Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P108 pptx

1004 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups to changing conditions than larger organisations D Q GW RI X U W K H UEHQ H ¿WI U R PWKH V S HHGD Q G ÀH [ L EL O LW \  that the electronic environment offers (Stockdale & Standing, 2004). E-commerce, for many SMEs, is manifested in Web sites, which are viewed as providing the most value within an inherently mar- NHWLQJGULYHQFRQWH[W0F&XH3ÀXJKRHIW 5DPDPXUWK\6RR¿<DVDL$UGHNDQL)DWHPDK 2003; Quinton & Harridge-March, 2003; Ray- mond, 2001; Sellitto, Wenn, & Burgess, 2003; Sparkes & Thomas, 2001; Standing, Vasudavan, & Borbely, 1998). Many SMEs initially adopt the Internet for business use as a tool for e-mail and VXU¿QJWKH:RUOG:LGH:HE+RZHYHU:HEVLWH adoption takes this Internet adoption to a higher level by requiring the SME to register a URL and develop a Web site, which can be accessed by visitors globally. This Web site adoption, in turn, will be at different levels at any particular point in time in terms of its sophistication and relevance to target customers. SMEs are adopting e-commerce for market- ing, promoting, buying and selling of goods and services electronically. In particular, this is carried out as a new way of transacting business and encompasses various aspects of Internet use. This involves virtual store fronts that are sites for shopping and making purchases, exchange of data and e-mail. There is also business-to-business buying and selling and the need for the security of data handling and transactions (Van Ketel & Nelson, 1998). In these terms, Forrester Research  ZKLFKLVDQLQGHSHQGHQWUHVHDUFK¿UP GH¿QHVHFRPPHUFHDV³WKHWUDGLQJRIJRRGVDQG VHUYLFHVLQZKLFKWKH¿QDORUGHULVSODFHGRYHU the Internet” (p. 1). It is evident that a growing number of SMEs are accessing the Internet for their business and to reach new customers. It may seem intuitive to conclude that larger companies with greater levels of expertise and resources would appear to be in a much stronger position to implement e-commerce strategies. Indeed, Smyth and Ibbotson (2001) found that smaller businesses exhibited much lower rates of e-commerce adop- tion than larger companies. Development of ap- propriate skills, investment in staff training and poor knowledge of the Internet adoption process KDYHEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDVFHQWUDOEDUULHUVWRe-com- merce diffusion (Smyth et al., 2001). However, 60(,QWHUQHWFRPSHWHQFLHVKDYHEHHQLGHQWL¿HG and studied by McGowan, Durkin, Allen, Dougan, and Nixon (2001). They contend that Internet technology can be a facilitator of SME relation- ships through its ability to transfer information EHWZHHQWKHPDQGRWKHU¿UPVLQDQHWZRUN%\ creating Internet-based competencies, a SME can potentially transcend traditional business barri- ers such as physical distance between markets DQGWKXVDOORZLQJPRUHHIIHFWLYHDQGHI¿FLHQW interactions within the network. To facilitate this process, McGowan et al. (2001) postulate that a broad range of skills will be essential in enabling it to happen. Knowledge of the medium will be important as well as the vision to predict its usefulness in future business strategies, and the ability to translate the vision into actual proac- tive business practice. Technological awareness of how Internet technology operates will also be essential within the process. A survey, conducted by the Arthur Anderson Enterprise Group and the National Small Business United (1998), reported that e-mail and research are the most popular use of the Internet amongst SMEs. In the survey it was found that SMEs used a Web site in order to reach new and potential customers (78%), sell goods and services (65%), provide information PRUHHI¿FLHQWO\UHDFKQHZSURVSHFWLYH employees (13%) and expand globally (17%). Potential entrepreneurs can be discouraged from setting up ventures in the global market place because of the many complexities and barriers that appear to reduce their chances of success. Through the use of Web sites many of these barriers can be overcome. By performing case study interviews this chapter provides a detailed understanding of the role of Web sites and e-commerce for global KLJKHUHGXFDWLRQVSLQRIIV7KHUHLVDQLGHQWL¿FD- WLRQRIWKHVSHFL¿FSUREOHPVHQFRXQWHUHGDQGWKH 1005 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups key Internet factors, which have helped them to succeed, based upon the university and regional support available. The six case study interviews, described, lasted about one hour each and were centred on three key elements: 1. The company:3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGRI the spin-off’s Web site, e-commerce devel- opment and major milestones 2. The university: Analysis of the technology WUDQVIHURI¿FH772LQWKHGHYHORSPHQWRI the Web site, e-commerce and internation- alisation 3. The region: Regional infrastructure Web site