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Old-fashioned or enlightened? Small retailers' practices in e-procurement.

Connon, Neil; Donaldson, Bill; Anderson, Alistair R.

Authors

Neil Connon

Bill Donaldson

Alistair R. Anderson



Abstract

The paper considers how and why SME retailers use the internet in their procurement processes. Examining retailers' views and reasons, we relate these to existing technology acceptance models, employing a qualitative approach. Although our respondents accepted the pervasion of internet marketing, they believed that a more personalised approach to purchasing was necessary to maintain their competitive advantage. For them, effectiveness in purchasing took priority over efficiency. We argue that this view and the consequent actions were a result of the size of the firm and the nature of the products they sold. Our sample size prevents us from generalising. However, we argue that large scale surveys may miss the nuances of decision-making and that the unique character of SMEs may imply that conventional models of technology acceptance need to be modified to take account of these characteristics. Our findings challenge the assumption that one size theoretically fits all in technology driven procurement.

Citation

CONNON, N., DONALDSON, B. and ANDERSON, A.R. 2012. Old-fashioned or enlightened? Small retailer' practices in e-procurement. International journal of technology marketing [online], 7(1), pages 47-62. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTMKT.2012.046431

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 30, 2012
Online Publication Date Apr 30, 2012
Publication Date Apr 30, 2012
Deposit Date Nov 9, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal International journal of technology marketing
Print ISSN 1741-878X
Electronic ISSN 1741-8798
Publisher Inderscience
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 7
Issue 1
Pages 47-62
DOI https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTMKT.2012.046431
Keywords SMEs small and medium sized enterprises; Retailing; B2B; Business to business; Technology acceptance model; Modified TAM; Small firm strategy; Small retailers; Internet marketing; Purchasing effectiveness; Purchasing efficiency; Firm size; Technology driv
Public URL http://hdl.handle.net/10059/773

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