E-commerce in Small UK Manufacturing Firms: A Pilot Study on Internal Competencies

Success in cyberspace markets will be influenced by whether firms can develop unique organisational processes as the basis for supporting market performance. This perspective suggests that the adoption of a "resource-based" view of the firm may provide the basis for assessing the ability of an organisation to exploit the Internet as a path through which to enhance market performance. A competency model has been developed to define areas of capability that may influence the execution of an Internet marketing strategy. Proposed competencies include positioning, funding, innovation, workforce management, productivity, service quality and information management. Following qualitative validation of the model, a survey was undertaken amongst small UK manufacturing firms. Results of the survey indicate that the identified competencies within the model are perceived as critical for achieving market performance and that firms which exhibit these key competencies are able to achieve a higher level of sales growth.