A Taxonomy of SME E-Commerce Platforms Derived from a MarketLevel Analysis

Copyright © 2018 Christopher P. Holland and Manuela Gutiérrez-Leefmans.Published with license by Taylor & Francis. Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) constitute a large and important sector of the U.S. and U.K. economies and e-commerce platforms have evolved that are designed specifically to help small business owners and entrepreneurs. Despite the popularity and importance of these digital platforms, there is a paucity of research in this area. This article contributes to theory by being the first study to map out the competitive landscape of SME e-commerce platforms in two markets using a theoretical framework and analysis that is based on business model and strategic group theories. In total, 144 platforms were analyzed using an online panel data methodology, which identified 32 leading SME e-commerce platforms in the UK and United States. These leading platforms were analyzed at the market level using cluster analysis based on strategic group theory and website content analysis. A taxonomy is proposed based on theoretical constructs derived from business model theory: value proposition, Web 2.0 sophistication, and revenue model. Five distinctive strategic groups are identified: information laggards, basic networking, advanced networking, advanced networking mature, and social media markets. The study further outlines managerial implications for SMEs, SME e-commerce platform providers, and external sponsors of the platforms—predominantly government organizations and banks

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale