Perceived Benefits and Barriers of e-Business Technology Adoption: An Exploratory Study of the Victorian SME Suppliers

Adoption of e-business technologies among Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) has enormous potentials. However, much of the current e-business literature to date concentrates on adoption concerns from SME buyers’ perspective, little research has so far been reported from the viewpoint of SME suppliers. Participation of SME suppliers needs to be ensured in order to exploit the full potential of e-business technologies. This study was thus initiated to identify the perceived benefits and barriers to adoption of e-business technologies from the viewpoint of a group SME suppliers which are registered with a large city council located in the state of Victoria, Australia. The overall findings indicate that the SME suppliers have a broader view of e-business benefits than just cost saving. The suppliers also have experienced numerous impediments that they need to overcome for the successful implementation of e-business technologies.