E-Organisation and Its Future Implication for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

E-organisations are expected to be one of the promising organisational forms in this Internet cultural era (ICE). E-organisations are different from traditional organisations; and most traditional organisations are evolving toward becoming e-organisations. These are organisations established and operated, based on the Internet and other related technologies in an environment referred to as Internet Culture, whereby organisations will be placing the Internet at the centre of their business and encouraging ubiquitous use of networked technologies. This chapter incorporates several perspectives to examine how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use the network technologies and information and communication technology (ICT) in their current business environment. Through the use of a literature review and interviews, we analyse the various options for managing the transformation and its effects to ascertain the appropriate strategies within a range of SMEs. The results of this study reveal that the SMEs’ journey toward becoming e-organisations can be classified into three stages: 1/2-fusion; fusion; and the ultimate e-organisation stage. Based on this work, strategic solutions are proposed for future SMEs intending to adopt Internet and other network technologies.