Determinants of B2B E-purchasing adoption by SMEs.

Determinants of B2B E-purchasing adoption by SMEs By Bruno Manuel Andrade Duarte Master Dissertation in Marketing Advisor: Nuno Alexandre Meneses Bastos Moutinho, PhD. 2015 i ii Bibliographical note Bruno Manuel Andrade Duarte was born in August 2 nd 1986, in Porto. In 2009 he finished the Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering at the School of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto. From 2011 to 2013 he attended the Environmental Management and Economics Masters, at the School of Economics and Management (FEP), University of Porto, having completed all subjects. The growing interest nurtured by the Marketing and Communication subjects and their teachers lead Bruno to start the Master in Marketing. So, in 2013, he started the Master in Marketing in the School of Economics and Management (FEP), University of Porto, which includes this Master Dissertation. His first professional experience took place from 2009 to 2012 as a Construction Site Supervisor Engineer. From 2011 to 2012 he has also worked with a nonprofit initiative related to Sustainability in the Construction industry, managing communication with partners and the general public, mainly through the development of the social web media platforms for that organization. By the end of 2012 he joined Hilti (Portugal), a world leader in developing, manufacturing and selling top-quality products for professional customers in the construction industry, where he coordinated the renovation of the Porto Hilti Center (store). By the beginning of 2013 he moved to the Sales Department, working as an Account Manager in the North of Portugal where he manages the sales and relationship with particular customers from the Steel and Metal and Interior Finishing trades (all SMEs). At Hilti he completed the “Situational Selling Skills” training course. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my tutor, Professor Nuno Moutinho, for his support and advisement. His deep knowledge of theory mixed with his practical sense has been highly valuable to the development of this study. I want to thank Hilti for the support, especially João Miguel Pereira for supporting my decision to enroll in this Master and Miguel Pizarro for his support and helping making my professional/academic work balance possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor Hipólito de Sousa (FEUP) for supporting my decision to enroll in this master. Finally, I want to thank my life partner Inês Bastos and my parents for always being supportive, even when I was not totally available for them. Thank you for making my family life easier through this journey. iv Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the B2B e-purchasing usage determinants of Portuguese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in their supply chains. It is intended to be an academic contribution to a field that has not been as widely studied as e-commerce and also provide relevant information to supplier companies who want to push their online sales channels more successfully. Research design/ Methodology – For this exploratory study, a conceptual Technology Organizational Environment (TOE) framework was designed. Data was collected through an online questionnaire addressed to Portuguese companies that was sent by email and by Facebook and LinkedIn messages, using a convenience sample. The questionnaire consists mainly of yes/no questions and 5 point Likert scales questions. Hypotheses were tested using the Spearman’s Rho rank correlation. Findings – Technological, organizational and environmental factors have relevant relationships with the online purchasing frequency of SMEs. The factors that display stronger relationships are assotiated to the willingness to purchase online, perceived benefits, perceived costs, top management support and pressure from trading partners through suggestions, attribution of special benefits and the demand to use their online sales channel. Research contribution – The results obtained from the exploratory study represent a step forward in this field, not only academically but also for business purposes. The study not only validated some determinants used by other authors, mainly in ecommerce studies by bringing them to the e-purchasing/e-procurement field, but also validated and highlighted the relevance of determinants that had not yet been extensively found in the literature, demonstrating the utmost relevance of relationships between buyer and supplier as well as of perceived costs. Keywords E-purchasing; E-procurement; E-commerce; E-business; SMEs; TOE framework; Business to business commerce; v Table of Contents I. Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 1.1. Context ............................................................................................................1 1.2. Purpose and relevance of the study ..................................................................2 1.3. Chapter summary .............................................................................................2 II. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................3 2.1. E-Strategy ........................................................................................................3 2.2. E-business .......................................................................................................4 2.3. E-commerce ....................................................................................................4 2.3.1. Classification by nature of interaction and transaction ......................................5 2.3.2. Business models and adoption models of e-commerce .....................................5 2.3.3. Barriers to e-commerce ....................................................................................6 2.4. E-procurement .................................................................................................7 2.4.1. E-procurement and e-purchasing ......................................................................7 2.4.2. E-procurement forms .......................................................................................8 2.5. E-sales channels...............................................................................................9 2.6. Business-to-business e-commerce relationships and dynamics ....................... 10 2.6.1. Power and conflict in the B2B relationship .................................................... 10 2.6.2. B2B e-commerce relational structures ............................................................ 11 2.7. Technology diffusion and adoption ................................................................ 12 vi 2.7.1. Theories and frameworks ............................................................................... 12 2.7.2. The Technology Organization Environment Framework ................................ 13 2.8. IT use and e-business adoption by Portuguese SMEs ..................................... 15 2.8.1. SMEs relevance and classification ................................................................. 15 2.8.2. SMEs IT usage in Portugal ............................................................................ 16 2.9. Chapter summary ........................................................................................... 18 III. Objectives and Methodology .............................................................................. 20 3.1. Objectives ...................................................................................................... 20 3.2. Methodology ................................................................................................. 20 3.3. Investigation questions .................................................................................. 21 3.4. TOE framework and questionnaire variables .................................................. 21 3.4.1. Designed TOE framework ............................................................................. 22 3.5. Questionnaire and explanatory variables ........................................................ 27 3.6. Population and sample ................................................................................... 31 3.7. Data collection and analysis ........................................................................... 32 IV. Data analysis and results .................................................................................... 33 4.1. Data Sample characterization ......................................................................... 