Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P148 pptx

1404 A Community Web Site Initiative Internet, including particularly the IT already in place, and the IT skills in existence in the organi- VDWLRQ0HKUWHQVHWDO([WHUQDOLQÀXHQFHV have also been found to be important, and might include demands from customers and/or suppliers (Mehrtens et al., 2001), governmental pressure, and/or pressure from competitors (Scupola, 2003). Drawing on research undertaken to date into the IDFWRUV LQÀXHQFLQJ ,QWHUQHW DGRSWLRQ LQ VPDOO businesses, the present study seeks to identify the reasons underlying the decision to participate in a community Web site project, and comparisons DUHPDGHZLWKWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKHDIRUHPHQWLRQHG investigations. 8QGHUWKHVHFRQGWKHPHRIEHQH¿WVGHULYHG from Internet adoption, it has been reported that small businesses have been slow to realise WDQJLEOHEHQH¿WVEXWFRQWLQXHWRXVHWKH,QWHU- QHWLQDQWLFLSDWLRQRIIXWXUHEHQH¿WVUHDOLVDWLRQ (Daniel & Wilson, 2002; Poon & Swatman, 1999). ,Q WKLV VWXG\ WKH EHQH¿WV EHLQJ UHDOLVHG IURP participation in the community Web site project are considered, and comparisons are made with H[LVWLQJOLWHUDWXUHRQVPDOOEXVLQHVVEHQH¿WVRI Internet adoption. In studies undertaken under the third theme of approaches to Internet adoption, it is widely acknowledged that small businesses tend to be- gin by adopting relatively non-complex Internet applications (such as electronic mail or a basic information-only Web site), and then progress to more complex applications (such as online ordering and payment facilities) depending on the needs of the business. In some literature, a linear progression is envisaged (Daniel et al., 2002; DTI, ZKLOHRWKHUVDOORZIRU³leapfrogging” of Internet applications as appropriate to the busi- ness, suggesting instead a nonlinear approach to adoption (Rao et al., 2003). In the present study, an effort is made to determine the nature of each business’ Internet adoption pathway and to ascertain at what point in that pathway their participation in the community Web site project occurred. The study further examines the impact of participation in the community Web site project on the subsequent Internet adoption behaviour of each small business. 'UDZLQJRQWKHSURFHHGLQJWKHPHVLGHQWL¿HG in the literature, the objectives of the present study are, in summary, to: • Establish the motivations of the small busi - nesses in the village for participating in the online business directory component of the community Web site project and to ascer- tain the point in those businesses’ Internet adoption pathway that participation in the project took place;  'HWHUPLQHWKHEHQH¿WVEHLQJGHULYHGIURP their participation in the project; • Identify any problems they have encountered as a result of their participation; • Establish the impacts their participation has had, or is having, on their further Internet adoption plans and decisions. In pursuing these objectives, it is anticipated WKDWWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKHVWXG\ZLOOPDNHDWLPHO\ and relevant contribution to existing understand- ing of small business Internet adoption decisions and processes, especially those studies that have considered the routes to Internet adoption behav- LR XU DQ GRX WF RPH V 0R UH RYH U WK H¿ QG L QJV VKR XOG  be of value to other small businesses, as well as to those developing models of Internet adoption pathways to provide guidance and advice to small businesses. OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY WEB SITE As indicated in the introduction to this chapter, the community Web site under investigation aims to provide an opportunity for business and local community / charitable organisations (e.g., youth clubs, volunteer groups, churches, and so on) to promote their products, services, and/or 1405 A Community Web Site Initiative activities to the population of a village in the UK. This community Web site project forms parts of a wider community initiative to foster closer social bonds within the village and to encourage active participation of villagers in local activities, as well as to stimulate villagers’ support for local business and service enterprises. In cases where individual organisations in the village have their own Web site, then links are provided to these from the community site. In this respect, the site functions like a Web portal. Features of the community Web site include ar- chives of news of past events in the village, and an online discussion facility for villagers to express their views on local matters and exchange ideas. In addition, the site contains information about local community service facilities (e.g., health and welfare provision) and updates on local