and e-commerce support and interna- tionalisation The key results, evidence, and experience from the empirical case study research highlight clear and precise reasons for the development of Web sites and e-commerce by the global start- ups. The limitations of the results are that they report early stage development of Web sites and e-commerce by global start-ups. It is planned to undertake follow-up interviews in future years to develop a longitudinal study. There are important implications of the study for entrepreneurs, policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and educators IRUWKHVSHFL¿F¿HOGRIHFRPPHUFHGHYHORSPHQWV for global start-ups. BACKGROUND The increasing importance and role of Web-based technologies to support company operations (e-business) is widely acknowledged by both practitioners and academicians. A number of studies have appeared in the management litera- ture, trying to describe and better understand the e-business phenomenon. One of the key points WKDWKDYHEHHQFODUL¿HGLVWKDWWKHFRQFHSWRIH business itself is rather wide, since it includes a number of different applications and uses of the Internet technology. $PRQJ WKH SRVVLEOH FODVVL¿FDWLRQ GLPHQ- sions, a relevant one is based on the process supported by Internet tools. For example, supply chain management refers to the management of different processes, such as customer relation- ship management, customer service, demand management, order management, production and PDWHULDOÀRZVDQGSXUFKDVLQJ/DPEHUW&RRSHU & Pagh, 1998). In this context, e-business could EHFODVVL¿HGDV • E-commerce (Brynjolfsson & Smith, 2000): Support to sales, distribution and customer service processes • E-procurement (De Boer, Harink, & Heijboer, 2002): Support to sourcing, pro- FXUHPHQWWHQGHULQJDQGRUGHUIXO¿OPHQW processes • E-manufacturing (Kehoe & Boughton, 2001): Supporting demand and capacity planning, forecasting and internal supply chain integration Three phases of Internet use, which SMEs go through as their e-commerce involvement develops, are described as connectivity, customer relations, and commerce (Ng, Pan, & Wilson, 1998; YG, 1998;). The three phases are seen as the building blocks of e-commerce (Williams & Phillips, 1999), as shown in Figure 1 (based on von Goeler, 1998). The three phases towards e-commerce can be described as follows: • Brochure-ware sites: Enterprises use their Web sites for product/service advertisement, gather information, and improve services through customer feedback forms. Such enterprises need to install electronic tech- nology to sell goods over the World Wide Web. 1006 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups • Pre-commerce sites: Enterprises are able to provide information on price for immediate orders from their Web sites. But they do not carry out online point-of-sale transactions, although they keep their site current. • Simple e-commerce sites: Enterprises ac- cept orders and payments over the Web. Customers have developed a behavioural sequence to online shopping. Indeed, Forrester Research (1998) has divided the online retail mar- ket into the three categories of convenience items, replenishment goods, and research purchases. Convenience items are low cost discretionary items such as books, clothes and music. Replen- ishment goods are medium cost high frequency purchases like groceries. Research purchases are information driven and cost more than the other two categories and include planned purchases such as cars, computers and airline tickets. The )RUUHVWHU5HVHDUFKVWXG\IRXQGWKDW¿UVW time buyers usually bought convenience items and that it took around one year for online shoppers to move to a further category. Internet sales have shown a fast growth in books, cars, computers, and software (USDoC, 1998). Important players in this growth are online entrepreneurs (Simons, 1999). Whereas some SMEs have been early adopters of e-commerce, others have lagged behind in establishing the ability to sell their products and services over the Internet (Williams et al., 1999). In fact, SMEs have been slower than large businesses in embrac- ing e-commerce (Mehling, 1998). Even though the number of SMEs using the Internet is rising there are a number of obstacles to their use of HFRPPHUFH6SHFL¿FDOO\60(VDUHSDUWLFXODUO\ constrained by resource factors, and are there- fore more sensitive than larger organisations to e-commerce adoption costs (Lewis & Cockrill, 2002; Smith & Webster, 2000). If there is no FOHDUEHQH¿WLQ:HEVLWHDGRSWLRQIRUH[DPSOH within resource constraints, SMEs will be more constrained in adoption than a larger company who will have more latitude to experiment (Jones, Muir, & Benyon-Davies, 2004). However, on a m o r e c a u t i o n a r y n o t e , S a d o w s k i e t a l . (2 0 0 2) a r g u e that over-concentration on perceived costs/bar- riers has prevented many SMEs from properly