33 4.2. Online purchasing behavior ........................................................................... 36 4.2.1. Online purchasing frequency ......................................................................... 36 4.2.2. Types of products purchased online ............................................................... 37 4.2.3. Online Online purchasing means .................................................................... 38 vii 4.2.4. IT means used by companies ......................................................................... 39 4.2.5. Priority given to the knowledge and usage of IT ............................................ 40 4.2.6. Easiness of online purchasing ........................................................................ 41 4.2.7. Automatic connection to a supplier for purchasing ......................................... 42 4.2.8. Willingness to use supplier’s online store....................................................... 43 4.2.9. Having informatics security systems .............................................................. 44 4.2.10. Importance given to informatics security systems ................................... 45 4.2.11. Employees had IT training during the last three years ............................. 45 4.2.12. Influence of IT training on IT skills ........................................................ 46 4.2.13. Email as the main form of business communication ............................... 47 4.2.14. Priority given to the use of email ............................................................ 48 4.2.15. Online purchasing experience having impact in the relationship with suppliers ............................................................................................................... 48 4.2.16. Kind of impact of online purchasing has or would have in the relationship with suppliers ......................................................................................................... 49 4.2.17. Having added cost for buying online ...................................................... 50 4.2.18. Acceptability of the cost of buying online in relation to the benefits ....... 51 4.2.19. Internal processes tend to remain the same through the years .................. 52 4.2.20. More companies would buy online if purchasing processes would not change significantly ................................................................................................ 53 4.2.21. Top management of company has a clear position regarding online purchasing .............................................................................................................. 53 viii 4.2.22. Position the top managers of the company have regarding online purchasing .............................................................................................................. 54 4.2.23. Process flexibility with trusted suppliers ................................................. 55 4.2.24. Willingness to buy online from trusted suppliers .................................... 56 4.2.25. Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness to sell online .................................. 56 4.2.26. Having special benefits for purchasing online ......................................... 57 4.2.27. Influence of special benefits for purchasing online ................................. 58 4.2.28. Suppliers suggest that company should buy through their online channel59 4.2.29. Influence of suppliers’ suggestions in online purchasing habits .............. 59 4.2.30. Main suppliers demand company to buy online ...................................... 60 4.2.31. Bargaining power ...................................................................................... 61 4.3. Reliability of the instrument ........................................................................... 62 4.4. Correlations ................................................................................................... 63 4.4.1. Spearman’s Rho............................................................................................. 63 4.4.2. “Frequency of online purchasing” as independent variable: Spearman’s Rho . 64 4.5. Analysis of sub-groups .................................................................................. 69 4.5.1. Oneway ANOVA .......................................................................................... 69 4.5.2. Oneway ANOVA: Case 1 .............................................................................. 70 4.5.3. Oneway ANOVA: Case 2 .............................................................................. 75 V. Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 80 VI. Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 83 2 1.2. Purpose and relevance of the study The purpose of this thesis is to identify the B2B e-purchasing usage determinants of Portuguese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in their supply chains. Thus it is intended to provide a starting point for supplier companies to craft and implement strategies to push their e-channels successfully to SME’s. The contextual factors that determine usage are studied in order to determine which ones more intensely affect the use of online purchasing by Portuguese SMEs. The technology-organization-environment framework (TOE) is used and special attention is given to factors pertaining B2B relationships. A questionnaire based on the TOE framework was applied to a sample of Portuguese SME’s. Statistical methods were used to address the importance of each of the TOE framework factors. 1.3. Chapter summary Chapter 1 consists of an approach to the relevance, purpose and objectives of this study. In chapter 2, a literature review is done, setting a theoretical framework through reviewing e-business concepts, business-to-business dynamics, information techonology usage by SMEs and technology adoption models. It also portrays the Portuguese SMEs IT usage. Chapter 3 approaches the objectives and the methodology chosen to conduct the investigation. The methodoly is defined and explained based on the theoretical framework which will then conduct to the data analysis and results portrayed in Chapter 4. Chapter 4 contains the descriptive statistics and statistical tests, followed by discussions of the obtained results. In Chapter 5, the main conclusions of the study are highlighted and emphasized in relation to the objectives and relevance of this exploratory contribution both to the scientific community as well as for business purposes. 3 II. Theoretical Framework Technology has profoundly altered the way companies manage the exchange of information, goods and resources (Chowdhury, 2000). What was once done through the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) later evolved to the use of Internet-based applications (Standifer & Wall, 2010). Since business involves interaction through different sets of mediums and one of those is internet technology, in this chapter, a review of the e-business literature is done. The review is focused on e-commerce and e-procurement/e-purchasing. An analysis of the business-to-business e-commerce relationships is done, followed by a brief overview of the technology adoption models and frameworks. Finally, a portrait of the e-business related aspects of Portuguese SMEs is done, setting the case for the development of this study. 2.1. E-Strategy Weather implicitly or explicitly, strategy is of utmost importance for any company regardless of its dimension and operating market (Goncalves, Gomes, Martins & Marques, 2014). It is a controlled and conscious formal dynamic process of interaction between a company and its environment which results in the dynamic change of the company’s internal aspects (Ansoff, 1979). The decision to embrace B2B e-commerce is strategic and it can vary in its risk and cost to an organization (Standifer & Wall, 2010). In spite of the fact that trading through e-marketplaces is almost unavoidable in business-to-business (B2B) commerce, many companies still struggle in the development of both short and long-term strategies for epurchasing (Chang, Easley & Shaw, 2009). 