Development of a business‐to‐business critical success factors (B2B CSFs) framework for Chinese SMEs

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically explore business‐to‐business critical success factors (B2B CSFs) for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the Chinese B2B marketplace, evaluate the findings, and use the generated CSFs to propose a framework to assist in the marketing management of B2B in China. The proposed framework provides a guideline for academics and practitioners and highlights the significant role of each factor in developing and sustaining effective B2B electronic commerce (B2B e‐commerce) practice for SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed framework is constructed by combining the empirical findings and B2B literature. The quantitative (online survey) was targeted at, proprietors, chief executive officers, managing directors, general managers, sales/marketing managers and export managers in selected SMEs that participated in B2B electronic marketplace (B2B e‐marketplace) in China. The data received from the recipients were processed on SPSS to conduct factor analysis to identify whether a factor structure underlies the correlations between a number of variables.FindingsThe findings are indicative of two sets of internal and external critical factors, including: successful customer relationships, supply chain facilities, global competition, information system/information technology (IS/IT) infrastructure and performances, information visibility, top management support and commitment, government encouragement and commitment, security and trust, and cultural consideration.Practical implicationsSME managers can derive a better understanding and measurement of marketing activities that appropriately balance between traditional and B2B e‐commerce practice. At the same time, the CSF can be integrated into the companies to determine the level of marketing performance in B2B e‐marketplace.Originality/valueThe paper's findings provide new theoretical grounds for research into B2B relationships in the digital business environment. The paper also provides an empirical assessment of the essential components in B2B e‐commerce adaptation, and implications for the means to prioritize CSF.

Expectations of manufacturing companies regarding future priorities of improvement actions taken by their suppliers

“…The verification oh H1a hypothesis means that manufacturing companies expect their suppliers to improve the quality of the delivered products and business processes. The obtained results confirm the belief presented in the literature on the subject that it is vital for enterprises operating on the B2B market that their suppliers provide an appropriate method of management, communication and relations (see Kian Chong et al 2011 ; Kaski et al 2017 ; Sales-Vivó et al 2021 ), at the same time reminded that the most important thing is to improve products and business processes.…”

“…Much research has already been conducted to analyse the B2B market relationships between suppliers and customers. The analysis covered, among other things, critical success factors in supply chains (Eid et al 2002 ; Kian Chong et al 2011 ), ways to develop cooperation (Maestrini et al 2018 ), factors affecting buying companies satisfaction (Mittal et al 2021 ), the impact of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the supplier on the actions taken by the buyer (André Mendes Primo et al 2007 ; Suh and Kim 2018 ) as well as expectations of buying and selling companies (Kaski et al 2017 ). However, in these studies, very little attention was paid to identifying the improvement actions that manufacturing companies expect their suppliers should undertake.…”

An E-Commerce Key Success Factors Framework for Chinese SME Exporters

“…They thus recommend that governments should "facilitate and assist in the provision of information for the development and adaptation of B2B e-commerce at international level" (Chong et al, 2011). Khalifa, Banerjee, & Ma (2003) attributed the rapid Chinese B2B e-commerce growth to the commitment of the Chinese government towards building up the necessary infrastructure and working towards framing of laws governing cross-border trade, taxation in e-commerce.…”

“…For those who looked at adoption of e-commerce, they only discussed the drivers of e-commerce (Cao et al, 2011;Li & Tao, 2009). Second, while most of the studies have focused on the general adoption of e-commerce in SMEs, there seems to be relatively few studies that attempt to understand the success factors of e-commerce, with one exception (Chong, Shafaghi, & Tan, 2011). Chong et al (2011 provides a framework addressing the internal and external critical factors for SMEs operating in Chinese B2B marketplace, in an effort to assist in the marketing management of B2B in China.…”

A Literature Review on the Linkage between Supply Chain Challenges and Key Success Factors for Small and Medium Size Enterprises

“…There are two sets of key success factors for SMEs in the business-to-business relationships: internal and external ones (Chong et al, 2011). The internal success factors are successful customer relationships, information systems and information technology infrastructure and performance, supply chain facilities, information visibility, top management support and commitment, security and trust.…”