H[SORULQJWKHEHQH¿WVZKLFKFRXOGEHH[WUDFWHG from e-commerce adoption, resulting in adoption which is opportunistic, rather than being based on a clear perception of its potential value. Es- VHQWLDOO\E\FOHDUO\H[SORULQJERWKWKHEHQH¿WV and the barriers, a SME can more effectively perceive the value of e-commerce within their Figure 1. Phases in the development of e-commerce for SME Web sites (Adapted from von Goeler, 1998) Phases Information exchange Web site development Connectivity Product/Service and Enterprise Information Customer Feedback Forms Brochure-ware sites Customer Connections Online catalogue Pre E-Commerce sites E-Commerce Online ordering Online payment Simple E-Commerce sites 1007 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups business context. Quayle (2001), who explores perception and level of implementation of e-com- merce, has eloquently described the e-commerce challenge for SMEs. Results of a survey of 298 VPDOO¿UPVZHUHXVHGWRLGHQWLI\EDUULHUVIDFHG by these enterprises and he suggests paths, which might be followed in seeking to achieve best in class performance for e-commerce. In order to overcome the barriers to e-commerce, the e-commerce ladder has been developed which involves step 0 (not started), step 1 (using e-mail and the Web), step 2 (basic Web site), step 3 (an effective Web site), step 4 (an online store), step 5 (integration), and step 6 (advanced e-commerce) (Opportunity Wales, 2007). In relation to this the chapter proposes the e-commerce stairway as a method of measuring the type of e-commerce adopted by case companies (Figure 2). SMEs rely on knowing customer needs and build business processes and quality control around communications. A major concern is that the loss of customer contact may lead to a lower quality of service, and there may be customer resistance to product price at the point of transac- tion. Low technology enterprises, in contrast to high tech businesses, will have concerns about online sales and e-commerce (von Goeler, 1998). Most SMEs recognise the importance of selling on the Internet as being important in the future (Williams et al., 1999). It is the proposition of this chapter that, because of the increasing importance of SMEs being able to sell their products and ser- vices over the internet, it is necessary for regional governments to develop an e-commerce policy, particularly as affects global start-ups, to ensure the future competitiveness of their regions. GLOBAL START-UPS’ WEB SITES AND E-COMMERCE Rialp-Criado, Rialp-Criado, and Knight (2002) noted several key driving forces behind the emergence of global start-ups as well as their age, LQGXVWU\DI¿OLDWLRQH[SRUWEHKDYLRXUDQGSHUIRU- mance, geographic distribution, (rise in) number and size. In addition, international operations from the start-up of the business have been seen to be important. General consensus has provided that WKHXQGHUO\LQJQRWLRQDQGWKHRUHWLFDOGH¿QLWLRQ of the global start-up phenomenon perceives them DV\RXQJHQWUHSUHQHXULDO¿UPVHQJDJHGLQLQWHU- national business from inception (Rialp-Criado et al., 2002). On the one hand, researchers have considered a six-year period as the standard in measuring international operations from the start- up of the business (Oviatt & McDougall, 1997). On the other hand, academics have selected other FULWHULDWRHPSLULFDOO\GH¿QHWKHglobal start-ups being analysed. Rennie (1993) has reported that Step 6: Full e-commerce Step 5: Integration Step 4: On-line store Step 3: Operational Web site Step 2: Web site Step 1: E-mail & the Web No e-commerce activity Figure 2. The e-commerce stairway 1008 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups ¿U PVEHJDQH[SRU WL QJW ZR\HD UVDI WH UIRXQG DWLRQ on average and realised 76% of their total sales E\ H[SRUWLQJ 2WKHU DXWKRUV KDYH GH¿QHG WKLV according to foreign sales of 25% or more after starting exporting activities and within three years of birth (Knight & Cavusgil, 1996; Madsen, Rasmussen, & Servais, 2000; Servais & Rasmus- sen, 2000). By describing, understanding, and interpreting the reasons behind the emergence of global start-ups it is possible to gain insight into their needs for IT support provision. Interestingly, according to Rialp-Criado et al. (2002), much of the present literature about global start-ups has been assumed to be concerned with high tech businesses, considering the globalisation aspects SUHVHQWLQVHFWRUVZLWKLQZKLFKWKHVH¿UPVFRP- pete (Autio & Sapienza, 2000; Autio, Sapienza, & Almeida, 2000; Bell, 1995; Burgel & Murray, 2000; Coviello & Munro, 1995; McDougall & Oviatt, 1996; Roberts & Senturia, 2000; Zahira, Ireland, & Hitt, 2000). According to Rialp-Criado et al. (2002), the top ten characteristics considered as critical suc- cess factors (CSFs) for global start-ups (not in rank order) are: • Managerial global vision from inception. • High degree of previous international experience on behalf of managers. • Management commitment. • Strong use of personal and business networks (networking). • Market knowledge and market commitment. • Unique intangible assets based on knowledge management. • High value creation through product differentiation, leading edge technology products, technological innovativeness (usually associated with a greater use of IT), and quality leadership. • Niche focussed, proactive international strategy in geographically spread lead markets around the World from the very beginning.  