4 2.2. E-business E-business is defined as the use of the internet to conduct or support business activities through the value chain (Porter, 2001). Its scope of activities may occur within one company or between companies (Rayport & Jaworski 2001). E-business involves marketing, sales, customer service, e-learning, procurement, coordination, and internal operations (Zhu & Kraemer, 2005; Turban, King, Viehland & Lee, 2006). A key element for e-business to happen is the access of companies to technology and furthermore their integration capability (Turban et al., 2006; Martins & Oliveira, 2009). There are two forms of technology integration: internal (inside a company) and external (company with their business partners (Turban et al, 2006). E-procurement systems which enable trading to be carried online are an example of the external integration. In sum, E-business can be regarded as a broader definition of e-commerce (Turban et al., 2006). 2.3. E-commerce E-commerce is defined as any type of purchase or sale of products and/or services to a company via internet (Solaymani, Sohaili & Yazdinejad, 2012). Other authors such as Napier (2006) regard e-commerce as the use of any technology such as telephone to conduct business. From a company’s point of view, one of the advantages of the adoption of e-commerce is the easy collection of information regarding products being bought or sold and also regarding competitors (Turban et al., 2006). However, there are also risks such as the ability consumers have to share and amplify their unpleasant experiences with a company which posits a threat to the brand equity and reputation of a company (Ferreira, H., 2014). E-commerce can be characterized according to the type of market as well as trading relationship among participants (Turban et al., 2006). 5 2.3.1. Classification by nature of interaction and transaction Bellow, a brief description of e-commerce by nature of interaction and transaction is made, following the structure presented by Ferreira (2014). This is relevant for the further analysis of e-procurement formats. Table 1 - E-commerce by nature of interaction and transaction Business-to-Business Trading occurs between two companies. When transactions use electronic platforms it is called business-to-business e-commerce (Claycomb, Iyer & Germain, 2005). Electronic transactions can have advantages such as facilitating efficiency, enhancing capacity, and speed of exchange (Standifer & Wall, 2010). Business-to-Consumer When selling and purchasing of goods and/or service occurs between a company and the final consumer (Carvalho, 2008). Business-to-consumer e-commerce occurs when these transactions take place using electronic platforms. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Transactions between consumers. If it takes place online it may be called C2C ecommerce (Ferreira, 2014). Olx or Craig’s List are examples of these kinds of platforms. Mobile Commerce Business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions through data exchange via mobile data operating devices (Ferreira, 2014). E-government Digital transactions from a governmental entity to a company (government-tobusiness G2B) or to a citizen (government-to-citizen G2C) (Turban et al., 2006) and vice versa. 2.3.2. Business models and adoption models of e-commerce Business models determine the way business is carried by companies. They are a reflection of a company’s strategy in order to provide benefits for itself (Costa, 2010). The main e-business models are exposed bellow following the structure of Ferreira’s (2014) work: 6 Table 2 – Business models and adoption models of e-commerce Online direct sales This model eliminates any possible intermediary and connects producers and consumers directly through an online platform owned by the producer (Turban et al., 2006). Name your own price Based on a process in which the seller sets the price he is willing to pay for a product and the seller sets the minimum price he is willing to accept. If the value offered by the seller matches or exceeds this value, the transaction takes place. Otherwise, the buyer may make new offers until there is at least a match (Hinz, Hann & Spann, 2011). Find the best price The consumer exposes his needs to an intermediary company which then seeks the supplier which may best fit those needs. Then, the client is given a timeframe through which he must make a decision of whether or not to buy (Turban et al., 2006). Online auctions This model allows participants to bid for products and services from anywhere as long as he has access to the internet (Yong, Yu-Kai & Kwok-Leung, 2013). Product and service customization The consumer is allowed to customize the product or service to best fit his needs (Turban et al., 2006). Electronic marketplaces E-marketplaces are virtual market places that connect buyers and sellers working solely as intermediaries such as Olx and Craig’s list (Matook, 2013). Membership This model is popular in the offline world. It has gained popularity also in the online world and consists of giving discount opportunities exclusively to members of a certain virtual community (Ransbotham & Kane, 2011). 2.3.3. Barriers to e-commerce There are several barriers to the use of e-commerce such as data security and management, implementation costs to companies and discomfort of the consumers in using e-commerce platforms (Heung, 2003). There may also be high hiring costs for a specialized workforce with know-how (Turban et al., 2006). On a B2B perspective, the products a company offers, the market conditions it faces, and the purchase patterns it implements determine the selection of B2B e-Commerce scenario with the greatest potential buyer benefit (Chang et al., 2009). 7 2.4. E-procurement 2.4.1. E-procurement and e-purchasing The purchasing plays an important role in the strategy of the firm (Weele, 2010). Procurement has become a key element in the value chain as it has the potential to improve a firm’s competitive performance (Corina, 2011). Despite different or even confusing approaches in the literature, procurement and purchasing are sometimes regarded as different terms to define the same activity. Procurement regards “The activities associated with acquiring products or services. The range of activities can vary widely between organizations to include all of parts of the functions of procurement planning, purchasing, inventory control, traffic, receiving, incoming inspection, and salvage operations.” (Csmp, 2013, p154) Purchasing is a synonym of procurement (Csmp, 2013). The definitions of e-procurement and e-purchasing are not unanimous as different author’s portrait e-procurement and e-purchasing in different ways. Some view eprocurement as a whole process: “E-procurement includes web technology-based purchasing solutions aimed at simplifying commercial transactions within and between organizations and information technology solutions for ordering, logistics and handling systems as well as for payment systems” (Weele, 2010), “e-procurement is a series of steps – from the formulation of the purchasing corporate strategy to the actual implementation of an Internet-based purchasing system” (Morris & Stahl, 2000, p15). Others have simpler or more task oriented views: as “using Internet technology in the purchasing process” (Boer, Harink & Heijboer, 2002, p120). For the purpose of this thesis e-purchasing and e-procurement were regarded as synonyms of the act of buying online (using the internet and excluding manually typed emails). E-procurement has benefited from technological innovation and is expected to continue improving efficiency and productivity as numerous applications are available in the market (Corina, 2011). 8 In Singapore, factors such as firm size, top management support, perceived indirect benefits and business partner influence have been pointed as strongly associated with the adoption of e-procurement by enterprises. The study which presented these results also shows that industry type is not related to e-procurement adoption (Thompson, Lin & Lai, 2009). 2.4.2. E-procurement forms There are numerous E-procurement models or forms (Corina, 2011). Bellow, some will be described based on the work of (Boer et al., 2002): Table 3E-procurement forms E-ordering The process of creating, approving purchasing requisitions, placing orders and receiving the goods and services. This process is done using a software system based on internet technology. For the ordering of the items, an Ecatalog is used. The goods and services ordered are indirect goods and services for the firm’s activity (non-product related). Web-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Similar to the E-ordering but it is used to define the process of acquiring product related goods and services. E-sourcing The use of internet technology for identifying new suppliers in specific categories according to the purchasing requirements. IT allows for the increase of decision making flexibility and lower prices. E-tendering The use of internet technologies to send RFI (request for information) and RFP (request for proposal) to suppliers and then receive their respective response. An e-tendering system is used to analyze the supplier’s responses. E-reverse auction The use of internet technology to buy goods and services from the supplier that has the lowest price or combination of lowest price and other conditions. E-informing The gathering and disseminating of purchasing information between potential buyers and potential suppliers and does not involve transactions. 