Electronic commerce and small Australian enterprises

In Australia there has been comparatively little research into the effect of electronic commerce on small businesses. Electronic commerce (EC) comprises several different technologies (especially those associated with the Internet); this paper investigates the use and utility of these technologies in small Australian businesses. The technologies are differently associated with intermediate variables such as the attraction of new customers and the ability to participate in overseas markets. The statistical evidence that e-commerce is positively correlated with some intermediate variables is overwhelming. We consider the statistical relationships between intermediate variables and final variables (revenues, costs and competitive advantage). There are significant correlations between some sets of intermediate and final variables; most of these correlations had plausible explanations and suggest what EC techniques are most fruitful. There are clear implications for small businesses, for example, the Internet allows them to maintain a low-cost foreign presence but it allows foreign firms to compete (at marginal cost) in Australia.