Description
The concept of B2B (Business-To-Business) e-Marketplace provides a new dimension in facilitating the marketers to work more effectively in particular when making critical marketing decision.
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
185
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs:
The Research Methods and Survey Results
Woon Kian Chong, The University of Bolton, Manchester, UK, [email protected]
Dr. Mathew Shafaghi, The University of Bolton, Manchester, UK, [email protected]
Abstract
The concept of B2B (Business-To-Business) e-
Marketplace provides a new dimension in
facilitating the marketers to work more effectively
in particular when making critical marketing
decision. Benefiting from the Internet technologies,
the range of advantages that can be gained from
the B2B e-Marketplace is extensive. This paper is
intended to provide a clear understanding of the
wide range of research approaches, strategies and
methods that will contribute to the study of B2B e-
Marketplace’s performances for Small and Medium
Sized Enterprises (SMEs). A two stage research
design combining qualitative and quantitative
research methodologies are used to generate
relevant data for this study. Focusing on SMEs the
paper will also explore the ability of the SMEs to
capitalise from the opportunities provided by B2B
e-marketplace. Based on the research results, B2B
e-Marketplace is reported to reshape the business
processes and enhances the business exposure in
the market
Keywords: B2B e-Marketplaces, SMEs, Research
Methods, Survey Results
1. Introduction
The rapid growth of the B2B e-Marketplace and the
development of Internet-related technologies have
led to the emergence of new business models [10].
The main advantages for buyers are reported to be:
the lower selection costs [17, 4]; reduce time by
instant access to sellers [13] and the ability to
ensure the best buying price by comparing to
multiple sellers in the e-Marketplace [7]. The major
benefits associated with sellers are increased
exposure to the global markets [17], enhanced
communication [7], and reduced transaction costs
[25] due to the aggregation of needy buyers
generated by the e-Marketplace. As B2B e-
Marketplace provides value for both sellers and
buyers, the expected transactions are highly
promising and are indicative of significant growth.
The literature provides the current level of Internet-
enabler marketing technologies from B2B e-
Marketplace to the marketers. The online and
offline publications from both academics and
practitioners make a significant contribution to
knowledge in the areas of B2B e-Marketplace that
has the potential to create competitive advantage
and enhance customer value. However, it appears
that there is limited exploitation of such knowledge
by industry professional. In order to develop a
better understanding of the topic under study, this
paper will provide a clear understanding of the
wide range of research approaches, strategies,
methods and survey results that will contribute to the
study of B2B e-Marketplace’s performances for
SMEs.
2. Performances of the B2B e-Marketplace
[18] refers to B2B e-Marketplace as a virtual,
dynamic and real time platform enabling both buyers
and sellers to communicate with raw material
suppliers, manufacturers and distributors by adopting
the Internet technologies. Hence, the B2B e-
Marketplace is regarded as one important part of e-
business solutions in the process of enabling supply
chain integration to maintain the business value and
growing competitive necessity. [18] highlighted
several aspects of the impact and importance of the
B2B e-Marketplace including:
• Share the experiences with their companies
powerfully shaped by the speed and flexibility of
the Internet.
• New concepts of customers and markets relatively
unhindered by time or distance.
• A global shift of speed and responsiveness.
• A trend toward global process visibility and
virtualisation.
• The benefits of global knowledge integration.
• Changing power and responsibility of the
individual.
With wide spread use of the Internet by companies as
a part of the media mix in their marketing activities,
marketers realise that the web has become a new
marketing channel for them. In order to communicate
with customers, the B2B e-Marketplace is one of the
effective tools to convey messages and reduce
marketing costs compare to traditional marketing
media [22]. From the marketing point of view, B2B
e-Marketplace is a place to retrieve products,
information, customer relationships and even
distribution channels to the marketers.
The concept of B2B e-Marketplace provides a new
dimension in facilitating the marketers to work more
effectively in particular when making critical
marketing decision. Benefiting from the Internet
technologies, B2B e-Marketplace can serve both
seller and buyer as a new marketing channel to
conduct or execute marketing functions such as sales
and distribution.