1DUURZO\GH¿QHGFXVWRPHUJURXSVZLWK strong customer orientation and close customer relationships. • Flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing external conditions and circumstances (Rialp-Criado et al, 2002, p. 25-26). Further to this, Rialp-Criado et al. (2002) from their research into twenty seven of the most important studies in the decade 1993-2002, which consider global start-ups amongst other forms of these types of businesses, say that hav- LQJLGHQWL¿HGH[DPLQHGDQGFULWLFDOO\DVVHVVHG these studies they have been able to formulate an adequate observation of the state of the art of WKLVLPSRUWDQWUHVHDUFKDUHDZLWKLQWKH¿HOGRI international entrepreneurship (IE). According to Wakkee, van der Sijde, and Kir- wan (2003), global start-ups are described in the literature as perfect examples of entrepreneurial ventures and therefore need to be investigated from an entrepreneurial perspective. They go on WRVD\WKDWWKHFRQFH SWRIJOREDOVW DU WXSZDV¿U VW mentioned in a paper by Mamis (1989). At about the same time, Ray (1989) undertook four cases for which the term global start-up was used. Following WKLVWKHWHUPJOREDOVWDUWXSZDVGH¿QHGE\2YLDWW DQG0F'RXJDOO³DVRQHWKDWVHHNVWRGHULYH VL J Q L ¿F D QW F RP SH W LW L YH D GY D QW D JH I U RP H [W H Q VLY H co-ordination along multiple organisational ac- tivities, the location of which is geographically unlimited” (p. 59-60). Wakkee et al. (2003) add WKDWWKHVH¿UPVGRQRWRQO\UHVSRQGWRJOREDOPDU- ket conditions, they also act to acquire resources and sell wherever in the World there is the largest value. Since Oviatt and McDougall (1994, 1995) the term global start-up has been referred to by Harveston (2000), Madsen and Servais (1997), and Saarenketo (2002). Furthermore, Rasmussen and Madsen (2002) have suggested that they are the only type of international new venture. Wakkee HWDOKDYHVDLGWKDW³DJOREDOVWDUWXSLVWKH 1009 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups most radical manifestation of the international new venture"(pp. 6-7). According to Wakkee et al (2003), from their discussion of the literature on WKHGH¿QLWLRQRIDglobal start-up¿YHUHOHYDQW characteristics are apparent, and these are: 1. The diversity or scope of the international activities 2. The company age 3. The timing of international activities (time to entry) 4. The global diversity of the international activities 5. The purpose of the international activities (strategic choice) (Wakkee et al., 2003, p. 13). In fact, they say that the nature of the opportu- nity differences global start-ups from other types of start-ups since the opportunity is a global one. )URPWKLV:DNNHHHWDOGH¿QHDJOREDO start-up as: A new venture that from its inception (“opportu- nity recognition”) seeks to pursue opportunities wherever they arise (i.e., global or in an unlimited number of countries around the world), it coordi- nates multiple activities in the value chain through the interaction with network actors around the World. The entrepreneur(ial team) leading the ¿UPLV LQWHUQDWLRQDOO\H[SHULHQFHG DQGVNLOOHG (Wakkee et al., 2003, p. 14). They go on to say that global start-ups are characterised by high levels of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) although originally developed by Lumpkin and Dess (1996) and Lumpkin (1998) IRUHVWDEOLVKHG¿UPVZKHQFRQVLGHUHGIRUJOREDO start-ups they exhibit high levels of EO. In these terms, Wakkee et al. (2003), bring together the descriptions of global start-ups and, describe them DV³DQHQWUHSUHQHXULDO¿UPWKDWOLWHUDOO\IURPLWV inception is involved in a variety of international activities around the World” (Wakkee et al., 2003, p. 28). The case studies selected are spin-offs, from a new university, which are believed to have global potential and exhibit differing states of technological innovativeness. Those that have been selected are university spin-offs operating in the global market or with a global potential. Founders, closely involved with the spin-offs from establishment until now, have been interviewed. No restrictions have been placed with regard to the spin-off age and industry. Although, it is the case that spin-offs running for a number of years will provide more valuable information about their IT development than those only recently founded. For spin-offs in existence for many years it may be GLI¿FXOWWR¿QGDIRXQGHUZKRKDVEHHQLQYROYHG with the business since the original idea. It might DOVREHPRUHGLI¿FXOWIRUWKHVHSHRSOHWRUHPHPEHU WKH VSHFL¿F SUREOHPV HQFRXQWHUHG LQWKHHDUO\ stages of the IT development of the spin-off. The spinout managers (see http://www.spinoutwales. co.uk/man.htmlLGHQWL¿HGWKHLQWHUHVWLQJVSLQRII cases and provided contact names for interviews. 