Development of a change framework to study SME web site evolution

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.It has been suggested that the adoption of e-commerce by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) follows a sequence of stages with each representing increasing complexity and benefits. These models imply a development of their web sites in successive iterations or redesigns from basic use of the Internet (as a marketing tool) to the most advanced level of sophistication and integration. The EU and the UK government appear to believe such models and have used them in their e-commerce adoption encouragement policies for SMEs. However, recent research in Europe reveals that e-commerce initiatives in SMEs in most cases are still in their initial stages, which do not exceed the use of email and simple information-based web pages. This failure of SMEs to engage in the more advanced stages of adoption suggest that our understanding of the implementation and management of SME web sites over time is too limited. Thus, the main aim of this research is to establish an enhanced understanding of the dynamics of SME web site transformations over time to better support SME e-commerce progression. The specific objectives of this research are to (1) examine the literature that explain or guide the evolution of web sites and internet strategies, particularly in the context of SMEs, (2) develop a multidimensional framework that combines three dimensions of organisational change (extent, content and drivers) to characterise and model the evolution of the web presence of SMEs and (3) undertake a study of the types and characteristics of actual changes on a sample of SME web sites over time to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of the dimensions of the framework. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part of the study includes the collection and observation of the sample of SME web sites to study the extent of the changes and the content of the changes incorporated. The qualitative part of the study involves telephone interviews to seek additional information about the drivers for web site redesigns and complement the previous observations. It is argued that a research framework that combines three different dimensions of organisational change offers an alternative approach to e-commerce Stage Models in understanding the evolution of SME web sites over time. The developed framework is useful to academics by providing multiple perspectives that enable more insightful study of SME web site evolution, and avoid over-simple, a priori theory, e. g. staged approach. The framework is also argued to be useful for SME managers seeking to make the most of their limited resources in this context

The 4s web-marketing mix model

This paper reviews the criticism on the 4Ps Marketing Mix framework, the most popular tool of traditional marketing management, and categorizes the main objections of using the model as the foundation of physical marketing. It argues that applying the traditional approach, based on the 4Ps paradigm, is also a poor choice in the case of virtual marketing and identifies two main limitations of the framework in online environments: the drastically diminished role of the Ps and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Next to identifying the critical factors of the Web marketing, the paper argues that the basis for successful E-Commerce is the full integration of the virtual activities into the company’s physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The four S elements of the Web-Marketing Mix framework present a sound and functional conceptual basis for designing, developing and commercialising Business-to-Consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of field projects; two of them are presented as case studies in the paper.\ud \u

From physical marketing to web marketing

Reviews the criticism of the 4P marketing mix framework as the basis of traditional and virtual marketing planning. Argues that the customary marketing management approach, based on the popular marketing mix 4Ps paradigm, is inadequate in the case of virtual marketing. Identifies two main limitations of the marketing mix when applied in online environments namely the role of the Ps in a virtual commercial setting and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Identifies the critical factors of the Web marketing and argues that the basis for successful e-commerce is the full integration of virtual activities into the company's physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The 4S elements of the Web marketing mix framework offer the basis for developing and commercialising business to consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of three case studies

Development of a change framework to study SME web site evolution

It has been suggested that the adoption of e-commerce by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) follows a sequence of stages with each representing increasing complexity and benefits. These models imply a development of their web sites in successive iterations or redesigns from basic use of the Internet (as a marketing tool) to the most advanced level of sophistication and integration. The EU and the UK government appear to believe such models and have used them in their e-commerce adoption encouragement policies for SMEs. However, recent research in Europe reveals that e-commerce initiatives in SMEs in most cases are still in their initial stages, which do not exceed the use of email and simple information-based web pages. This failure of SMEs to engage in the more advanced stages of adoption suggest that our understanding of the implementation and management of SME web sites over time is too limited. Thus, the main aim of this research is to establish an enhanced understanding of the dynamics of SME web site transformations over time to better support SME e-commerce progression. The specific objectives of this research are to (1) examine the literature that explain or guide the evolution of web sites and internet strategies, particularly in the context of SMEs, (2) develop a multidimensional framework that combines three dimensions of organisational change (extent, content and drivers) to characterise and model the evolution of the web presence of SMEs and (3) undertake a study of the types and characteristics of actual changes on a sample of SME web sites over time to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of the dimensions of the framework. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part of the study includes the collection and observation of the sample of SME web sites to study the extent of the changes and the content of the changes incorporated. The qualitative part of the study involves telephone interviews to seek additional information about the drivers for web site redesigns and complement the previous observations. It is argued that a research framework that combines three different dimensions of organisational change offers an alternative approach to e-commerce Stage Models in understanding the evolution of SME web sites over time. The developed framework is useful to academics by providing multiple perspectives that enable more insightful study of SME web site evolution, and avoid over-simple, a priori theory, e. g. staged approach. The framework is also argued to be useful for SME managers seeking to make the most of their limited resources in this context.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

E-commerce and its impact in logistic management: A state of art

Logistics management is defined as that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements. Traditional logistical issues may be amplified by an e-commerce venture. Adopting e-commerce may greatly expand the marketplace. The organization needs to be concerned with its ability to deliver its product to potential customers. Realizing the importance of E-commerce in logistic management, an attempt has been made in this paper to review the existing literature with the objective to gain insights into the impact of E-commerce in logistic management. The advantages of the E-commerce in logistic management are offered. Finally, summary of findings and calculations are presented

An open standard for the exchange of information in the Australian timber sector

The purpose of this paper is to describe business-to-business (B2B) communication and the characteristics of an open standard for electronic communication within the Australian timber and wood products industry. Current issues, future goals and strategies for using business-to-business communication will be considered. From the perspective of the Timber industry sector, this study is important because supply chain efficiency is a key component in an organisation's strategy to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Strong improvement in supply chain performance is possible with improved business-to-business communication which is used both for building trust and providing real time marketing data. Traditional methods such as electronic data interchange (EDI) used to facilitate B2B communication have a number of disadvantages, such as high implementation and running costs and a rigid and inflexible messaging standard. Information and communications technologies (ICT) have supported the emergence of web-based EDI which maintains the advantages of the traditional paradigm while negating the disadvantages. This has been further extended by the advent of the Semantic web which rests on the fundamental idea that web resources should be annotated with semantic markup that captures information about their meaning and facilitates meaningful machine-to-machine communication. This paper provides an ontology using OWL (Web Ontology Language) for the Australian Timber sector that can be used in conjunction with semantic web services to provide effective and cheap B2B communications