Electronic Commerce-based Purchasing: A Survey on the Perceptual Differences Between Large and Small Organisations

As the Clinton administration recently released its plan for developing worldwide information superhighways and making electronic communication a national priority, a growing number of small purchasing organisations have taken a hard look at electronic commerce (EC) as a purchasing tool. However, organisation size is believed to influence the EC adoption practices of firms. The common rationale is that small firms are lacking organisational readiness in adopting EC due to their less sophisticated information technology infrastructure, limited financial resources and weak market positions. Yet there is little empirical research to verify such a premise. Based on the findings of an empirical survey of US purchasing organisations, this paper will identify factors that either promote or inhibit the propagation of EC among small purchasing organisations and formulate an EC-based purchasing strategy which is best suited for small purchasing organisations.