Innovative use of the Internet in established small firms: the impact of knowledge management and organisational learning in accessing new opportunities

Abstract

In this article, three established small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises provide qualitative case study evidence of the extent to which information communications technology can be embedded within a firm’s marketing strategy, from the earliest adoption stages to the integration of the Internet with key business functions. These case studies also provide insights into the innovative ways that can be used to reposition a firm, its marketing strategy, services and products, both within the national and the global marketplace. Established firms, in addition to new businesses and industries, could gain considerable competitive advantage from Internet usage, if they can achieve the right mix of managerial capacity and marketing focus in terms of image, brand and customer needs. Their human resource base could allow such firms to “reinvent” themselves, mainly by effectively accessing and embedding new knowledge. It emerged that organisational culture facilitates and supports the wider access and application of new knowledge through organisational learning mechanisms.

The Adoption of Web-Based Marketing in the Travel and Tourism Industry: An Empirical Investigation in Egypt

“…Additionally, firms' Internet adoption research has focused to a large extent on large organizations. Internet adoption in many SMEs is manifested in websites which are viewed to provide the most value within an inherently marketing driven context (Marcolin et al, 2005;Martin and Matlay, 2003;Jones et al, 2003). While there is plenty of research that studied IT including the web and SMEs, there is limited research on adopting the web for marketing purposes.…”

“…Moreover, the entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs owners/ managers was found to have a strong effect on their adoption of the web (Fillis and Wagner, 2005;Elliott and Boshoff, 2007). Similarly, Martin and Matlay (2003) found that website adoption stemmed from the SMEs owners/managers who recognized the importance and usefulness of websites in marketing. Bruque and Mayano (2007) based on their study on the determinants of information technology adoption and implementation in SMEs, found that top management support, growth experienced by the firm, attitude toward change and imitation of other firms were the main determinants.…”

“…The literature on SMEs adoption on the web emphasized the inherent characteristics and abilities of the owner/ manager as being key determinants of web adoption (Simmons et al, 2008;Bengtsson et al, 2007;Bharati and Chaudhury, 2006;Martin and Matlay, 2003;Barba-Sanchez et al, 2007). Based on an empirical study, Bharati and Chaudhury (2006) found that top management and customers were the main determinants for technology adoption by high-tech U.S. manufacturing firms.…”

Exploring the Types of SMEs Which Could use Blogs as a Marketing Tool: a Proposed Future Research Agenda

“…• The extent to which SME owner-managers participate in and get their eBusiness adoption and general business advice via informal, often highly social, business networks (Beckinsale et al, 2006;Gibbs et al, 2007;MacGregor & Vrazalic, 2007;Simmons et al, 2008) and/or get advice from family members (Galloway & Mochrie, 2005;Martin & Matlay, 2003;Simpson & Docherty, 2004;Zheng et al, 2004). This suggests SME owner-managers who are members of personal or business networks might be inclined to follow the advice of opinion leaders in or the norms of these networks concerning blog use.…”

“…• The extent to which SME owner-managers have good experiences with eBusiness solution providers, which is largely governed by the providers' eBusiness capability and knowledge (Martin & Matlay, 2003) and the providers' understanding of the SME owner-manager's business goals and needs (Brown & Lockett, 2004;Martin & Matlay, 2003;Simpson & Docherty, 2004). This suggests that it is the SME owner-managers who trust and value the advice of solution providers (if they are knowledgeable about the effective business use of blogs) who are more likely to use blogs in their business.…”