مهارت های مورد نیاز برای شرکت های کوچک و متوسط ​​در توسعه تجارت الکترونیک : در مورد رویکرد مبتنی بر تعمیم

There has been a rapid growth in electronic commerce worldwide. However, the UK government and other governments had noted that electronic commerce uptake among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been slow. In this paper we examine the skills and knowledge required for successful electronic commerce projects in the UK SME sector based upon detailed case studies in three SME organisations from the Northwest region of England over a two year period. B2C electronic commerce appears to involve a greater requirement for skills relating to website animation, website promotion, content management, and relevant legislation compared to B2B electronic commerce. Conversely, B2B electronic commerce potentially requires more detailed knowledge of electronic data interchange technologies compared to B2C electronic commerce

The rapid growth in electronic commerce has been noted by many researchers [1], [2], [3] and [4]. The perceived strengthening of a company's competitive position may often be the justification for a company to develop electronic commerce [5]. Davies [6] had stated that e-commerce will become the accepted medium for business transactions, not least because governments are strongly promoting it. However, the UK government and other governments had noted that uptake of electronic commerce in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector has been slow [7], [8] and [9]. It is therefore worthwhile to understand what skills and knowledge are required for successful electronic commerce development work [10], especially in the SME sector where such skills will typically be harder to obtain than in large organisations [7]. In particular it is important to examine how such skills and knowledge are used in actual practice in the SME sector, and to determine how such skills and knowledge can be improved in the sector. Seffah [11] had stated that in the face of a growing software industry labour shortage and rapidly changing technology, effective continuing education can help organisations develop and retain accomplished software developers. In this paper the results of a research exercise involving detailed case studies in three SME organisations from the Northwest region of England over a two-year period concerning the skills and knowledge required for electronic commerce development work in an SME setting are examined.

In this paper the skills and knowledge required for electronic commerce projects in the UK SME sector has been examined based on detailed case studies in three SME organisations from the Northwest region of England over a two-year period. The main conclusions from this research exercise are: There is a wide variety of skills and knowledge required for electronic commerce projects in the SME sector. B2C electronic commerce projects appear to potentially require slightly different IT skills compared to B2B electronic commerce projects. In particular, B2C electronic commerce projects appear to potentially involve a greater requirement for skills relating to website animation, website promotion, content management, and relevant legislation compared to B2B electronic commerce projects. Conversely, B2B electronic commerce projects potentially require more detailed knowledge of electronic data interchange technologies compared to B2C projects. There are numerous mechanisms for improving the skills and knowledge required for electronic commerce projects within an SME environment. However, experience and relevant technical short training courses appear the most appropriate. A particular aspect of this research project relevant to educational institutions and training agencies was that the majority of the short courses mentioned by those interviewed were technical courses. Short courses in the business and analytical aspects of electronic commerce development work should be developed and promoted by such institutions and agencies in order to provide opportunities for current and future electronic commerce development staff to develop their capabilities in these areas. SME organisations should attempt to make more effort to design their electronic commerce systems so as to cater for those with colour blindness and partial sightedness, for example, by avoiding certain colour combinations. None of those interviewed mentioned academic literature, or standards bodies as a useful source of knowledge for electronic commerce skills. Universities and standards bodies should attempt to promote their work more strongly to SME organisations. The case studies appeared to indicate that SME organisations should consider developing formalised approaches for electronic systems development projects. The apparent lack of formalised approaches for electronic commerce systems development encountered in the three SME organisations studied appeared to confirm the views of the IT practitioners interviewed that hands-on experience was the main approach to undertaking electronic commerce systems development work in the SME sector. However, given the relatively small scale of the electronic commerce systems currently in use in the three organisations studied an informal approach was not inappropriate. Without the guidance of formalised approaches, electronic commerce systems development staff may potentially develop poorly designed and coded electronic commerce systems which may not fully meet with organisational requirements, and may prove difficult to maintain in the future. However, this had not been the case in the two SME organisations studied that did not have formalised electronic commerce development approaches, from the perspective of the IT staff interviewed and from customer feedback regarding such systems. Both the wholesale and retail company IT staff were intending to adopt a more formalised electronic commerce development approach in future in order to cope with the increasing size and complexity of their electronic commerce systems. Educational institutions and training agencies should develop courses that promote the use of frameworks and standards for electronic commerce development work. It is hoped that the result of this research exercise may be of benefit to SME organisations intending to develop the skills and knowledge of their staff who may be involved in electronic commerce projects, and to training agencies and higher education establishments who cover electronic commerce in their courses.