7KH\DOVRDSSURDFKHGWKHFRPSDQLHVLQWKH¿UVW instance to gain their support. The stages of development of the case study companies have been measured against the e-commerce ladder (Opportunity Wales, 2007). GLOBAL START-UPS: CASE STUDIES Described next are the six global start-up case studies, which were investigated, and these reveal different characteristics and aspects for Web site development and e-commerce activity. Perhaps the main limitation is that most of the companies are in the early stage of IT and business development, but it is envisaged that this work will be developed into a longitudinal study, which will show interesting evolutionary Web site and e-commerce dynamics 1010 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups in future years. Due to the sensitive nature and stage of their development all the companies have been referred to anonymously. Consultancy Services 3UR¿OHDQG%DFNJURXQGWRWKH Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce Development The consultancy services (CS) company founded in January 2004 as a University spinout, com- menced trading in January 2005 to assist organi- sations access European Union (EU) funding in RUGHUWRLPSOHPHQWVSHFL¿FSURMHFWVLQDFFRUGDQFH with regulations accompanying the use of funds. In particular, the Internet has been used to interact with organisations who, as the customers, need to access EU funds. This has been taken into account in the company’s overall marketing strategy and e-business strategy. Services involve a range of training courses that cover all aspects of European Union (EU) funded projects, including State Aid Rules and Public Procurement Directive. CS has a team of Prince 2 practitioners and freelance FRQVXOWDQWV7DEOHVXPPDULVHVWKHSUR¿OHDQG background of the company. The company has grown on an incremental basis and this followed a long period of time to receive approval with the University. The con- struction of the Web site took six months and this was achieved on 1 st March 2005. The company has won a number of contracts and this has therefore not been an issue. It has also been important to have clients returning and to draw on their exper- tise. There are six current clients including public sector and voluntary organisations. Development of the Web Site and E-Commerce To a large extent the company has relied on public support, through the Spinout programme, in its early stage development. The founder has been VDWLV¿HGZLWKWKHXQLYHUVLW\VXSSRUWWKDWKDVEHHQ provided and the company has received £30,000 from its activities, which has included grant aid to pay for the Web site and employees’ wages that have been subcontracted from the Univer- sity Commercial Services Company to carry out work. Whilst these staff have been undertaking this work the company has been making money and this has been found to be a good arrange- ment. Support through the Spinout programme to set up the business plan was slow and it was not proactive. This could have been undertaken in a month, rather then six or seven months, if more advice had been provided at the start. As part of the business plan the Founder is hoping to recruit a partner to drive the business forward off campus so that he can retain his position on campus. 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGFRQVXOWDQF\VHUYLFHV 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQG²consultancy services %ULHIRYHUYLHZRIWKH¿UP¶VDFWLYLWLHVLWVPLVVLRQDQGIRFXV Industry European Project Management Technology Project Management software Product/service Training and consultancy Market and targeted customers Wales, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria and other European countries Company’s current mission and focus To develop the company at a European level over the next three years. 1011 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups Web Site and E-Commerce Support A spinout loan has been secured and there has been an undergraduate working with the company for 10 weeks. Additionally, the company has been assigned a mentor to develop a strategy to make a ¿UVWFRQWDFWDQGUHFHLYHDFRQWUDFWLQ3RODQG The company has also received grant aid to develop the Web site. There has been an additional £750 provided for a Web site psychologist to at- tract customers through the Web site. Regarding the potential role played by the Internet, since the company has been trading for less than two years, it is yet to be seen if the results of the company, LQWHUPVRIUHYHQXHSUR¿WQXPEHUVRIVWDIIDQG customers, generated through its Web site, are on target when compared with the