eTRANSFORMATION JOURNEY FOR SMES

Ana Hol, Athula Ginige

2009

Abstract

To survive in a globally competitive environment business need to change their process and make use of information systems to make processes more effective and well integrated. A change in the globally competitive environment requires businesses to modify and electronically transform. This process, eTransformation, requires businesses to change along a number of dimensions mainly Strategy, Structure, Tasks and Processes and IT Tools and Systems. Our study indicates that successful eTransformation requires incremental progression within dimensions across stages. First SMEs require changes in organisational Strategy – company environment, their goals and objectives as well as their products, services and operations; then Structure – company departments and divisions followed by Business Tasks and Processes – automation, streamlining and integration. Only after the above three dimensions have been achieved, companies can change along IT Tools and Systems Dimension which involves selecting appropriate tools and system as well as assuring web presence, Internet use and security. To identify how SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) are planning to eTransform we interviewed 17 SMEs. Our study indicates that businesses foremost identify that they should invest into IT (Information Technology) and related tools and systems and do not perceive other factors such as company Strategy, Structure or Business Processes to be determinants or predecessors of a successful eTransformation journey.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Hol A. and Ginige A. (2009). eTRANSFORMATION JOURNEY FOR SMES . In Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009) ISBN 978-989-674-006-1, pages 115-120. DOI: 10.5220/0002237301150120

in Bibtex Style

@conference{ice-b09,
author={Ana Hol and Athula Ginige},
title={eTRANSFORMATION JOURNEY FOR SMES},
booktitle={Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009)},
year={2009},
pages={115-120},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0002237301150120},
isbn={978-989-674-006-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business - Volume 1: ICE-B, (ICETE 2009)
TI - eTRANSFORMATION JOURNEY FOR SMES
SN - 978-989-674-006-1
AU - Hol A.
AU - Ginige A.
PY - 2009
SP - 115
EP - 120
DO - 10.5220/0002237301150120