Executive Decisions about Website Adoption in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

A model of website adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is developed by considering literature supporting electronic commerce adoption and electronic data interchange adoption. A survey of 89 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without websites was used to test a model hypothesizing relationships among: perceived benefits, perceived pressure, organizational readiness and intent to adopt a website. Survey findings indicate perceived benefits (strategic and informational), organizational readiness (IT resources) and internal pressure directly affect intent to adopt a website (R=.36). An analysis of interviews conducted with late adopters and non-adopters 18 months after the survey support the findings. Interestingly, financial resources and external pressure were not found to be significantly influential. The findings provide guidance for practitioners working with SMEs and policy makers interested in increasing SME website adoption.