9 2.5. E-sales channels For e-business to materialize, buyers need to access the supplier’s e-sales channels. Many companies are adopting e-channels in addition to the ones through which they now operate (Rowley, 2002). Buyers use multiple channels of a company in searching, browsing and purchasing (Van Dijk, Minocha & Laing, 2006). Many buyers use online channels to search for information before buying in a physical store (Pauwels, Leeflang, Teerling & Huizingh, 2011). This phenomenon is denominated ‘web-to-store shopping’ (Verhoef, Neslin & Vroomen, 2007). E-sales channels are therefore very relevant, as companies which use a combination of channels can exploit each channel’s advantages to overcome the deficiencies of others (Zhang, Farris, Kushwaha, Irvin, Steenburgh & Weitz, 2009). An online channel may prove itself useful when a buyer wants to make an order and cannot go to a physical store, for example. For sellers, improved financial performance coming from low cost access to new markets, increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and creation of a strategic advantage is expected (Zhang et al., 2009). The set of activities of selling products or services to consumers using more than one channel is Multichannel retailing (Levy & Weitz, 2009). From the relevance of e-sales channels for suppliers, the study of the buyers’ adoption drivers is of utmost importance. With a supplier on one side and the buyer on the other, the relationship dynamics success through e-channel implementation is worth being looked at in detail. The understanding of these dynamics will allow both parties to set and implement strategies that best fit their business needs in what comes to eprocurement. 10 2.6. Business-to-business e-commerce relationships and dynamics 2.6.1. Power and conflict in the B2B relationship “The relational structure of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce relationships affects perceptions of conflict, power, and success among partners” (Standifer & Wall, 2010, p205). B2B e-commerce relationships are therefore dynamic and structured. Perceived power and conflict are variables that determine success and satisfaction among parties, helping B2B e-commerce managers in their influencing strategies (Standifer & Wall, 2010). In the course of relational interaction, power is the extent to which one party carries out its wishes with no resistance from the other (Pfeffer, 1981). In inter-organizational relationships power is tied to their degree of interdependency (Bacharach & Lawler, 1980). For example, a B2B e-commerce manager of a big powerful organization might maintain power advantage by establishing partnerships with smaller companies (Standifer & Wall, 2010). Conflict is defined as a social process between individuals, groups, or larger entities. In this process, one party perceives its interests are being opposed or affected by the other party (Wall & Callister, 1995). The level of conflict is affected by the comparative power level (Standifer & Wall, 2010). Perceived power differences tend to reduce the level of conflict (Smith, Carroll & Ashford, 1995) as generally, the lowest power party gives in to the stronger party’s demands without overt conflict (Hayward & Boeker, 1998). In inter-organizational relationships these same principles apply, determining each party’s actions toward the other (Standifer & Wall, 2010). One of the forms in which conflict can emerge in the B2B e-commerce context is at the process level. Process conflict occurs when there is lack of agreement in the selection of courses of action, resource assignment as well as duty or responsibility distribution (Jehn, Northcraft & Neale, 1999). Due to the nature of the e-commerce environment (fast paced, complex, cross boundaries, cost and returns at stake) process-oriented conflict is inevitable among B2B e-commerce partners (Standifer & Wall, 2010). The type of relational structure affects power perceptions and conflict between parties. 11 2.6.2. B2B e-commerce relational structures Regarding the nature of the relationships, the B2B e-commerce relational structures are divided in two categories (Standifer & Wall, 2010): • buyer/supplier-oriented relationship structures; • community-oriented relationship structures; Fig. 1 - B2B e-commerce relational structure (Standifer & Wall, 2010). Buyer/supplier-oriented structures, as depicted in picture A, create or sustain a particular buying/selling relationship and may consist of an arrangement between a buyer and a set of suppliers. In the supplier-oriented relationships, the supplier creates a system of targeted customers. These structures have one-to-one nature (Standifer & Wall, 2010). 18 Focusing on electronic purchasing applied to the same universe of Portuguese enterprises the data shows the following results: Fig. 5 - Percentage of Portuguese enterprises with 10 or more employees that claimed to have made purchases through electronic commerce vs EU-28. Adapted from IUTICE (2014). Contrasting with received orders, there is some instability in the proportion of enterprises who claimed to have purchased online. In this field, the Portuguese reality is behind the EU-28 average (IUTICE, 2014). In what pertains micro companies (less than 10 employees), data shows that in 2010, 53% of these companies were connected to the internet and only 12% used the internet or other electronic networks to purchase goods or services (SIP, 2010). The low rate of use of electronic purchasing reflects the resistance to innovate by the demand side (buyers) rather than by the suppliers (supply) (Almeida Alves, 2006). 2.9. Chapter summary This chapter has captured all the essential aspects to frame and develop the study of the B2B e-purchasing usage determinants of Portuguese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in their supply chains. The literature review provided the understanding of the e-business universe and its relevance in todays and tomorrows business world. The importance of the B2B relational structures has been described, highlighting power and conflict implications. A 19 portrait of Portuguese SMEs regarding e-procurement was done, concluding that there is potential for improvement, especially for micro companies. Since this improvement is strongly related to the technology adoption process by companies, the insights provided by the TOE framework will be useful to ascertain what influences these companies to adopt e-purchasing habits. This information will be highly useful to suppliers who sell and want to sell more online. 20 III. Objectives and Methodology 3.1. Objectives The main objective of this study is to identify the main B2B e-purchasing usage determinants of SMEs. It is intended to identify which factors are related to a higher frequency of online purchasing and thus provide companies which sell online to other businesses with guidelines on how to successfully push their online channel. 3.2. Methodology From the literature review, some studies emerged as interesting starting points to build the framework to be applied in this study and furthermore to the development of the questionnaire derived from the same framework. Hence, a TOE framework was designed based on: • the academic work of several authors; • input from e-commerce and procurement experts; • the thesis’ author’s B2B professional experience in sales. After the items to be measured were chosen and placed under each of the TOE factors, a questionnaire was designed to best evaluate each item’s impact on the use of epurchasing. This is a quantitative approach as the questionnaire will consist of several questions. Some of the questions are two-step questions regarding each item, the first being a yes/no question and the second a 5 point Likert scale question in order to deepen the knowledge unveiled by the 1 st question. The choice for Likert scale type questions to measure intensity after a Yes/No question was intended to deepen the knowledge for those variables as Yes/No may be limitative in information output. 