SMEs Must Go Online—E-Commerce as an Escape Hatch for Resilience and Survivability

The recent emergence of e-commerce has brought a shifting paradigm into global markets. This revolutionary framework relying upon technological progress has conveyed a new era of commerce. More than ever, businesses are using digital marketplaces to stay relevant and competitive. Suddenly, buying on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research 2021-12, Vol.16 (7), p.3043-3062
Main Authors: Costa, Joana, Castro, Rafael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to information
Business models
Communications technology
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Costs
digitalization
e-business
e-commerce
Electronic commerce
Global economy
Global marketing
Innovations
Literature reviews
Organizations
Qualitative analysis
resilience
Shopping
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Small business
SMEs
Survivability
Technology adoption
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Summary:The recent emergence of e-commerce has brought a shifting paradigm into global markets. This revolutionary framework relying upon technological progress has conveyed a new era of commerce. More than ever, businesses are using digital marketplaces to stay relevant and competitive. Suddenly, buying online has become part of their daily routines. Accessibility, flexibility, and convenience make the internet the ideal platform for modern age consumers. Small and medium enterprises predominate in almost every industry generating employment, income, and sustainability. Nonetheless, e-commerce adoption among these organizations is yet to be widely undertaken. This article has a twofold objective: first, it gathers data regarding the emergence of e-commerce adoption by SMEs through a systematic literature review encompassing 32 indexed articles (published between 2003 and 2021). Secondly, it provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis identifying strategic options and guidelines for a smooth digital transition among these players. Lastly, some recommendations to policy makers were clipped to work as facilitators, given SMEs specificities. The future is digital and the struggle for e-commerce adoption and exploitation among these organizations is at the top of the agenda. It is central in maintaining the vibrancy of the business ecosystem, and is therefore a turnkey for economic recovery.
ISSN:0718-1876
0718-1876
DOI:10.3390/jtaer16070166