original business plan. In terms of the e-commerce ladder, the company is at step 3 of development. Energy Management Systems 3UR¿OHDQG%DFNJURXQGWRWKH Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce Development Energy management systems (EMS) was launched in January 2005 as a spinout company. The focus of the company is to reduce utility costs and to provide customised online utility information regarding these costs and to ensure that they remain low. The company works with customers to provide a full energy/utility service ranging from fuel purchasing, meter installation, advanced monitoring and targeting to project engineering and information technology (IT) solutions. In its early stages the company received public support through the Spinout programme and more recent developments have been resourced by the foud- ners. In addition to IT and software developments, EMS undertakes remote analysis of customers’ consumption patterns and works closely with cli- ents to achieve reduced costs. The company aims to be a professional service provider by establish- ing trust through building personal relationships with customers over the Internet. This has been LQFOXGHGLQWKH¿UP¶VRYHUDOOPDUNHWLQJDQGH business strategy. Through this trust it enables EMS to work with customers, employing the most appropriate technology to gain outstand- ing results. The products and services provided include metering hardware and connectivity; IT support, hosting, VDN and networking; installa- tion of metering hardware and network cabling; installation of gas, water and steam meters; Web design, Web development and consultancy. Table VXPPDULVHVWKHSUR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGRIWKH company. Development of the Web Site and E-Commerce The reasons why customers have chosen EMS for their energy system requirements are because they have energy bills over £100,000, require a rebate, have experienced a large rise in energy bills, want to improve their bottom line for little capital outlay and are concerned about the environ- ment. Additionally, technical reasons for choosing EMS include their unique and advanced .Net Web management system, advanced statistical process control and proactive alarming, secure VPN data connectivity to each company, customisable re- porting, visualisation, and an exceptional range of business patterns and support. Also, the company is one of the few organisations that offer a full energy management service remotely. So far there have been four pilot customers. Web Site and E-Commerce Support With the company Web site, it is possible to log on from anywhere and it provides online real- time monitoring. Through the Web site it will be possible to market the company internationally. Due to the importance of this, the founders have allocated money in the business plan to update 1012 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups the site since it will be the main marketing tool. Again, since the company has been trading for less than two years it is yet to be seen if the re- VXOWVRIWKHFRPSDQ\LQWHUPVRIUHYHQXHSUR¿W numbers of staff and customers, generated through its Web site, are on target. According to the e- commerce ladder, the company is again at step 3 of development. Literary Book Publishing 3UR¿OHDQG%DFNJURXQGWRWKH Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce Development Literary Book Publishing (LBP) was launched and registered, as a limited company in May 2001 as a spinout company from the university with public support through the Spinout programme. The company publishes short stories by authors in a small book format and provides retailing through coffee shops, tearooms, restaurants, and hotels. The books are being marketed, over the Internet, to customers in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (U.S.) initially and the English speaking world due to the co-founders’ business partner being American. This role of the Inter- net has been included in the company’s overall marketing and e-business strategy. Other markets and languages will be considered later. There is a three-year business plan targeting sales in the 8.DQG86$IRUWKH¿UVWWKUHH\HDUV7KHVSLQ off is linked to the University since both of the co-founders are graduates of the English Depart- ment Centre for Creative Writing. This provides a link with academics and a network of authors. The co-founders are MPhil students from the 8QLYHUVLW\7DEOHVXPPDULVHVWKHSUR¿OHDQG background of the company. Development of the Web Site and E-Commerce The initial markets are in the UK and U.S. to be followed internationally. Work with partners LV¿QLWHIRULQWHUQDWLRQDOGLVWULEXWLRQ2QFHWKH product is proved LBP will approach international chains such as Marks and Spencer. As a small start-up company they are not ready to sell to Marks and Spencer who have 6 warehouses and 140 coffee shops in the UK. The large international chain stores will consider the product once it is proven. A contact for London and Cambridge has taken the books to shops that are willing to pay a higher price. The product will sell better in the South East of England and it is hoped that this will be the case with international markets. The company organised a short story competition for authors on its Web site for the winners and UXQQHUVXSWR KDYHWKHLU¿UVWERRNV SXEOLVKHG There are also competitions for poetry and writ- ing for children. 