The Internet has impacted all businesses and
marketing functions and it’s now a significant part of
global corporation’s marketing arsenal [16]. As
international acceptance of this new tools increase,
the Internet marketing turns from possibility to reality.
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
186
While marketer’s offline cannot guarantee that they
are reaching people who want to buy. When they
advertise on the Internet, this clearly is not a
problem. There are many types of online marketing
tools in the B2B e-Marketplace:
Banner Advertisements:
Any portal or other popular site such as Yahoo,
Amazon etc. do have banner advertisements. [12]
describes that, banner advertisement is the
billboards of the information superhighway but
actually they are more like road signs, directing
people to online locations they may never have
heard before. He also reveals that, banner
advertisement is static and interactive and can
incorporate both text and images. Typically, banner
advertisement provides a hyperlink to the
advertiser’s home page, enabling users to click
through the banner. [5] identify the following
objectives in banner advertisement:
• Delivering content- click through on banner
advertising leads through to a corporate site
giving more detailed information.
• Enabling transaction- click through leads to a
merchant such as a travel site or an online
bookstore. The advertisement is placed to lead
directly to a site.
• Shopping attitudes- advertisement consistent
within company brand.
• Encouraging retention- advertisement may be
placed as a reminder about the company and its
service.
Search Engines:
The other method for marketing on the B2B e-
Marketplace involves entering the terms into
WWW sites that have been set up to functions as
search engines. The majority of the B2B e-
Marketplace provides the functionality of
submission key words to the major search engines
such as yahoo.com, google.com etc. It is important
to appear the company information within the first
ten results to expose their business’s products via
the Internet.
Sponsorships:
Online sponsorships generally refer to partnerships
between a commercial web site and an information-
based web resource. Companies can more closely
associated with a site, however the costs involved
tend to be a lot higher than others method.
E-mail Advertising:
E-mail advertising is the most cost-effective medium
to get your message in the hands of the people who
are most likely to response to the offer. E-mail
advertising is literally a fraction of the cost of any
traditional marketing vehicle. According to [12], e-
mail marketing can be in two forms; newsletters and
subscriber lists.
A major challenge for B2B e-Marketplace is security.
[20] stated that hackers can cause havoc across the
global computer network. B2B e-Marketplace is
totally exposed to the Internet, and therefore the
information assets need to be protected via the
security technology. Thus, marketers need to be
aware of all stages of security development especially
in payment transaction. In addition, marketers should
also consider improving security by implementing
every aspect of the applications including system
software and networks. [2] also emphasized that, the
content of the website is critical to be appropriate and
relevant to the company business processes and the
languages must be consistent with the local markets.
Furthermore, the marketers also need to be aware of
the local culture and business natures in order to
make their marketing strategy effectively. In short,
the ideal B2B e-Marketplace must provide a high
level of personalisation, high technical contents,
straightforward navigation tools, and interactive
between the company and the customers [17, 10].
3. Research Methodology
A two-stage research design, combining qualitative
and quantitative phases was considered as a
triangulation application that appropriately employed
for this study. The research objectives were achieved
by using the designed research instrument (online
questionnaire and interviews) that captures the
opinions from the participators.
Research Philosophy
Positivism and interpretivism research philosophies
are widely used by social researchers with different
perspectives on the research process. The distinctive
between positivist and interpretivist is highlighted in
table 1. According to [3], positivist approach is based
on realism and attempting to find out about the real
world. It also refers to a rational edifice built by
scientists to explain human behaviour [8].
Interpretivist refers to real direct experiences that
happen daily and can interpret the experience of
participants in order to understand the essence of the
experience as perceived by the participants [8].
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
187
There are two general processes which may result
in the acquisition of new knowledge namely
inductive (often associated with quantitative data)
and deductive (often related with qualitative data).
It is common to relate these processes to the
research philosophies, where deductive owes more
to positivism and inductive relate more to
interpretivism [9]. Inductive involves making
observations, usually to develop a new hypothesis
or contribute to a new theory, where deductive
research begins with known theory and usually
develop by attempting to provide evidence for or
against a pre-specified hypothesis [21]. Inductive
analysis often involves in discovering patterns,
themes, and categories, whereby deductive are
analyzed according to an existing frameworks [21].