21 In addition to the questions directly associated to the TOE model, others were also added to the study in order to deepen the knowledge of aspects such as the types of products bought through the internet for example. Initially, the idea was for every question to fit the two step “model” in order to systematize the further statistical analysis. However, through the design of the questionnaire, it became clear that a two-step approach would not make sense for some of the questions and that would be forcing a methodology over the search for knowledge. Besides, the flexibility of the TOE framework (by not being a theory per se) allows for author judgement and input. The methodology for the questionnaire’s design was the drafting of a first version followed by a pre-test. 3.3. Investigation questions The aim of this study is to answer these main investigation questions from which each hypothesis derives: • How and what do technological factors contribute to e-purchasing by Portuguese SMEs? Which ones are more relevant? • How and what organizational factors contribute to e-purchasing by Portuguese SMEs? Which ones are more relevant? • How and what environmental factors contribute to e-purchasing by Portuguese SMEs? Which ones are more relevant? 3.4. TOE framework and questionnaire variables One of the studies that emerged as an interesting and well-structured starting point to build a framework and a questionnaire for this thesis was the one from Martins & Oliveira (2009). The reality portrayed and ascertained in that article is e-commerce which is different from the reality of this work which is e-purchasing. However, several parallelisms may be drawn. Another study equally interesting was the one from Sila & 22 Dobni (2012) specifically for the design of the TOE framework (the questionnaire is not presented by the authors). Other authors’ perspectives such as Thompson et al (2009) have also proved useful. 3.4.1. Designed TOE framework A TOE framework was developed based on inputs from the works of authors, the opinions of specialists in the field and the thesis author’s professional experience in promoting the online sales channel of a big multinational company to SMEs in a B2B environment. The works mentioned are the ones by Gunasekaran, et al (2009), Martins & Oliveira (2009), Sila & Dobni (2012), Standifer & Wall (2010) and Thompson et al (2009). The resulting conceptual framework is portrayed in Figure 6. Under the TOE framework a detailed explanation of its design is made. 23 TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS ORGANIZATIONAL AND INTERORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Technological readiness: • IT infrastructures • IT skills • E-commerce skills Technological integration Company size IT training Perceived Benefits: • Perceived benefits of ecorrespondence • Perceived benefits of epurchasing Perceived obstacles: • Costs • Reluctance to change • Process conflict Top management support Trust Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness Pressure from trading partners • Persuasion from trading partners’ benefits • Persuasion from trading partners’ sales channels • Demand from key trading partners Bargaining power Frequency of Online Purchasing Fig. 6 - Conceptual TOE framework Source: own elaboration. All the factors listed in the TOE framework were individually tested as independent variables against a dependent variable defined as “Frequency of Online Purchasing”. 24 i. TOE categories The interorganizational factors were added to the organizational factors. That is in accordance with the work of Sila & Dobni (2012) who point that “the TOE framework does not contain interorganizational factors such as trust a trading partner readiness” (Sila & Dobni, 2012). Selection and distribution of factors under each TOE category: Table 6 – Techonological factors and reasons for their choice. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Relevant sources for choice Technological readiness • IT infrastructures • IT skills • E-commerce skills Technological readiness is a factor explicitly used in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009) with the sub-constructs “IT infraestructrues” ans “IT skills”. The questions have been adapted to fit a questionnaire on e-purchasing. “E-commerce skills” has been added by the author of this thesis. Technological integration Technological Integration is a factor used in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009). Martins & Oliveira (2009) approach this factor through a “direct link to supplier through software” perspective. The perspective posited in this thesis is that for integration to happen, these days, a simple access to a web platform for purchasing may be an indicator of technological integration. The questions have been adapted to fit a questionnaire on e-purchasing. “Security applications” is a factor in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009) regarding online selling and also on the work of Sila & Dobni (2012) “under the name” of “data security” and has been chosen to be placed under the “Technological integration” as it seemed more sensible to put it under this factor in the e-purchasing context. 25 Table 7 – Organizational and interorganizational factors and reasons for their choice. ORGANIZATIONAL AND INTERORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS Relevant sources for choice Company size Company size is a factor used in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009). IT training “IT training” is a factor used in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009). Perceived Benefits • Perceived benefits of ecorrespondence • Perceived benefits of epurchasing “Perceived benefits” is a factor used in the work of Martins & Oliveira (2009) through the sub-construct “Perceived benefits of ecorrespondence”. “Perceived benefits of e-purchasing” has been added by this thesis’ author as a sub-construct as it was thought to be relevant in this study. Perceived obstacles • Costs • Reluctance to change • Process conflict “Perceived obstacles” is a factor introduced by this thesis’ author, composed by: • “Costs”. Used by Sila & Dobni (2012). • “Reluctance to change” introduced by the author as SME’s are sometimes pointed for being reluctant to change (based on the literature review). • “Process conflict” has been introduced by the author based on the article by Standifer & Wall (2010) (which is not TOE related). Top management support “Top management” is a factor used by several authors such as Sila & Dobni (2012) and Thompson et al (2009). Trust “Trust” is a factor used by Sila & Dobni (2012). Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness “Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness” has been added by this thesis’ author from personal professional experience. Sila & Dobni (2012) have used a similar factor named “Trading partner readiness”. However, since it was not possible to access the questions used to evaluate the factor, no considerations are made regarding whether these have strictly the same meaning or not. 26 Table 8 - Envrironmental factors and reasons for their choice. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Relevant sources for choice Pressure from trading partners • Persuasion from trading partners’ benefits • Persuasion from trading partners’ sales channels • Demand from key trading partners “Pressure from trading partners” is a factor used by Sila & Dobni (2012) which have placed it under the “Organizational and Interorganizational” umbrella. From the standpoint of e-purchasing seeing trading partners as part of the environment seemed to make sense. Thompson et al (2009) have also used this factor as an environmental factor. For this thesis, it has been built through three sub-constructs: • “Persuasion from trading partners’ benefits” has been added by this thesis’ author • “Persuasion from trading partners’ sales channels” is adapted from Thompson et al (2009) “Important business partners have recommended us to use eprocurement” mixed with the thesis’ author’s experience; • “Demand from key trading partners” is adapted from Thompson et al (2009) “Important business partners have requested us to use e-procurement” mixed with the thesis’ author’s experience and taking a more “radical” approach in order to test power dynamics derived from the study of Standifer & Wall (2010); Bargaining power “Bargaining power” is introduced to test power dynamics derived from the article of Standifer & Wall (2010). It is common to observe in different publications, the TOE factors are not all placed under the same “umbrella”, i.e., Technological, Organizational or Environmental. However, that subjectivity of interpretation and conviction of each author does not seem to affect the analysis if the influence of each factor is studied as an influence to a dependent variable. The only caution to have in the interpretation of the final results is if a final statement such as “The technological factors have the most influence on the 27 independent variable” (for example) is made. In such cases, one should look carefully at the factors that have been included in each category. 