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGHQHUJ\PDQDJHPHQWV\VWHPV 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQG²energy management systems %ULHIRYHUYLHZRIWKH¿UP¶VDFWLYLWLHVLWVPLVVLRQDQGIRFXV Industry Energy Technology Energy management technology Product/service .Net Web management system Market and targeted customers Public, private and leisure organisations Company’s current mission and focus To maintain and consolidate company activities over the next ¿YH\HDUV 1013 The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups Web Site and E-Commerce Support Networks are important to the business on a na- tional level and to grow internationally. The power of the Web is also important and the company Web site has been set up to give creditability, publicise the competitions and people have been referred to the site for information. Since no one had heard of the company this was important. The Web site involves graphics and the competition had a good response. Another Web site is being constructed to complement the current site, which provides information about the company in order to sell books online. This will develop the current four pages into a 16-page site with online ordering. It is envisaged that this potential role of the Internet DQGWKHFRPSDQ\¶V:HEVLWHZLOOKDYHDVLJQL¿FDQW impact, on how the company will grow since IRXQGLQJLQWHUPVRIUHYHQXHSUR¿WQXPEHUVRI staff and customers. The company is moving from step 3 to step 4 of the e-commerce ladder. Mobile Phone Security 3UR¿OHDQG%DFNJURXQGWRWKH Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce Development The mobile phone security (MPS) company is a spinout of the university with limited public support through the spinout programme. It was formed in 2004 by the founder who as an un- dergraduate developed a unique patent pending software application, which overcomes password protection technology limitations. The application is different to existing mobile security software since it is undetectable. This provides high levels of data security since there is no evidence that data is hidden. Once the application is installed in a mobile phone it creates a second menu for XVHUVWRVWRUHFRQ¿GHQWLDOFRQWDFWLQIRUPDWLRQ RI¿FHGRFXPHQWVSLFWXUHVRUYLGHR¿OHV7KHVH are safe since there is no trace of the second menu, which is not visible in the event of unauthorised use, theft, or loss. Since the menu mirrors stan- dard phone functionality it is easy for the user to navigate requiring little effort to learn. Since the take up of 3G services has not been as strong as the industry forecast companies are looking for third party content to differentiate between their own and competitors’ service and product offerings. This will result in third party software developers such as MPS to be in a strong position. It is envisaged that the primary route to the OEM market will be through regional licens- ing agreements with major network operators. Through the pre-installation of the software in phones this will enable users to experience the software application and will allow the encour- agement of new potential users through direct marketing by the network operators. In order to encourage new users to adopt the service the try before you buy approach is a powerful tactic. 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGOLWHUDU\ERRNSXEOLVKLQJ 7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQG²literary book publishing %ULHIRYHUYLHZRIWKH¿UP¶VDFWLYLWLHVLWVPLVVLRQDQGIRFXV Industry Book Publishing Technology Book publishing graphic design technology Product/service A6 pocket sized books Market and targeted customers UK, USA and the English speaking world Company’s current mission and focus To develop the company in the book publishing trade over the next three years. . software Product/service Training and consultancy Market and targeted customers Wales, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria and other European countries Company’s current mission and focus To develop. gain outstand- ing results. The products and services provided include metering hardware and connectivity; IT support, hosting, VDN and networking; installa- tion of metering hardware and network. order to reach new and potential customers (78%), sell goods and services (65%), provide information PRUHHI¿FLHQWOUHDFKQHZSURVSHFWLYH employees (13%) and expand globally (17%).