The Role of E-Commerce Adoption Among Small Businesses: An Exploratory Study

The Role of E-Commerce Adoption Among Small Businesses: An Exploratory Study

Pauline Ratnasingam
Copyright: © 2006 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/jcec.2006100103
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Abstract

The small business sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. Firms are becoming increasingly dependent on Internet-enabled IT solutions for their day to day operations. This study aims to examine the impact of e-commerce adoption in the agricultural industry. We examine the benefits and risks small businesses experience in adopting e-commerce. Based on previous research, we categorized benefits as operational, economic, and strategic benefits and risks as technological, organizational, and external (or environmental) risks. The framework of benefits and risks was tested via in-depth case studies in two firms. Both case study firms in this article are located in the state of Missouri in the United States. We discuss the findings and highlight the challenges and lessons learned leading to the contributions to practice, theory, and directions for future research.

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