E-Commerce and Small Business in Regional Australia

Abstract

E-commerce is considered to provide substantial benefits to business, particularly small business. It enables new ways of working to emerge and facilitates an organization’s reengineering. Benefits from e-commerce can be argued to be greater for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) since traditionally they have operated in an uncertain and dynamic environment (Murphy & Daley, 1999; Nooteboom, 1994). Despite this, SMEs generally and especially those in regional areas in Australia, are lagging behind in their adoption of technology, including e-commerce.