E-Business Integration by SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

Abstract

SMEs in the manufacturing industry are impacted by enormous changes in their business processes. E-business-related developments have reduced the importance of physical branches and moved towards more sophisticated, e-business-enabled supply chains for products and services. This contribution analyzes the differences in adoption behavior and actual use of e-business applications among 152 investigated SMEs in the manufacturing sector from four countries. Best practice cases of efficient e-business performance, such as in Denmark or the U.S., are identified by deploying a data envelopment analysis (DEA). Leading SMEs in the sample are characterized by a wide range of thoroughly implemented and integrated e-business applications, resulting in higher satisfaction rates.