political and council matters. As well as the aforementioned features, the site contains an online directory of businesses based in the village. This directory is organised thematically, including, for example, sections for retail organisations, building and house mainte- nance enterprises, and private health and welfare providers. Each entry in the directory includes the name of the business, its postal address, other contact details (e.g., e-mail address, where avail- able), a link to the business’ own Web site (if it has one), and a brief summary of what the enterprise offers in the way of products and/or services. It is this online business directory component of the community Web site that forms the focus of the present study. Funding for the village community Web site is obtained from a variety of sources, notably through sponsorship from some local businesses and the local council. Funds are also generated from annual subscription fees paid by some local UHVLGHQWVIRUD³SHUVRQDOLVHG´HPDLODGGUHVVDQG mail forwarding service. No charge is levied for local businesses to have an entry placed in the online business directory, and participation in the directory is operated on a voluntary opt-in basis. Management, maintenance and updating of the Web site is undertaken by a small team of local volunteers, with Web content being supplied, as appropriate, by various local community organi- sations and businesses. Within the village community, comprising some 5,000 residents, the community Web site supplements an existing (paper-based) village magazine, distributed quarterly to the 2,000 or so households in the village. RESEARCH METHOD The exploratory nature of the empirical research conducted in the course of the present study favoured the case study approach (Yin, 1994). The unit of analysis in the study was the small business. The sampling frame for this study comprised the 77 small businesses listed in the online busi- ness directory on the community Web site under investigation. Each of the businesses is being contacted by telephone and invited to participate Case Type Size (employees) Date founded Case 1 Plumber 4 1952 Case 2 Childcare service provider 8 1989 Case 3 Manufacturer & distributor of baby products 12 1993 Case 4 Home interiors retail outlet 5 1984 Case 5 Optician and eyewear retail outlet 9 1988 Case 6 Furniture manufacturer & distributor 4 1996 Table 1. Small businesses participating in the study 1406 A Community Web Site Initiative in the study. To date, data have been collected and analysed from six small businesses having entries in the online business directory. Among the six businesses that have participated in the study so far, the retail, manufacturing and service sectors were represented. Table 1 provides a summary of those six participating businesses. Data were collected about the small businesses XVLQJWZRSULQFLSDOPHDQV¿UVWDQH[DPLQDWLRQ was undertaken of the entries in the online busi- ness directory, and the business’ own linked Web site was consulted (if available); and second, in- depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the owner-managers of the six participating enterprises. These interviews were conducted in mid-2004. For the interview phase of the research, an interview guide was prepared, and closely fol- lowed in each interview. A summary of the key issues discussed in the interviews is provided in Table 2. Interviews were recorded and later transcribed. To assist with accuracy, notes were also taken by the investigator during each interview. In an effort to ensure consistency and validity of ¿QGLQJVLQWHUYLHZ¿QGLQJVZHUHVXEVHTXHQWO\ cross-checked, where possible and appropriate, with the community Web site content, as well as the individual Web sites (if any) managed by the individual participating enterprises. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS As indicated in Table 1, the enterprises participat- ing in the study all fall into the small business category (i.e., having under 50 employees), and indeed all except one of them (case 3) could be classed as micro businesses, that is to say, they have under 10 employees (Curran & Blackburn, 2001; Storey, 1994). Each of the enterprises had a basic entry in the online business directory, com- prising company name, postal address, telephone number, and fax number. Those with an e-mail address also included this in their directory entry. Those with their own Web site provided a link to the site from their entry in the directory. With regard to Internet adoption, three of the small businesses already had their own Web site, one of which (case 3) was offering online ordering The structure of each interview was as follows: 1. Collection of background information about the enterprise; collection of demographic data, including levels of existing IT knowledge and skills. 