IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Facilitators and Inhibitors of E-Commerce Adoption in an Irish SME: An Action Research Case Study

Facilitators and Inhibitors of E-Commerce Adoption in an Irish SME: An Action Research Case Study
View Free PDF
Author(s): Orla Kirwan (National University of Ireland, Ireland)and Kieran Conboy (National University of Ireland, Ireland)
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 3
Source title: Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-019-6.ch090
ISBN13: 9781616921286
EISBN13: 9781466665361

Abstract

Although the adoption of e-commerce is widely studied in the academic world, only a small percentage of these studies focus on the retail sector. An even smaller number of these studies focus on the Small to Medium size Enterprise (SME) sector, which accounts for a significant part of the Irish economy (99.4% in 1999). This study examines an Irish SME’s adoption of e-commerce, specifically identifying and understanding the factors that affected the adoption process. The research was achieved by conducting an action research case study. The researcher worked in the retail SME throughout the research process, and had been employed there for the previous 5 years. The research concluded that the adoption of e-commerce within the SME sector tends to be slow and fragmented, the presence of a “web champion” is paramount to the success of the project, Internet adoption is faster with the recognition of a business need, and supported the evidence that an SME is more likely to adopt e-commerce when the SME owner has a positive attitude to IT.

Body Bottom