[24] identified the major differences between
deductive and inductive research approaches as
shown in table 2.
Based on the general principle of the research
philosophy above, mixed methodologies
(triangulation) are proposed to be employed for this
study. There is a strong suggestion within the
research community that, both quantitative and
qualitative are best thought to be mixed in majority of
the research field. [23] suggest that the advantages of
combining qualitative and quantitative data as
followed:
• enable confirmation or corroboration of each
other via triangulation;
• elaborate or develop analysis, providing richer
details; and
• initiate new lines of thinking through attention to
surprises or paradoxes, “turning ideas around”,
provide fresh insights.
In addition, [1] recognised that, quantitative data can
help with the qualitative side of a study by finding a
representative sample and locating deviant samples,
while qualitative data can help the quantitative side
of the study during design by aiding with conceptual
development and instrumentation. Both results focus
on different aspects of an issue but they are
complementary to each other and lead to a fuller
picture. They also suggested that, qualitative and
quantitative results are divergent or contradictions.
Table 1: Comparison between positivist and interpretivist
Source: [8]
Dimensions of
comparisons
Positivist Interpretivist
Philosophical basis Realism: the world exists and is
knowable as it really is.
Idealism: the world exists but different
people construe in it different ways.
Methods of understanding Identifying conditions or
relationships which permit the
collectivity to exist.
Interpretation of the subjective meanings
which individual place upon their action.
Theory A rational edifice built by scientists
to explain human behavior.
Sets of meanings which people use to
make sense of their world and human
behavior within it.
Research Experimental or quasi-experimental
validation of theory.
The search for meaningful relationships
and the discovery of their consequences
for action.
Methodology Abstraction of reality, especially
though mathematical models and
quantitative analysis.
The representation of reality for
purposes of comparison.
Organisation Goal-oriented. Independent of
people. Instruments of order in
society serving both the society and
the individual.
Dependent upon people and their goals.
Instruments of power which some people
control and can use to attain ends which
seem good to them.
Table 2: Differences between deductive and inductive research approaches
Source: [24]
Deduction emphasizes Induction emphasizes
Scientific principles
Moving from theory to data
The collection of quantitative data
The application of controls to ensure validity of
data
Researcher independence of what is being
researched
The necessity to select samples of sufficient size
in order to generalize conclusions
Gaining understanding of the meanings of
human
A close understanding of the research context
The collection of qualitative data
A more flexible structure to permit changes of
research
A realization that the researcher is part of the
research process
Less concern with the need to generalize
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
188
Qualitative and quantitative mutually confirm and
support the same conclusions [15].
Triangulation is often used to demonstrate different
data sources or inquiry approaches that will lead to
the same result [21]. A triangulation approach is the
combination of methodologies in the study of the
same phenomenon. The purpose of the triangulation
is to increase the credibility and validity of the
research result. By combining multiple research
methods, researchers can overcome the weaknesses
or problems come from a single method. For
instance, the same participates are interviewed and
fill in an online questionnaire, both of the answers
are compare with each other, put together, and refer
to each other in the data analysis.
Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are
reported to be the most widely used research
methods, and these methods are complementary
and their combination often leads to a deeper
understanding of the research problem. The
combination of the above (triangulation) is intended
to generate a mixed blend of data relevant to the
study with a wide range of strategies for data
collection including; Survey, Statistical/data
analysis, Semi-structured interview, Observation,
Case study, Ethnographic study, In-depth interview,
Focus group, Content analysis, Action research,
Personal reflection, Participant observation,
Telephone survey, Online focus groups, E-phone
survey, Internet survey and Mystery shopper.
The choice of methods for this study is motivated
by the desire to combine literature review
(secondary data), survey (online questionnaire), and
interview.
Literature Review
A literature review of published articles, books and
exploitation of relevant theories and past empirical
studies is almost universal in academic research
projects. The preliminary search can help to
generate and refine the research ideas and develop
awareness of the current state of knowledge in the
chosen subject [24]. Hence, it is important to
review the literature from the early stage of the
research process. Based on the dedicated database
designed for this study, it is intended to provide an
evolutionary picture of a clear understanding of the
performance of e-Marketplace in conducting B2B
marketing and the global business environment.
