The role of small business strategic alliances in the adoption of E-commerce in small-medium enterprises (SMEs)

his thesis describes the examination of the role of small business strategic alliances in the adoption of E-commerce by regional small-medium enterprises (SMEs). Two locations were investigated, Karlstad in Sweden and Wollongong in Australia. Comparisons of the level of applicability of adoption factors (barriers to adoption, criteria for adoption, benefits of adoption or disadvantages of adoption) of E-commerce were made between respondents that were members of a small business strategic alliance and respondents that were not. The results showed that while there were some differences between respondents that were members of a small business strategic alliance and respondents that were not, these differences were less than predicted in the literature and could not be considered universal for the SME sector.