Industry characteristics, stages of E-commerce communications, and entrepreneurs and SMEs revenue growth

Abstract

This paper empirically examines the role of industry characteristics portrayed by information intensity of value chain or product in the relationship between the stages of E-commerce development and revenue growth for a large representative sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other entrepreneurs who operate in the United Kingdom. The results indicate that SMEs characterised by (A) high information intensity of value chain or product of industry that (B) have their own business website, a third-party website and/or a social profile, on average more often report increases in revenue growth versus their counterparts in either (A) other industries or that (B) do not have the E-commerce development. However, the likelihood of improved performance does not vary significantly among SMEs which are at different development stages of E-commerce. This finding holds regardless of whether the business is in a high value chain information intensive industry or a product information intensive industry. In short, business performance appears to improve as entrepreneurial organizations adopt information technology to facilitate greater market communication and increased exposure to online shoppers. Furthermore, this is irrespective of the level of sophistication of the interface, the design of the E-commerce technology and the high information intensity types of the industry. To conclude, this paper presents some discussions and recommendations for entrepreneurial research and practice that are implied by the results.