An Exploratory Study on Small Business Website Creation and Usage

Abstract

This study aims at exploring the factors related to the implementation of E-commerce websites by small business owners. While large organizations often consider E-commerce as a fundamental piece of their business strategy, small businesses place varying degrees of importance on E-commerce as a strategic tool to business success. Through a survey of small businesses, this study examines the creation and usage of E-commerce websites for small businesses. For companies with only a web presence, as well as for companies with an E-commerce website, the top two reasons for an E-commerce website identified by respondents of this study are to increase the profits of the company and to increase the market share. The study also found that factors such as lack of management support and costs greater than benefits were not detrimental to the decision to implement an E-commerce solution. Additional factors motivating small businesses to create and use E-commerce websites include the ability to better respond to customer demands and increased profits as a result of having E-commerce websites. This study contributes to the E-commerce literature by highlighting motivations of small business owners as they consider implementing E-commerce solutions.