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There is no doubt about the economic importance of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in industrialised countries. The amount of research on organisational size as a factor of radio frequency identification (RFID) adoption, however, is as yet, minimal. This paper aims to fill that gap by first determining firm‐size specific characteristics of RFID and then using organisational inertia theory to derive the hypothesis that the size and structure of SMEs can be advantageous for the adoption of RFID.

This paper is based on organisational inertia theory and survey data.

A survey conducted among German enterprises already deploying RFID is used to test our hypothesis. It confirms that smaller enterprise size can make RFID adoption and exploitation of the productivity potential easier. Accordingly, it recommends that SMEs avoid adopting a wait‐and‐see position or restricting themselves to easy‐to‐conduct RFID automation applications.

The study provides a starting point for future research and facilitates knowledge accumulation and creation concerning the role of organisational size for RFID adoption.