2. Gathering of data regarding the enterprise’s adoption of Internet technology (e.g. e-mail usage, having own web site, offering online ordering and / or payment facilities). 3. Establishment of the motivations for requesting an entry in the online business directory on the community web site. 4. Determination of what the enterprise had anticipated gaining from having an entry in the online business directory. 5. Determination of the actual benefits being realised by the enterprise from having an entry in the online business directory. 6. Gathering data about any problems the enterprise has encountered, or is encountering, with having an entry in the online business directory. 7. Determination of the impacts the enterprise’s participation in the community web site project has had on their Internet adoption and electronic commerce activities (e.g. has it led to further adoption of Internet technologies; has participation in the community web site project deterred the enterprise from further involvement in Internet and electronic commerce-related activities?). 8. Collection of data regarding the enterprise’s future plans with regard to involvement in Internet and electronic commerce activities. 9. Opportunity for interviewee to discuss any other issues relating to the enterprise’s involvement in Internet and electronic commerce activities. Table 2. Interview guide 1407 A Community Web Site Initiative (but not online payment) facilities via the site; the other two Web sites (case 2 and case 5) were VLPSOH³LQIRUPDWLRQRQO\´RQOLQHEURFKXUHVLWHV Four of the organisations had an e-mail address which was included in their entry in the online business directory. Two out of the six enterprises (case 1 and case 4) had only their company name, address and telephone number listed in the online business directory. These two enterprises had no e-mail facilities and did not have a company Web site: their only Internet involvement was their entry in the online business directory on WKH FRPPXQLW\ :HE VLWH 7KHVH ¿QGLQJV DUH summarised in Table 3. ,QFRPSDULVRQZLWKWKH¿QGLQJVRIRWKHU studies, the levels of Internet adoption evidenced among the small businesses participating in the present study seemed to be quite typical. In SDUWLFXODUWKHODFNRI³DGYDQFHGOHYHO´,QWHUQHW adopters, offering facilities such as online pay- ment, has been found among other samples of small businesses. In their study of Australian small businesses, for example, Poon and Swatman (1999) noted that Internet adoption in each busi- ness was not very far advanced. Similarly, in their study in Singapore, Kendall et al. (2001) found widespread adoption of basic e-mail facilities and informational Web sites, but little evidence of use being made of transactional Web sites. Findings in Scupola’s (2003) study of Italian small businesses were again broadly similar. In response to questioning about their motiva- tion for participating in the community Web site SURMHFWDQGWKHEHQH¿WVWKH\EHOLHYHGWKH\ZRXOG derive from their participation, the following ¿QGLQJVZHUHREWDLQHG • All cases stated that they anticipated that their entry in the online business directory would generate sales enquiries, and they hoped, lead to increased sales or contracts for work. For those cases already operating a Web site (i.e., cases 2, 3, and 5), it was noted that a similar drive had been behind their original decision to launch a Web site for their business. This aspiration of improved VDOHVSHUIRUPDQFHDFFRUGVZLWKWKH¿QGLQJV of other studies. • For case 2, participation in the online busi - ness directory had occurred approximately two years after the launch of the company’s own Web site. For case 5, participation in the project had occurred prior to the creation of their own company Web site, and their direc- tory entry was updated with the appropriate Web site link almost as soon as their own site was launched. For case 3, involvement with the business directory occurred after the launch of their initial information-only Web site, but before the extension of their site to include online ordering facilities. Ir- respective of the point at which participation in the online business directory occurred in the Internet adoption pathways of these three businesses, a key motivational factor underlying their involvement was the antici- pation that it would help drive more visitors to their own company Web site. Moreover, they each believed that it would not only Email address Web site (date launched) Online ordering Online payment Case 1 x x x x Case 2 • • (2000) x x Case 3 • • (2002) • x Case 4 x x x x Case 5 • • (2004) x x Case 6 • x x x • • • • • • • • Table 