Internet commerce for small businesses
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635579810213116 |
| Pages | 113-119 |
| Published date | 01 May 1998 |
| Date | 01 May 1998 |
| Author | Chang‐tseh Hsieh,Binshan Lin |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
[ 113 ]
Industrial Management &
Data Systems
98/3 [1998] 113–119
© MCB University Press
[ISSN 0263-5577]
Internet commerce for small businesses
Chang-tseh Hsieh
Department of Management and MIS, University of Southern Mississippi,
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA
Binshan Lin
Department of Management and Marketing, Louisiana State
University – Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Online buying is expected to
hit $4.8 billion in 1998, and
is estimated to reach the $12
billion mark by the end of this
century. This is one of the
very few places where small
businesses are able to effec-
tively compete with their
bigger rivals. All sites on the
Internet are equal, and the
small businesses can launch
complex sales programs and
implement effective globaliza-
tion strategies on the Internet
just like the bigger compa-
nies. However, certain guide-
lines must be observed by
owners of small businesses in
order to enjoy the benefits of
the Internet commerce. This
study provides some practical
implementation strategies to
work at each stage of the
Web site life cycle in an effort
to help small businesses
implement successful Inter-
net commerce programs.
Introduction
Electronic commerce pertains to a wide vari-
ety of business activities, which are
conducted electronically. It covers a range of
electronic interactions between organiza-
tions and their up and downstream trading
partners (Steinfield, 1995; Umar, 1997). Many
technologies can be used in support of elec-
tronic commerce. As described by the Elec-
tronic Commerce Association, it may involve
streamlining processes, interconnectivity,
Internet, electronic data interchange (EDI),
electronic funds transfer, e-mail, security,
electronic document management, workflow
processing, middleware, barcoding, imaging
processing, smart cards, voice responses, and
networking.
Among those technologies, the one which
has recently become the focus of attention
from all business management is the Inter-
net. The potential of the Internet and in par-
ticular, the World Wide Web (WWW), has
gained incredible notoriety as commercial
mediums and markets (Alhadeff and Cohen,
1997; Hoffman et al., 1995; Indermaaur, 1997;
Seeley, 1997; Senn, 1996). The tremendous
growth of the Internet and the WWW has led
to an enormous amount of consumers and
firms participating in a global online market-
place. The rapid, and somewhat unexpected,
adoption of the Internet as a commercial
medium has forced firms to experiment with
new ways of marketing to and doing business
with existing and potential customers.
As more and more businesses start realiz-
ing that the Internet can be a very real com-
mercial market, management must be
actively involved in trying to keep up with
this changing technological environment
(Ricciuti, 1995). The Internet, however, may
not mean big business for American’s small
businesses. As revealed by the results of a
recent Gallup poll of 1,000 NFIB members, 77
percent of small businesses do use computers.
But only 40 percent of these firms have online
access capability (Stein, 1997).
In this study, the potential of the Internet,
in particular the WWW for helping small
businesses gain competitive advantages will
be explored. Some critical issues of creating
and maintaining Web sites will then be
discussed. Questions that small businesses
may have regarding this new marketing
medium will then be addressed. A brief sum-
mary of some practical implementation
strategies coupled with directions for future
study will conclude this report.
The potential of the WWW
Among all the services that the Internet can
provide for the small businesses, the most
exciting commercial development is occur-
ring on the WWW. The WWW is a distributed
hypermedia environment within the Inter-
net, which was originally developed by the
European Particle Physics Laboratory (Hoff-
man et al., 1995). The information on the
WWW is located on a network of servers
around the world which are interconnected,
allowing users to travel through the informa-
tion by clicking their way around hyperlinks.
The WWW thus allows the sharing of infor-
mation and resources on a global basis. It also
has the potential to provide an efficient chan-
nel for advertising, marketing, and even
direct distribution of certain goods and ser-
vice. Consequently, the WWW has gradually
become one of the most popular technologies
in business community.
Because so much attention has been drawn
to the WWW as a commercial medium, the
Web citizens have devised at least five types of
Web site classifications. These are:
1 commerce;
2 promotion;
3 content;
4 corporate information;
5 search agent.
Commerce sites, or the so-called online store-
fronts are the Web’s version of stores we see
in real life. They offer direct sales via an
electronic catalog or some other, more innov-
ative format. Consumers can order goods by
filling out forms, using 800 numbers, or regu-
lar snail mails. This type of Web site repre-
sents a combination of direct marketing and
in-store shopping. In this environment, there
are tremendous opportunities for customiz-
ing the shopping experience and enhancing
public relationships.
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