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Electronic-commerce has become an important channel for conducting business. Researchers as well as market executives are trying to better understand online consumer behavior. One model used by researchers to understand behavior in the information systems field in general is the technology acceptance model (TAM). The TAM variables are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and intentions. In this study, we suggest the extension of the TAM for its application in the E-commerce field. The original TAM will be extended, by adding four predictor variables. The four predictor variables are process satisfaction, outcome satisfaction, expectations, and E-commerce use. In addition, the TAM will be extended by measuring actual behavior as opposed to measuring intentions as a substitute for actual behavior in previous TAM application studies. We suggest measuring actual use variable in terms of four criterion variables, namely, purchase, access number, access total time, and access average time. The extended TAM is expected to better explain actual behavior in E-commerce environments than the original TAM.

The failure of dot-coms is a staggering 75% in the first two years. Many of these failures were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). One of the most commonly cited reasons for failure has been lack of a workable strategic business model to guide e-commerce (electronic commerce) efforts. We began this study because we wanted to explore if successful e-commerce SMEs use a guiding strategic process model, and if they do, ask them to articulate the model components. We chose a qualitative research method to obtain a rich description of the e-commerce process. The interview pool consisted of 15 interviews with established SME e-commerce entrepreneurs. From deep analysis of the data, a set of e-commerce process components and interrelationships between those components emerged from the data. We then synthesized (from the rich description) a model of the e-commerce process.

In a previous study, we explored successful e-commerce small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to formulate an e-commerce (electronic commerce) process model. We adopted a qualitative research method to obtain a rich description of the e-commerce process. We then interviewed 15 entrepreneurs from established SME operations. From deep analysis of this data, we were able to devise an emergent model. This study extends the original model by conducting subsequent interviews with the 15 SME entrepreneurs. Our goal was to better understand the model by exploring omitted, missing, or incomplete elements. Hence, subsequent interviews asked respondents to identify key elements of the model that may have been omitted, and if so, where do they fit in the model? Deep analysis of the subsequent data allowed us to expand the original model.

Access to the world enabled by the Internet facilitates internationalization as never before. However, lack of a coherent global Internet strategy can relegate any company to a strictly provincial “neighborhood” status. Globalization strategies and tactics should therefore be of central concern to all enterprises. To research the strategic issues involved in Internet-based globalization, we embarked on a case study. Our goal is to explore how the Internet and its related technologies can serve to help organizations better deal with the challenges of conducting global business. Our research enabled us to identify a set of heuristic “rules of thumb” that might be used to support Internet-based globalization efforts. In our study we discuss the many challenges to establishing successful global enterprises. We then introduce a model for understanding global business requirements in the e-commerce age. We conclude by analyzing a case study to initially validate our theoretical model and summarize our findings.