3.5. Questionnaire and explanatory variables The questionnaire was designed and tested to be as compact and direct as possible in order not to disperse the user’s attention. The order of the questions was also arranged taking that into account. Most questions are yes/no or five point Likert scale type. All companies, whether they have purchased online or not were able and required to answer all questions. For that to be possible, the Likert scale type questions included the nuance of for example “did/would this impact?” Since perceptions are being evaluated in those questions, it was found to be interesting not to exclude the “non-purchasers”. The questionnaire was designed through the following steps: 1. Design of the TOE framework; 2. Design of questions and adaptation of questions (used by other authors) related to each TOE framework’s item; 3. Gathering opinions from e-commerce/procurement specialists; 4. Applying the questionnaire to a sample of companies (observing and getting real time feedback from the people answering the questions); 5. Rearranging of the questionnaire and repetition of the pre-test in the same fashion as in step 3; After this process, the questionnaire was then ready to be sent to the sample of companies in order to most accurately measure the determinants of e-purchasing by SME’s. It was designed and sent in the Portuguese language. In Annexes I and II both the original Portuguese version and translated to English version can be found. Below, a definition of the explanatory (independent variables is done). In front of each variable, the number of the corresponding question in the questionnaire is presented. 34 Fig. 7 – Company size. ii. Industry By looking at the sample regarding industry type, there is a predominance of “Gross and retail commerce” (around 29%), followed by the “Manufacturing Industry” and “Services” (in equal percexntage (about 16%). Construcdtion accounts for almost 14% of the sample. The other industries are less represented, though there were responses from companies of a wide range of sectors. 35 Fig. 8 – Industry. iii. Location Most respondents are companies from the North of Portugal (Porto and Braga accounting for about 62%) followed by the Center Region with Lisbon standing out with approximately 13% of the responses. 36 Fig. 9 – Location. 4.2. Online purchasing behavior 4.2.1. Online purchasing frequency Approximately 74% of the companies have purchased online for the last year at least once. About 50% have bought online sometimes frequently or whenever possible and another half have rarely bought online or never purchased online for the last year. Around 26% respondents have not made any online purchase. Thus, online purchasers outweigh the non-purchasers. The median for the “Online purchasing frequency” is 2,5 (SPSS output). Therefore, there is a “positive” inclination of the respondents towards online purchasing. 37 Fig. 10 – Online purchasing frequence. 4.2.2. Types of products purchased online There is a certain homogeneity in the percentages of each type of products bought by companies except for the type of product “Office furniture” since the purchasing cycle for it is naturally longer. The category “others” was not explored for practical reasons since the product categories provided were thought to be the main ones worth studying and most used. These results indicate a positive receptiveness to online purchasing, since purchasers have reported to have bought different types of products. This may reflect the fact that companies which purchase online are not discriminating their purchases by product category for hypothetical reasons such as fear of purchasing a certain product and mistrusting the suppliers of specific product types. 38 Fig. 11 – Types of products that were purchased online. 4.2.3. Online Online purchasing means The main mean used to purchase online has been the supplier's online store with around 60%. Then, platforms such as EBay and Amazon account for around 22 %. Possible reasons for a much higher percentage in the suppliers’ online store purchases may be trust, proximity and easiness of purchasing 4 . 4 It would be interesting to explore in a further study the reasons for suppliers online store preference. 39 Fig. 12 – Means used to purchase online. 4.2.4. IT means used by companies Since the mean of collecting data for this investigation has been the internet, it is implicit that every respondent’s company had access to the internet (with email and/or social media) and that at least one hardware type of device had been used in the company. The only mean less used is tablets. The mix of hardware devices and web platforms is rather rich. 40 Fig. 13 – Information technologies used by the companies. 4.2.5. Priority given to the knowledge and usage of IT Approximately 89% finds the knowledge and usage of IT a total priority or a priority while about 9,0% view it as a medium priority. This indicates that the great majority of companies are aware of the importance of IT. 41 Fig. 14 – Priority given to technology information. 4.2.6. Easiness of online purchasing The great majority of respondents (almost 76%) find it easy or very easy to buy online. Only a small minority (about 6%) find it difficult or very difficult. It can be inferred that the perception of companies is that purchasing online is relatively easy. The median for this question is 4 on the Likert scale. 42 Fig. 15 – Easiniess of purchasing online. 4.2.7. Automatic connection to a supplier for purchasing The great majority of companies (approximately 82%) have not been directly connected via software to the supplier for online purchasing. In spite of this, the fact that around 18% answered positively, it is important to mention that during the pre-test, it was observed that many respondents were not fully aware of the meaning of being directly connected to a supplier’s software. So, the possibility of withdrawing this question was considered. However, the decision was to simplify the question and leave it there since it could always be dropped from the analysis if thought necessary. It is plausible to assume that this question may not have been correctly interpreted. The conclusions to be drawn further regarding this variable must be handled with caution. 43 Fig. 16 – Automatic connection to supplier for purchasing online. 4.2.8. Willingness to use supplier’s online store Approximately 65% of respondents are willing or totally willing to purchase via online store while almost 25% are indifferent (these can probably be persuadable). Only around 11% belong to the bottom of the scale (1 and 2) in willingness. It is plausible to assume that there is a positive attitude towards buying online through online store of the supplier (matching the results showed previously that supplier’s online store is the main mean of online purchasing for SME’s). 50 Fig. 25 – Type of impact of online purchasing in relationship with supplier. 4.2.17. Having added cost for buying online When evaluating the perception of having had added costs from buying online (in comparison to the costs of purchasing via other means, around 67% of the sample (about 90,5% of online purchasers) reported to have had no added costs. Only around 7% of the sample (circa 9,5% of online purchasers) reported to have had added costs. 51 Fig. 26 – Added costs for online purchasing. 4.2.18. Acceptability of the cost of buying online in relation to the benefits Approximately 53% of respondents think costs are fairly or totally acceptable. Since about 34% are indifferent to those costs, in practice, they also accept them. Therefore, it can be concluded that about 87% of respondents think the benefits of purchasing online are at least acceptable in relation to the costs. Only around 13% consider those costs unactable or totally unacceptable. 52 Fig. 27 – Acceptability of costs versus benefits of online purchasing. 