3. Existing Internet usage 1408 A Community Web Site Initiative GULYHPRUHWUDI¿FWRWKHLURZQVLWHEXWWKDW WKLVWUDI¿FZDVOLNHO\WRFRPSULVHDKLJKHU proportion of relevant and appropriate sales enquiries. By relevant and appropriate they meant enquiries emanating from members of the local village population, rather than :HEXVHUVIURPIXUWKHUD¿HOGZKRVLPSO\ came across their company Web site via search engines and/or other Web browsing mechanisms. For cases 1 and 4, involvement in the online business directory was their only Internet involvement. In case 6, their only other Internet adoption prior to the in- volvement in the online business directory, was the use of electronic mail. • All of the cases indicated that one attrac - tion of the online business directory was that it provided them with a low-risk, no cost opportunity to promote their products and/or services among the inhabitants of the local community. Cases 4 and 6 deemed this to be a particularly important issue as the directory gave them the opportunity to experiment with Internet usage (and most especially the use of a Web site) and assess its value to their individual businesses. The owner of case 4 elaborated on this issue by suggesting that whilst government and busi- ness support initiatives existed to provide ¿QDQFLDODQGWHFKQLFDODVVLVWDQFHWRVPDOO businesses wanting to adopt the Internet into their operations, considerable time and effort needed to be invested to have a Web site set up, and the return on that investment was uncertain. By contrast, the online business directory initiative was deemed less risky, and importantly for them, it necessitated a much lower investment of time and effort. Cases 4 and 6 indicated that they viewed their participation in the online business directory as a precursor to further Internet adoption, in par- ticular as a precursor to the establishment of their own company Web site. Each of them believed that they were organisationally and technologically unready for Internet adoption, but viewed the establishment of the community Web site project as an opportune moment to consider whether it ZRXOGEHEHQH¿FLDOIRUWKHPWR³JHWUHDG\´IRU Internet adoption, and to review what needed to be done to ensure they were ready for it. The owner of case 1, on the other hand, indi- cated that he had no intention of moving further into Internet usage. He deemed Internet technol- ogy to be largely unsuitable for the nature of his business (a plumbing business). For communica- tion purposes, for instance, he believed that the use of a mobile telephone was more useful than electronic mail, as it enabled emergency enquiries WREH GHDOWZLWK SURPSWO\DQGHI¿FLHQWO\ZKHQ KHZDVDZD\IURPKLVRI¿FHEDVH7KHRZQHURI this small business further perceived no use for a company informational Web site, or indeed for additional online ordering and payment facili- ties. Instead, he simply wanted to use the online business directory on the community Web site as a means of promoting his services to the local village community, and in so doing, to supple- ment his existing entries in various paper-based listings and directories. The primary underlying motivation for his participation in the community Web site project was that it provided him with an online business directory entry free of charge. The attitudes towards, and perceptions of, Inter- net adoption expressed by the owner of case 1 were similar to those reported of a non-adopting SME in the Internet adoption study documented in Mehrtens et al., (2001): for the non-adopting SME in their study, the owner/manager believed that traditional methods of doing business were more appropriate in his industry sector (transport service) than the use of the Internet. 7RVXPPDULVHWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKLVSDUWRIWKH VWXG\LWDSSHDUVLWVSHUFHLYHGEHQH¿WVZHUHDQ important factor motivating involvement in the online business directory project. Unlike other studies of small business Internet adoption (see for example Mehrtens et al., 2001; Scupola, 2003), the 1409 A Community Web Site Initiative small businesses in this study did not cite external SUHVVXUH DV D IDFWRU LQÀXHQFLQJ WKHLU DGRSWLRQ (e.g., pressure from competitors or clients). Simi- larly, the issue of organisational readiness did not seem to be an important factor here. Indeed, on the contrary, since some of the participants were clearly not ready for Internet adoption, from the point of view of their IT knowledge and skills. The project had acted as a catalyst to help them get ready for it. :LWKUHJDUGWRWKHDFWXDOEHQH¿WVEHLQJUHDOLVHG from participation in the community Web site project, the following points can be highlighted IURPWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKHVWXG\ • Enquiries and