An emergent framework to support visioning and strategy formulation for electronic commerce

The research described in this paper reports on some of the outcomes of qualitative and exploratory studies into the experiences of small & medium enterprises (SME) with respect to electronic commerce (EC). A framework is presented, based on empirical findings, to guide and structure the thinking of businesses approaching the planning and implementation of an EC capability. The framework encourages the kind of holistic, systematic and integrated thinking with respect to EC visioning and strategy development that the researchers found was both so necessary but also so often lacking in EC implementations among many of the SMEs participating in this study. A discussion of how the framework can be used to shape a strategic conversation about the implications and requirements of a move into EC, based on a preliminary action research study, is offered as a conclusion to the paper.