4.2.19. Internal processes tend to remain the same through the years Processes change in approximately 63% of companies. Assuming this question is an accurate indicator of resistance to change, it is rather low contrary to common belief that small companies are slower and resistant to change. Fig. 28 – Reluctance to change. 53 4.2.20. More companies would buy online if purchasing processes would not change significantly About 54% agrees or totally agrees that if perceived change was low, more companies would buy online. Around 38% do not seem to believe perceived change is an issue which affects online purchasing. Around 8% disagrees or totally disagrees. So 46% of respondents do not believe resistance to change is a “problem”. Fig. 29 – Process conflict and e-purchasing. 4.2.21. Top management of company has a clear position regarding online purchasing In the sample, 75% considers their top management to have a clear position regarding online purchasing. 54 Fig. 30 – Top management having position regarding online purchasing. 4.2.22. Position the top managers of the company have regarding online purchasing About 60% of the samples top managers a reported to be slightly or totally in favor of online purchasing. Approximately 30% are clear about having no opinion and only 7% oppose or slightly oppose. Hence, the top management of these companies is be clear in communicating their position towards online purchasing and that position seems to be rather favorable. 55 Fig. 31 – Top management’s position regarding online purchasing. 4.2.23. Process flexibility with trusted suppliers Most companies report to be more flexible with partners in whom they highly trust (about 90%). This may be an indicator that they are more prone to be influenced into purchasing online from them. The next question will evaluate that. Fig. 32 – Process flexibility with trusted suppliers. 56 4.2.24. Willingness to buy online from trusted suppliers Approximately 89% admit that a trusted trading partner would have at least some influence in their online purchasing habits. Only a minority of about 11% reports it would have little or no influence. Fig. 33 – Willingness to buy online from trusted suppliers. 4.2.25. Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness to sell online Approximately 52% does not know whether their main suppliers sell online. This is probably the suppliers’ responsibility. 57 Fig. 34 – Awareness of supplier’s e-readiness. 4.2.26. Having special benefits for purchasing online About 35% of respondents report that suppliers provide them with special benefits from buying online. Fig. 35 – Special benefits from purchasing online. 58 4.2.27. Influence of special benefits for purchasing online Approximately 61% report that the existence of special benefits has or would have influence or a lot of influence while around 21% admits it would have some influence. Therefore, about 82% of companies admit they would be somewhat influenced by special benefits. Only about 18% refuse the idea they would buy more online due to special benefits provided by suppliers. Special benefits seem an effective way to increase online purchasing. Fig. 36 – Influence of special benefits on online purchasing habits. 59 4.2.28. Suppliers suggest that company should buy through their online channel Approximately 56% says suppliers do not suggest them to buy online. There is still a large group of suppliers that do not suggest online purchasing (some of them may not even have online sales channels). Fig. 37 – Suppliers suggest online purchasing. 4.2.29. Influence of suppliers’ suggestions in online purchasing habits Approximately 42% admit suggestions have or would have influence or a lot of influence in increasing their online purchasing habits. Around 41% admits it would have some influence. Hence, approximately 83% admits they would at least be somewhat influenced into purchasing online. About 17% believe they would be lowly influenced or not influenced at all. However, some companies who are online purchasers may think this factor does not or would not make them buy more online. 66 65% o respondents (both online purchasers and non-purchasers) is taken into account (see 4.2.8), this result reenforces the supposition that there is a positive attitude of SMEs towards online purchasing. ii. Organizational: • Perceived benefits of e-purchasing: o Online purchasing experience having impact in the relationship with suppliers: medium o Kind of impact of online purchasing has or would have in the relationship with suppliers: medium Both variables are related to impact in the relationship with suppliers. The fact of online purchasing having impact on relationship alone is interesting since from the descriptive statistics (see 4.2.15) the only conclusion that could be drawn was that a lot of companies find the impact “neutral”. Looking at the variable “Kind of impact” and relating it to the frequency of online purchasing confirms that a positive impact and frequency of online purchasing vary in the same direction. Moreover, there is huge potential for the around 44% that find the impact to be neutral (see 4.2.16.) to become more enthusiastic and so increase their online purchasing habits. It is therefore the suppliers’ responsibility for making it happen. • Perceived obstacles: o Costs:  Having added cost for buying online: large and negative relationship; A negative correlation was expected. However, this has shown to be the strongest correlation in this exploratory study. High sensitivity to costs is therefore a very relevant aspect which confirms it was a good decision to use and formulate this variable the way it is formulated. 67 In a business oriented perspective, if the supplier can show the buyer he has no added costs, the potential for increasing online purchasing frequency is very large (assuming causality which is not provided by the test).  Acceptability of the cost of buying online in relation to the benefits: medium relationship; This result was expected and has been validated. It is tightly related to the previous variable although the correlation is not as strong. About 53% of respondents had shown that costs were fairly acceptable or totally acceptable (see 4.2.18.) and 87% at least accepted these costs (see 4.2.18.). This reinforces the importance that the perception of cost VS benefit has on the buyer’s inclination towards e-purchasing. • Top management support: o Top management of the company has a clear position regarding online purchasingmedium; o Position the top managers of the company have regarding online purchasing – medium; These results (although not causal) help confirm the role of the company’s top management in the online purchasing habits. From a business perspective, if a supplier wants to push his online channel, he should invest effort in shapping the top managers opinion regarding online purchasing. iii. Environmental • Pressure from tading partners o Pressure from trading partner’s benefits  Having special benefits for purchasing online: medium;  Influence of special benefits for purchasing online: medium; In Business-to-consumer relationships, giving buyers special benefits (such as points, special discounts, vouchers, etc.) is current practice. Therefore, the results obtained that there is a relevant relationship in the SMEs case between having special benefits and the 68 frequency of online purchasing, indicate that the decision of introducing this variable in the TOE framework was correct. From a business perspective and assuming a causal relationship, suppliers should define and implement incentives to buyers, making them perceive them as special benefits. • Persuasion from trading partner’s sales channels:  Suppliers suggest that company should buy through their online channel: medium relationship;  Influence of suppliers’ suggestions in online purchasing habits: medium relationship; The relationships validated for these variables validate the importance of the role of suppliers. These are variables foccused on the relational side of business activities between seller and supplier. It shows that suppliers’ efforts to push their online channel have a relevant positive relationship with the buyers’ online purchasing habits. From a business point of view, assuming causality, suppliers should engage their sales channels in promoting the online channel. • Demand from key trading partners: medium; Although also a “relational” variable, this is also a “power” related variable, introduced by the author of this thesis based on the literature review, showing a relevant relationship between the will of key suppliers and the online purchasing behavior of the companies. Assuming a causal relationship, from a business point of view, key suppliers have a certain amount of power over buyers. 