Ecommerce website value model for SMEs

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to struggle to measure the success of their website. This results in ineffective eCommerce activities and the consequent disappointment in recognisable benefits. There is a need for a website operational model offering managers the ability to understand the payoffs from their investment. This paper presents an empirically proven intuitive eCommerce website operational model that offers managers a comprehensive way of understanding their website operation. The model premise is simple: the achievement of operational excellence will lead to improved financial performance. The central task for managers, then, lies in understanding what drives operational excellence and then committing the necessary resources to the development of the drivers. Managerial implications stemming from the empirical findings are also discussed.