How Does a Pandemic Disrupt the Benefits of eCommerce? A Case Study of Small and Medium Enterprises in the US

Abstract

Inspired by the ongoing disruption to businesses across the world, this research focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the contribution of eCommerce to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our study seeks to establish an eCommerce-driven response to this natural disruption, by asking the questions; How do eCommerce platforms impact SMEs? How does eCommerce affect an SME’s three major business functions during a global disruption? We employ a qualitative case study method, using interviews as our primary data source, along with secondary data from industry and company records. We discuss these case studies through the framework of the actor network theory (ANT), identifying eCommerce and other platforms that SMEs use as actors in their network. We interviewed eight SMEs involved in the physical sale and distribution of consumer goods, each of which had been operating for at least two years and had a maximum of 70 employees. On average, we found that 44% of the SMEs in this study benefitted from using eCommerce in key business areas, with 46% improving their operations, 47% improving sales and marketing, and 39% improving finance. We also found that SME adoption of eCommerce during the pandemic grew in response to these benefits. Of the eight companies we studied, four had begun developing full eCommerce operations and three more planned to develop them as the global situation further normalizes.