sales: For all the participat- LQJVPDOOEXVLQHVVHVWKHDQWLFLSDWHGEHQH¿W of generating more enquiries and increasing sales and/or contracts had been translated LQWRDQDFWXDOEHQH¿WWKURXJKLQYROYHPHQWLQ the online business directory. Each business reported growth in sales since the launch of the directory, and most had been able to track the source of a number of individual enquiries and sales to a direct link with the online directory. However, none of the small businesses had performed any detailed or IRUPDOHYDOXDWLRQRIWKHHI¿FDF\RIWKHGL- rectory. The online directory was applauded by the enterprises because it had opened up ZKDWZDVSHUFHLYHGWREHDQ³HDV\´PDUNHW- ing and sales generation opportunity. • :HEVLWHWUDI¿F For cases 2 and 3, which were already operating their own company :HEVLWHDIXUWKHUDQWLFLSDWHGEHQH¿WRIWKH online business directory was reported in the study to have been translated into an DFWXDOEHQH¿WWKHVHVPDOOEXVLQHVVHVZHUH UHFHLYLQJLQFUHDVHGWUDI¿FRQWKHLURZQ:HE site. Again, following their own informal investigations, these businesses believed WKH\FRXOGDWWULEXWHWKLVLQFUHDVHLQWUDI¿F on their own site to Web users tracing the company Web site link via the online busi- ness directory on the community Web site. So, for these small businesses, participation in the online business directory was prov- ing to be a valuable means of increasing the HI¿FDF\ RI WKHLU H[LVWLQJ DQG HVWDEOLVKHG Internet adoption efforts. • Internet adoption experimentation: As noted earlier, one motivation for placing an entry in the online business directory (for cases 4 and 6) was that it would provide an opportunity for them to determine if there was any value in further pursuing Internet adoption. When asked about the actual EHQH¿WV EHLQJUHDOLVHGIURP WKHLUSDUWLFL- pation in the community Web site project, both small businesses reported positive experiences, and indicated that they were consequently actively exploring the pos- sibility of launching a simple Web site to promote their products and services. Case 4 also noted, that they were in the process of setting up an e-mail account, but had not yet thought beyond a basic Web presence with e-mail link. Case 6, on the other hand, indicated that if their basic Web presence proved a success, then they would consider moving into providing additional online facilities, such as online catalogue searching and online ordering. However, online pay- ment facilities were deemed problematic by FDVH³IRUVHFXULW\UHDVRQV¶,QVXPPDU\ for both of these cases, the online business directory had provided some impetus for the owner/managers to consider further Internet adoption in an active way. • IT Literacy and training: For cases 2, 5 and 6, participation in the community Web site project had encouraged the owner/man- agers to increase their own IT skills. They had each started to attend IT courses, two at the local community college, and one via a government online training initiative. In these small businesses, the owner/managers had seemed to recognise the importance of 1410 A Community Web Site Initiative gaining IT skills in order to improve their level of organisational readiness for Internet adoption. It has been found elsewhere that the IT knowledge and skills of the owner/ managers is an important contributory fac- tor to the readiness of a small business to adopt Internet applications (see for example Mehrtens et al., 2001). In this study, it seems that the online business directory created an environment in which some small businesses at least, began to address the issue of their adoption readiness (or unreadiness) and ac- cordingly began to prepare for adoption. For case 1, a rather different situation was evidenced: a perceived advantage of the community Web site project in general, and the online business directory in particular, was that the owner/manager felt that through his directory entry the business now had a very basic online presence (giving the ³LPSUHVVLRQ WKDW LW ZDV PRGHUQ DQG  st century”, without any need on his part to become IT literate, or to introduce any form of IT into his existing business operations. For this owner/manager, lack of time was deemed to be his greatest barrier to IT adop- tion. • Geographical reach: The issue of geo- graphical reach seemed to be important for each of the participating small businesses. It has been widely suggested in the litera- ture that, for business enterprises, one of the most attractive aspects of the World Wide Web is its broad geographical reach, providing a key opportunity for products and/or services to be promoted and sold in overseas markets (Aldridge, Forcht, & Pierson, 1997; Herbig & Hale, 1997; Kiani, 1998). It has been further argued that the Web is, in this respect, particularly