Towards a framework of the performance evaluation of SMEs' industry portals

Purpose With the fast growth of the internet, the development of industry portals for SMEs is becoming an increasingly important issue of economic growth. However, designing and developing efficient portals is not easy, and how to evaluate industry portals' performance has not yet been convincingly demonstrated. To address this gap, this paper aims to propose a framework. Design/methodology/approach The framework uses the analytic hierarchical process and incorporates both experts' and users' judgments into the performance evaluation process. It also employs three different objectives for performance evaluation including data quality, technology acceptance, and knowledge distribution. An exemplary case is given to demonstrate the proposed framework by empirically assessing an industry portal project, developed by Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan. Findings The proposed framework can enable industry associations to become more familiar with the nature and scope of portal performance evaluation. Originality/value Develops a framework which addresses the practical aspect of portal evaluation in terms of multiple objectives and involvement.