e-commerce.

Las resultados indican que los e-commerce alcanzan mayores niveles de calidad técnica y de contenido que las webs informativas, y las empresas que implementan un e-commerce prestan más atención a la calidad de contenido. En cambio, las empresas que implementan una web informativa se centran más en la calidad técnica. A partir de estos resultados se ofrecen ideas prácticas para mejorar la gestión estratégica del e-commerce.

Pocos estudios analizan la calidad técnica y de contenido de los sitios web para identificar las principales debilidades y fortalezas del negocio online. Los resultados ofrecen importantes contribuciones teóricas y prácticas sobre cómo gestionar los sitios web para mejorar la conectividad y la competitividad de la compañia.

企业网站是公司在数字空间中战略的最重要元素。因此, 建立在线业务本身的战略管理对于提高公司的连通性和竞争力以及实现公司的全球影响力至关重要。本文提出对企业网站的技术和内容质量进行分析, 以确定在线业务的主要弱点和优势。

设计了一个创新的测量仪器, 称为IWebQEI, 用于测量网络质量水平。该仪器通过104家国际公司的数据进行验证。结果被用于检查信息网站和电子商务网站之间是否存在质量差异。

主要研究结果表明, 总体而言, 电子商务网站的技术质量和内容质量水平高于信息类网站, 实施电子商务的公司更注重内容质量维度。相比之下, 实施信息型网站的公司则更注重技术质量维度。基于这些结果, 为改进电子商务的战略管理提供了实际的见解。

以前的研究很少关注分析企业网站的技术和内容质量, 以确定在线业务的主要弱点和优势。研究结果为企业提供了重要的理论和实践贡献, 即如何管理企业网站以提高公司的连通性和竞争力。

Many firms have attempted to adopt e‐commerce to upgrade their formidable competitive capabilities and thereby build their own competitive advantages. However, some firms have achieved great performance, whereas others have failed in competitive outcomes. How can the differences in firms' e‐commerce adoption be explained? This question remains largely unanswered. The purpose of this paper is to help fill this literature gap by developing a framework that incorporates factors determining firms' adoption of e‐commerce.

Through literature review, this paper summarizes ten factors which determine firms' adoption of e‐commerce.

The paper summarizes ten factors which determine firms' adoption of e‐commerce and four significant factors are especially highlighted, including managerial attitudes, corporate strategies, external pressures and firms' technology strengths.

The framework developed by this article provides a conceptual basis for further quantitative analysis. It can also guide firms' implementation of e‐commerce strategy. Moreover, this paper should be of great value to the policy makers who encourage firms to build up their competitiveness through e‐commerce adoption.