attrac- tive for small businesses, as its use reduces conventional costs of advertising in overseas markets (Hamill, 1997), and thereby enables VPDOOEXVLQHVVHVWR³FRPSHWHPRUHHDVLO\LQ the global marketplace” (Quelch & Klein, 1996). However, the small businesses in the present study were interested not so much in global, but local, reach. Indeed in most cases (notably cases 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6), a cited EHQH¿WRIWKHLUHQWU\LQWKHRQOLQHEXVLQHVV directory was precisely that this directory had very much a local focus, namely the village in which the business enterprises were based. This matter of local reach was explained by the respondents by comparing their online business directory entries with those of other more conventional paper-based directories they were familiar with: it was noted that the paper-based directories operating in the YLFLQLW\ZHUHQRWVSHFL¿FDOO\IRFXVVHGRQ the village under investigation in this study, but rather covered a broader geographical area, encompassing two small towns and a large collection of villages and hamlets. Respondents commented that this meant that their entries in the paper-based listings RIWHQVHHPHG³ORVW´DPRQJDPXFKODUJHU pool of companies offering similar products and/or services. This issue seemed to be a particularly important one for cases 1 and 2 (and to a slightly lesser extent also for case 5): the owner/manager of case 1, for example, stated that he frequently received enquiries via the paper-based directories to undertake work in locations at quite some distance from the village. These enquiries were often not deemed worthwhile for him to pursue, and he felt he had to turn down potential clients. By contrast, enquiries that came to him via the online business directory typically came from residents in the village, and he therefore only needed to travel short distances between clients, and could thus undertake more assignments per day. This, of course, saved him both time and money (in reduced travel costs), and enabled him to earn more money through carrying out more 1411 A Community Web Site Initiative assignments. The owner/manager of case 1 further stated that he had always hoped that the village would be able to have its own paper-based directory of local businesses, but he recognised that it was simply not cost effective to do this; the online busi- QHVVGLUHFWRU\VHHPHGWRSURYLGH³H[DFWO\ what [my] company needed: a local pool of clients.” Similar sentiments were expressed by the owner/managers of cases 2 and 5. With regard to geographical reach, a further issue was mentioned in detail by one of the respondents (case 3), and touched upon EULHÀ\E\RQHRWKHUFDVH7KLVLVVXHFDQ SHUKDSVEHVWEHVXPPHGXSDV³ORFDWLRQDQG cyberspace:” the owner/manager of case 3 felt, that their own company Web site was ³MXVW RXW WKHUH LQ F\EHUVSDFH´ FRPPHQW- LQJIXUWKHUWKDW³VRPHWLPHVSHRSOHIRXQG it, sometimes they didn’t.” By contrast, being part of the village community Web site project, and in particular having a link IURPWKH³YLEUDQWDQGEX]]LQJYLOODJH:HE site” directly to the individual company :HE VLWH ³ORFDWHG WKH FRPSDQ\ LQ D UHDO SODFH´DQGKHOSHGWR³SXWLWRQWKHPDS´ 7KH SHUKDSV UDWKHU LQWDQJLEOHEHQH¿WRI this to the small business seemed to be that they felt the enquiries they received were from local people who had some sort of immediate bond with the company because of a shared physical location, and it was felt, therefore, that they had an increased degree of trust in the company and its products. The owner/manager of case 3 summarised WKLVLVVXHDVJLYLQJD³VHQVHRIORFDWLRQWR F\EHUVSDFH´DQGIXUWKHUQRWHGWKDWLW³KHOSHG to personalise cyberspace.” • Sense of community: A notion of trust and quality assurance was also discussed E\DOORIWKHUHVSRQGHQWVDVDGLUHFWEHQH¿W of doing business with clients who came to them via the online business directory. The community Web site, according to the respondents, was perceived by the local YLOODJH FRPPXQLW\ DV DQ ³RQOLQH YLOODJH green,” that is to say some sort of hub and meeting place for the villagers. Businesses advertising on it were considered part of the village community, and known in that community, and thus to be trusted to pro- vide a quality service. Again, this sense of community was not felt by the respondents when they participated in more disparate business directories and listings in a wider geographical area. $VZHOODVWKHEHQH¿WVDVVRFLDWHGZLWKSDU- ticipation in the community Web site project, the small businesses taking part in the study also LG H QW L ¿H GD QX PE H URI SU RE OH PV ,W VK RX OG E HQ R W HG   KRZHYHUWKDWHDFKFRPPHQWHGWKDWWKHEHQH¿WV generally outweighed these problems. The most QRWDEOH DPRQJ WKH SUREOHPV ZHUH ¿UVW WKRVH small businesses not operating their own Web