Quantitative Research (Survey)
Surveys are considered the most appropriate tool
for making interference about a large group of
people to compare, explain knowledge, attitudes
and behavior [19, 26, 14]. The fundamental idea of
survey is to descript and explain statistically and
variability of certain features in a particular
population. The advantages of survey research
suggested by [15] include:
• Accuracy - measurement in quantification and
reliability of particular population;
• Generalisability - generalised to a larger
population with minimise of error; and
• Convenience - easy to administer and amenable to
rapid statistical analysis.
Online survey considered one of the most popular
data gathering techniques. The greatest strengths of
online survey are the potential to collect a large
amount of data in a relatively short amount of time.
Furthermore, [6] emphasized that an online survey is
easy to design for the data collection and analysis
process in quantitative research approach. In short,
online survey provides quick, efficient, and accurate
means of assessing information from the population.
Qualitative Research (Interview)
Interview is one of the main data collection tools in
qualitative research. Interviews are particularly useful
for getting the story behind a participant’s
experiences. Two types of interviews will be adopted
to collect data for this study: semi-structured and
unstructured interviews. Semi-structure interview is
non-standardised, allowing a degree of freedom and
adaptability in getting the information from
respondents. In addition, respondents may expand
their answers where it is desirable. Unstructured
interview is not generally-planned, in order to remain
as open and adaptable as possible to the respondent’s
nature and priorities; during the interview, the
respondents are allowed to talk freely around the
subject.
There are three types of interview approaches
proposed to be employed for this study; face-to-face
interview, telephone interview and interview via
Webcam. Through face to face interview, it is easy
for an investigator to obtain in-depth information by
probing and controlling the situation. It also allows
information exchange to remain transparent between
the interviewer and the respondent. Thus, the
research can gain a quality response rate by
establishing rapport and motivate the respondent to
answer fully and accurately [14]. Telephone
interview is another strategy adopted for this study.
“Telephone interviewing is an increasingly popular
means of conducting survey research because not
only does almost everyone have a telephone and it is
easier to access to the particular research population.”
[11, p.4], moreover, the interviewer also has the
opportunity to probe answers by asking the
respondent to clarify or expand on a specific response.
The above strategies are supported by Webcam
interview approach. The advancement of the
Webcam is making this study possible to reach large
and diverse sample populations at relatively low cost
compared with face-to-face and telephone interview.
Sample
The online questionnaire aimed at managing director,
general manager, IT manager, marketing manager
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
189
and other professionals in the particular firms. The
targeted populations for this survey are three
selected B2B Marketplaces base on their suitability;
Asiaep.com (Malaysia), Alibaba.com (China), and
Tradeindia.com (India)
The full details including; name, designation, full
address, email address, contact number, and
number of employees of the recipients were
obtained from B2B e-Marketplaces above. Two
hundred and fifty email addresses were sent
together with the cover letters. This is followed by
the ‘follow-up’ emails (thank early respondents and
remind non-respondents) were sent two week after
emailing the questionnaire to the recipients. The
‘second follow-up’ emails were sent to the
recipients who have not responded after three
weeks. The online survey was supported by
interviews with selected respondents to the online
questionnaire who expressed their interest in taking
part in an interview, and those respondents who
were considered suitable after analyzing their
response to the questionnaire.
4. Results
Out of two hundred and fifty email addresses sent,
seventy nine valid questionnaires were received,
yielding a response rate of thirty one percent. The
response rate was considered high because of the
efficiency and flexibility of the web-based data
collection and administration.
Characteristics of Sample
As shown in figure 1, 25.8 percent of the
companies who participated in this survey are in
information technology (IT) sector, 9.7 percent
from finance/banking sector, 6.5 percent from the
construction, communication and dot.com
companies respectively, 22.6 percent from the
manufacturer, 3.2 percent from travel-based sector
and 19.4 percent from other sectors.
Fig 1. Business Domain
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Investment
The main purpose of this section is to identify the
ICT investment for the sample companies. Many
businesses are automating their processes and ICT is
considered essential to their operations in the global
market. The sample companies widely invested in the
basic ICT infrastructures such as desktop, laptop,
printer, corporate email services and Microsoft office
software packages as indicated in table 3. In addition,
over 77 percent of the sample companies have
dedicated IT department, 74 percent of the
respondents have IT manager and majority of the IT
department employ between five to ten personnel (63
percent).
