E-Commerce Usage and Perception of E-Commerce Issues among Small Firms: Results and Implications from an Empirical Study
通过对宾夕法尼亚州小企业主的调查和访谈，研究了电子商务部署的范围和有效性，发现企业不采用电子商务的主要原因是认为其缺乏战略重要性。
This paper details the results of an empirical study conducted to study the scope and effectiveness of e-commerce deployment in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as perceived by small business owners in the state. The methodology and results of this study may be applicable to several other states. In addition to a comprehensive survey of small businesses, a dozen businesses successful in deploying e-commerce were interviewed at great length. The results showed that main parts of an e-commerce infrastructure included (1) flow of information; (2) organizational image; (3) reaction to customer needs; (4) increased sales; and (5) access to new markets. The major reason for businesses to not engage in e-commerce is their perception that it is not strategically important for their business. Results pertaining to regional parameters, sales tax considerations, human resources infrastructure, and Internet security issues as well as policy recommendations are discussed in the paper.