Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Electronic Business

 

Special Issue on: "E-business Development in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises"

Guest Editors:
Prof. Lars Torsten Eriksson, University of Gävle, Sweden
Dr. Jens Hultman, Jönköping University, Sweden

For more than a decade now, firms in countries with appropriate infrastructures in place have generally been able to exploit emerging Internet technologies for business purposes. The diffusion process has been very rapid. However, with regard to e-business adoption, several studies have shown that firm size is an important factor in driving a development in which small and medium-sized enterprises lag behind large firms in their intent and decision to adopt.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are an important growth engine in the global economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for a major proportion of employment in the economy. For example, according to OECD, 90% of the firms in Europe are categorised as small. An increasingly improved infrastructure of ICT enables and facilitates for the small and medium-sized enterprise manager to turn to e-business. Given the promise that e-business development holds for the small and medium-sized enterprise manager, and although much has been written on e-commerce and e-business in recent years, there is yet much work left to be done.

This special issue aims to stimulate the creation of academic papers focused on the study of development of e-business in small and medium-sized enterprises, ultimately advancing the understanding of how the process of adoption of e-business evolves in the small business context. The special issue will provide an insight on where we are now within the field including research overviews and current state-of-the-art research and also at where we are heading by proposing a future research agenda.

Potential contributions may include:

• Papers investigating the process of adoption of e-business among small and medium-sized enterprises
• Theoretical and conceptual papers that focus on the development of e-business in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Case studies of both successful and unsuccessful e-business development in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Methodologies for the study of e-business development in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Papers that investigate the diffusion of e-business among small and medium-sized enterprises

Subject Coverage
Some of the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• E-business adoption and non-adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises
• Drivers and barriers of e-business development in small and medium-sized enterprises
• The role of external parties in e-business development in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Post-adoption challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-business diffusion in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Region, sector or industry specific studies on e-business among small and medium-sized enterprises
• Extent of e-business use among small and medium-sized enterprises
• The benefits of e-business among small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-business and corporate culture in small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-business and business renewal among small and medium-sized enterprises
• International aspects of e-business for small and medium-sized enterprises
• Trust, privacy and security issues in e-business for small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-business and supply chains integration in small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-commerce and distribution in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Development of e-marketing for small and medium-sized enterprises
• Emerging business models for e-business in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Development of e-procurement for small and medium-sized enterprises
• E-business and performance
• Future e-challenges in small and medium-sized enterprises
• Future directions for research on e-business development in small and medium-sized

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines at http://www.icebnet.org/author/

Important Dates

Submission of papers: 1 October 2008

Notification of acceptance: 1 February 2009