site wanted the scope of the online business directory t o b e e x t e n d e d t o e n a b le t h e m t o i n c o r po r a t e m o r e detailed information in their individual directory entry. Information suggested for inclusion com- prised the business’ opening times, type of work undertaken, and so on. Second, some concerns were voiced about the fact that the community Web site project was coordinated and adminis- tered by a group of volunteers from the village. This reliance on the goodwill of volunteers was felt to pose a possible problem for the longevity and future sustainability of the project as a whole, thus casting a doubt over how long the small busi- QHVVHVZRXOGEHDEOHWRHQMR\WKHEHQH¿WVRIWKH online business directory. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS The primary reason for participation in the online EXVLQHVVGLUHFWRU\VHHPHGWR EHWKHEHQH¿WVLW offered. For the small businesses investigated in this study to date, participation was rewarded 1412 A Community Web Site Initiative ZLWKERWKWDQJLEOHDQGLQWDQJLEOHEHQH¿WV7KLV held true for enterprises not engaged in any other form of Internet adoption, as well as for those which had already embarked on Internet adop- WLRQYHQWXUHV$ULVLQJIURPWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKLV exploratory study, a number of issues are worthy of note and further discussion. First, whilst existing conventional Internet adoption models typically cite having an e-mail account and/or a basic informational Web site as the Internet adoption starting point for many small businesses (see for example Daniel et al., 2002; 5DRHWDO6FXSRODWKH¿QGLQJVRI this study suggest that for some small businesses, a valuable starting point in Internet adoption might simply involve placing an entry in a wider online business directory. The advantages are that it car- ries a relatively low risk, it can be offered at low cost (or, in the case of the site under investigation in the present study, at no cost), and it requires no IT knowledge or skills in the small business itself. As demonstrated in this study, a local online business directory forming part of a community Web site may provide, for some small businesses, an environment and context in which they can experiment with the Internet, and particularly ³WHVW WKH ZDWHU´ DERXW WKH YDOXH RI SURPRWLQJ their products and/or services via the World Wide Web. For some also, such online directories may act as a catalyst for further Internet adoption. In recognition of the role that such directories might play in the Internet adoption pathways of small businesses, it seems reasonable to propose that existing models of Internet adoption might incorporate, at the early, non-complex application level (i.e., before the e-mail and Web site adoption levels), a level comprising participation in a local online business directory. Second, for those small businesses that are DOUHDG\RSHUDWLQJWKHLURZQ:HEVLWHWKH¿QGLQJV of the study indicated that participation in the online business directory had the positive effect of both increasing the number of visitors to their own Web site, as well as increasing the proportion RIUHOHYDQWVLWHYLVLWRUV,QWKHOLJKWRIWKH¿QGLQJV of other studies that have suggested that there KDVEHHQOLWWOHGLUHFWUHDOLVDWLRQRIEHQH¿WVIURP Internet adoption for small businesses, the role of online business directories in community Web site projects might usefully be further examined. Support initiatives devised to help small busi- nesses optimise their Internet adoption ventures might, for example, encourage small businesses to link their own Web sites to relevant online directories or local portals in order to increase the visibility of their site, and thus help increase WKHOHYHORIWUDI¿FWRLW Third, the present study helped to address the issue, discussed elsewhere in the literature (see for example Mehrtens et al., 2001; Teo & Ranganathan, 2004), of encouraging traditional QRQDGRSWHUVRIWKH,QWHUQHWWR¿QGVRPHYDOXH in using it within their own business operations. In particular, the study demonstrated that a lo- cal online business directory could provide a mechanism for traditional non-adopters to have an online presence (albeit quite a minimal one), DQGWRGHULYHVRPHEHQH¿WIURPWKDWSUHVHQFHRYHU more conventional approaches to the marketing and promotion of their goods and/or services. As evidenced in this study, for some small businesses, participation in an online business directory may be the extent of the Internet involvement they require or deem appropriate for their business purposes. For others, of course, it may be that their involvement with such a directory might convert them to Internet adopters. This issue does not appear to have been investigated elsewhere and arguably warrants