69 4.5. Analysis of sub-groups 4.5.1. Oneway ANOVA The small and medium enterprises classification for this this thesis purpose goes from 1 employee to 249 employees. For this reason, studying subgroups of this wide group may prove interesting in checking whether their behaviors and group characteristics differ in relation to online purchasing. This was done in order to enrich the scope of this exploratory study. A mechanism to achieve this is to do an ANOVA analysis of variance in which the comparisons of means of populations are done assuming one dependent variable (Oneway Anova) (Maroco, 2007). The analysis of variance has the advantage of “showing whether the means of three or more groups differ in some way although it does not tell us in which way those means differ” (Cramer & Howitt, 2004, p.6-8). For the application of the ANOVA, the dependent variable should be continuous (Maroco, 2007). However the sample is big enough (as pointed in 3.6.) that the Law of Large numbers can be applied. Also, the Likert scale has a reasonable number of options (five), so it is usual in the literature to see the use of the ANOVA for these cases 5 . Therefore, the One-way Anova test has been carried out for two possible subgroups: • Case 1 (2 classes): 1 to 4; 5 to 249; • Case 2 (3 classes): 1 to 4; 5 to 9; 10 to 249; No case was defined including the group of medium companies (50 to 249 employees) since for this group there were only 26 respondents which as a rule of thumb currently found in the literature (at least 30) is not sufficient. 1. A Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance has also been done but general conclusions have not been affected. 70 The main purpose of carrying out this Oneway ANOVA is to understand whether there are characteristics which are specific to sub-groups of the SME sample. Anticipating the possibility and plausibility of this happening, in the questionnaire design, there was a subdivision of the group of Micro companies (1 to 9 employees) in two (1 to 4 and 4 to 9 employees). Empirically it seemed plausible to assume that in smaller micro companies, the owner performs all types of tasks which in bigger micro companies those functions, namely, purchasing, are probably distributed to other employees also. To apply the Oneway ANOVA, the following steps were followed (Cramer & Howitt, 2004, p.6-8): • The Levine’s test was done to test the homogeneity of variance among groups (necessary condition for ANOVA). The null hypothesis being: H0: Variance among groups is the same. If the null hypothesis is verified, the condition for homogeneity is verified. • If the condition for homogeneity is verified in the Levene’s test, Anova is done. The null hypothesis being: H0: There is no evidence of differences in the means among groups. 4.5.2. Oneway ANOVA: Case 1 Table 12 – Oneway ANOVA for case 1. Variable Levene ANOVA p value Result σ σσ σ value Result Frequency of online purchasing 0,253 Do not reject Ho. 0,488 Do not reject Ho. If company purchases online 0,001 Reject Ho. - - Priority given to the knowledge and usage of IT 0,426 Do not reject Ho. 0,226 Do not reject Ho. 71 Easiness of online purchasing 0,495 Do not reject Ho. 0,628 Do not reject Ho. Automatic connection to a supplier for purchasing 0,003 Reject Ho. - - Willingness to use suppliers online store 0,972 Do not reject Ho. 0,299 Do not reject Ho. Having informatics security systems 0,002 Reject Ho. - - Importance given to informatics security systems 0,729 Do not reject Ho. 0,535 Do not reject Ho. Employees had IT training during the last three years 0,000 Reject Ho. - - Influence of IT training on IT skills 0,162 Do not reject Ho. 0,392 Do not reject Ho. Email as the main form of business communication 0,000 Reject Ho. - - Priority given to the use of email 0,400 Do not reject Ho. 0,190 Do not reject Ho. Online purchasing experience having impact in the relationship with suppliers 0,756 Do not reject Ho. 0,331 Do not reject Ho. Kind of impact of online purchasing has or would have in the relationship with suppliers 0,554 Do not reject Ho. 0,923 Do not reject Ho. Having added cost for buying online 0,001 Reject Ho. - - Acceptability of the cost of buying online in relation to the benefits 0,794 Do not reject Ho. 0,803 Do not reject Ho. Internal processes tend to remain the same through the years 0,003 Reject Ho. - - 72 More companies would buy online if purchasing processes would not change significantly 0,507 Do not reject Ho. 0,577 Do not reject Ho. Top management of your company has a clear position regarding online purchasing 0,036 Reject Ho. - - Position the top managers of the company have regarding online purchasing 0,633 Do not reject Ho. 0,216 Do not reject Ho. Procedure flexibility with trusted suppliers 0,421 Do not reject Ho. 0,687 Do not reject Ho. Willingness to buy online from trusted suppliers 0,894 Do not reject Ho. 0,816 Do not reject Ho. Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness to sell 0,172 Do not reject Ho. 0,014 Reject Ho. Having special benefits for purchasing online 0,005 Reject Ho. - - Influence of special benefits for purchasing online 0,216 Do not reject Ho. 0,805 Do not reject Ho. Suppliers suggest that company should buy through their online channel 0,064 Do not reject Ho. 0,298 Do not reject Ho. Influence of suppliers’ suggestions in online purchasing habits 0,177 Do not reject Ho. 0,516 Do not reject Ho. Suppliers demand company to buy online 0,232 Do not reject Ho. 0,549 Do not reject Ho. Bargaining power 0,731 Do not reject Ho. 0,044 Reject Ho. 73 For the variables “Automatic connection to a supplier for purchasing”, “Having informatics security systems”, “Email as the main form of business communication”, “Having added cost for buying online”, “Internal processes tend to remain the same through the years”, Top management of your company has a clear position regarding online purchasing”, “Having special benefits for purchasing online”, the condition of homogeneity is not satisfied. So, no analysis of means was possible for these. On the other hand, there were differences between groups for the following variables: • Awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness to sell online: The mean is superior for group 1 (1 to 4 employees). One possible cause for that fact is that small companies tend to have fewer suppliers and so the relationship with them is more “personal”. Therefore, smaller companies may have a more detailed knowledge of each supplier’s attributes. Fig. 41 – Means for awareness of suppliers’ e-readiness in case 1 Source: SPSS output. 74 • Bargaining power: This result is not unexpected. From commonsense, it is reasonable that bigger companies have more bargaining power than small ones. Fig. 42 – Means for barganing power in case 1 Source: SPSS output. For the rest of the variables, there was no evidence of relevant differences between means. 75 4.5.3. Oneway ANOVA: Case 2 Table 13 - Oneway ANOVA for case 2. Variable Levene ANOVA p value Result σ σσ σ value Result Frequency of online purchasing 0,595 Do not reject Ho. 0,849 Do not reject Ho. If company purchases online 0,007 Reject Ho. - - Priority given to the knowledge and usage of IT 0,694 Do not reject Ho. 0,602 Do not reject Ho. Easiness of online purchasing 0,707 Do not reject Ho. 0,849 Do not reject Ho. Automatic connection to a supplier for purchasing 0,003 Reject Ho. - - Willingness to use suppliers online store 0,971 Do not reject Ho. 0,19 Do not reject Ho. Having informatics security systems 0,000 Reject Ho. - - Importance given to informatics security systems 0,016 Reject Ho. - - Employees had IT training during the last three years 0,000 Reject Ho. - - Influence of IT training on IT skills 0,204 Do not reject Ho. 0,377 Do not reject Ho. Email as the main form of business communication 0,000 Reject Ho. - - Priority given to the use of email 0,361 Do not reject Ho. 0,301 Do not reject Ho. 82 demonstrating the utmost relevance of relationships between buyer and supplier as well as of perceived costs. The results obtained are therefore of high relevance and, although not representative of the whole universe, derive from a reasonable sized sample which has enabled the discovery of interesting facts. This dissertation’s findings represent a step forward in the field of e-purchasing by SMEs, not only academically but also for business purposes. 83 VI. Bibliography Almeida Alves, N. (2006) A utilização das TIC nas empresas portuguesas. 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