ABSTRACT
The economic scale and importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is often underestimated. Within the European Union (EU) there are over 18 million SMEs generating 67 per cent of employment and 59 per cent of total GDP (Coridos, 2002). Typically, over 98 per cent of all the enterprises have fewer than 250 employees – the upper threshold for SMEs. This small-firm dependency is mirrored in the USA, and even more so in Asia. With such an important role in the creation of national wealth, it is not surprising that governments are concerned with developments that could affect this sector’s performance. One such development is the slow engagement by SMEs in e-business, particularly in the more complex collaborative applications, such as supply chain management and customer relationship management. Recent studies suggest that this adoption is proving more problematic than anticipated.