further investigation beyond the scope of this study. Such an investigation would be especially useful in the light of recent UHVHDUFKFKDOOHQJLQJWKHQRWLRQRID³RQHVL]H ¿WVDOO´,QWHUQHWDGRSWLRQPRGHODQGVWUDWHJ\ (see for example Martin & Matlay, 2001). From a practical point of view, it would be useful too to examine the extent to which government Internet promotion strategies and small business Internet adoption support initiatives have considered the 1413 A Community Web Site Initiative role that online business directories and com- munity Web sites can play in helping traditional non-adopters begin to explore the value of having an online presence. $IRXUWKLVVXHWREHGLVFXVVHGIURPWKH¿QG- ings of the present study is that of geographical reach and the small business: whilst global reach is undoubtedly an important issue for many small businesses, and the Internet has provided an unprecedented boost to their international marketing efforts, the notion of the Internet and local reach should not simply be neglected. As this study has shown, for some small businesses, the need is to use the Internet to help them de- velop a deeper more targeted client base within their own locality and community. The study has shown how a local community Web site, might help facilitate that. It is interesting to note that much of the existing research literature on the Internet and small business tends to mention only the aspect of global reach, rather than deeper lo- cal market penetration. Again, government and small business support agencies might usefully highlight this aspect of the Internet’s value when endeavouring to encourage small businesses to engage in Internet activities. Having conducted this initial exploratory VWXG\DQGLQVRGRLQJLGHQWL¿HGVRPHEHQH¿WV and problems of community Web sites for small businesses and highlighted the impacts such sites might have on the Internet adoption behaviour of small businesses, the intention now is to undertake a more extensive study, involving more small businesses and incorporating further community sites and online business directories. The purpose of this follow-up study will be to investigate more fully some of the issues arising from this study, to explore further some of the ideas put forward, and ultimately to develop and evaluate a model of Internet adoption that incorporates the notion of a local community Web site containing an online business directory. CONCLUDING REMARKS 7KLVVWXG\VRXJKWWRH[SORUHWKHEHQH¿WVDQG problems small businesses in a UK village are deriving from participation in a community Web site project, focussing particularly on the online business directory component of that project and to investigate the impacts participation is having on their Internet adoption behaviour. The study has indicated that the small businesses believed the EHQH¿WVRXWZHLJKHGDQ\SUREOHPVDQGWKDWWKRVH EHQH¿WVLQFOXGHGWKHFDSWXULQJRIDPRUHUHOHYDQW local client base, low cost marketing available at minimal effort, and the opportunity to engage in low-level Internet adoption as a means of testing the water for further future involvement, if ap- propriate to their business operations. It has been suggested that government small business Internet LQLWLDWLYHVVKRXOGQRWQHJOHFWWKHYDOXHRIWKH³OR- cal focus” for small businesses when promoting Internet adoption, and that furthermore, the notion of community Web site and local online business directories might usefully be further explored by government agencies and small business support providers as a means of engaging a wider pool of small businesses in Internet activities, particularly the traditional non-adopters of the Internet. A further, more extensive study, is now proposed and planned to pursue these matters in greater depth, with a view to developing an Internet adoption model that can accommodate community Web site projects and local business directories. REFERENCES Aldridge, A., Forcht, K., & Pierson, J. (1997). Get linked or get lost: Marketing strategy for the In- ternet. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 7(3), 161-169 Curran, J., & Blackburn, R. A. (2001). Research- ing the small enterprise. London: Sage Publica- tions Ltd. . non-complex Internet applications (such as electronic mail or a basic information-only Web site), and then progress to more complex applications (such as online ordering and payment facilities). place, and the IT skills in existence in the organi- VDWLRQ0HKUWHQVHWDO([WHUQDOLQÀXHQFHV have also been found to be important, and might include demands from customers and/ or. involvement in Internet and electronic commerce-related activities?). 8. Collection of data regarding the enterprise’s future plans with regard to involvement in Internet and electronic commerce