Against a background of the low engagement of SMEs in e-business this paper investigates the emergence of, and potential for, critical e-applications defined as "an e-business application, promoted by a trusted third party, which engages a significant number of SMEs by addressing an important shared business concern within an aggregation." By a review of secondary data and empirical investigation with service providers and other intermediaries the research shows that such applications can facilitate the e-business engagement of SMEs. There are three key findings, namely: the emergence of aggregation specific e-business applications; the emergence of collaboratively based "one to many" business models; and the importance of trusted third parties in the adoption of higher complexity e-business applications by SMEs. Significantly this work takes a deliberately provider perspective and complements the already considerable literature on SME IT adoption from a user and network perspective. In terms of future research the importance of a better conceptual understanding of the impact of complexity on the adoption of IT by SMEs is highlighted.

PurposeThe research documented in this paper aims to explore e‐business uses in small and medium‐sized tourism enterprises compared with their larger counterparts.Design/methodology/approachFive case studies were conducted with Thai tourism SMEs to investigate their technology adoption and use experiences. For large‐sized enterprises, an extensive review of industry's practice was conducted. A comparison was then carried out based on the scope of the technology, namely inter‐organisation, intra‐organisation, and front‐end side linking to customers.FindingsIn terms of e‐business use, it is not surprising that Thai SMEs remain less advanced in utilising e‐business technology. However, size is found to be a significant factor in determining SME behaviour not only in comparison to larger travel agencies or hotels, but also with the SME sector itself. Associated with this is application complexity that is again significant and linked to relative size. Finally, the choices made by small hotels and travel agents are shown to be influenced by the technology providers.Research limitations/implicationsThe main research limitation is a limited generalisibility. Future research on SMEs in developing countries would make the comparison more sound and increase generalisability.Practical implicationsSMEs should pay more attention on strategic use of IT in order to compete with their larger competitors. At the policy level, more education on IT development skills and business potentials of IT are needed.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the literature on IT adoption in SMEs particularly with respect to size within the SME sector, the importance of complexity and the role of technology provider.

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of soft systems methodology (SSM) in work related to computer-based information systems (IS). Against this background, this paper seeks to identify and define, more fully than hitherto, a role for SSM in information systems development which stems from its fundamental principles. Since SSM sees computer-based information systems as systems which serve purposeful human action, the notion of 'information system' in SSM is one that necessarily involves two systems, a 'serving' system (the information system) and a 'served' system of purposeful action. This notion of 'information system' leads to certain principles for IS development. These are expressed in the form of a model, referred to as the 'information system/information system development model' (IS/ISDM). This model is used to examine several conventional approaches to information systems development including the widely used UK government method SSADM, in order to identify where, in IS work, soft systems ideas might best make a contribution. A possible role for SSM is identified and a brief description of this role is given at the end of the paper.

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This paper presents the findings of recent research into e-government policies and initiatives undertaken by the Government of Jamaica within the context of selective intervention facilitated through financial and technical assistance. In the specific context of a developing economy it highlights the use of infrastructure building and government intervention to aid diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) and draws attention to the differences between developed and developing countries in their approach to e-government. A case of the Jamaica Customs Department is provided to exemplify the implementation of e-government in practice. Using institutional factor analysis for IT innovation the interaction of policy and practice is analysed. Four significant themes are identified that characterise the context for e-government policy, together with the associated institutional factors. The relative importance of these factors is demonstrated with Innovation Directive, Standards and Subsidy shown to be prime. These findings contribute to both institutional factor analysis for IT innovation and to ICT adoption theory, and together signal the importance of the inclusion of policy-based intervention in a future research agenda for e-government in a developing country context.