From this observation, although SMEs have limited
resources, they still widely invest in IT
infrastructures for competitive advantages. The
increased investment in ICT infrastructure has
enabled the responding companies to manage and
control their operations more efficiently and
effectively with improved relationship with
stakeholders in particular the customers. From the
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
perspective, ICT can track the customer preferences
from the Internet; and the ability to track and collate
detailed data on individual users is considered an
important aspect of successful marketing.
Table 3: ICT Investment
Software Percentage
E-mail 100%
Microsoft Office 100%
Desktop/Laptop 100%
Accounting/finance systems 90%
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) Systems
7%
Decision Support Systems (DSS) 4.5%
Enterprise Resources
Planning(ERP) Systems
8.9%
Human Resources Management
(HRM) Systems
5.1%
Management Information Systems
(MIS)
8.9%
Operational Systems 8.3%
Others 0.6%
Main Reasons to participate in B2B e-Marketplace
Referring to table 4, over 21 percent believed B2B e-
Marketplace is an important element of their
marketing strategies. The respondents indicated that,
competitive pressures from the global market (26.3
percent) are their top priority to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace. When asked about how the
performance of B2B e-Marketplace, 61.3 percent said
it was good, 19.4 percent have no idea about it, 12.9
percent said it was not efficient at all and only 6.5
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
190
percent stated that B2B e-Marketplace was
excellent for their businesses.
Based on the survey results, B2B e-Marketplace
has been considered an important asset for
competing in the global marketplace. The results
also indicated that, majority of the respondents
believed B2B e-Marketplace performed well in
their businesses. In summary, the need for
marketing for gaining a competitive edge in global
markets is the main reasons for marketers to
participate in B2B e-Marketplace.
Table 4: Reasons for B2B e-Marketplace Adoption
Reasons Percentage
It is part of my marketing
strategies
21.1%
Demanded/instructed/advised by
senior management
11.6%
Competition 26.3%
Follow the industry sector 12.6%
Customer feedback 10.5%
Make a global presence 15.8%
Others 2.1%
Benefits and Problems of B2B e-Marketplace
Adoption
These results have been evaluated in order to
identify trends that could lead to a greater
understanding of the B2B e-Marketplaces’ benefits
and problems. As indicated in figure 2, over 24
percent respondents which is the highest rate stated
that, the implementation is the main problem. It is
followed by technology (23.5 percent), expertise
(21 percent), resources (13.6 percent), lack of
senior management support (9.9 percent) and lack
of time (3.7 percent). In terms of the benefits, over
24 percent which is the majority indicated that,
B2B e-Marketplace can make better relationships
with customers. Moreover, over 19 percent of
respondents believed B2B e-Marketplace
improving their sales, it is followed by efficiency
gain (21 percent), improve product quality (7
percent), increase web traffic (15.8 percent), gain
competitive advantage (15 percent) and others
benefits just accounted for 1 percent (figure 3).
Fig 2. Problems of B2B e-Marketplace adoption
5.0 Discussions
The research results shown in section 5 may seem
surprising that SMEs are planning to use B2B e-
Marketplace to a larger extent. According to the
respondents, the main reason to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace is gaining competitive advantages in the
global marketplace. SMEs also realised B2B e-
Marketplace can “make better relationships with
customers”, and CRM become an important element
in B2B e-Marketplace. In the literature, a series of
benefits of B2B e-Marketplace have been suggested
and these benefits are the motivations for the
respondents to transfer into online trading. These
firms identified a need to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace because it facilitates access to global
markets, improved sales, increased web traffic,
efficiency gain and improved products/services
quality. However, the respondents also pointed out
some of the problems of B2B e-Marketplace. This
was dominated by the lack of understanding of
available technologies, expertise, and lack of
alignment in relation to business strategy.
Many marketers believed that this technique will
change their approach to market, and the result
proved that, is more complement to traditional
marketing practices. Moreover, the technology
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
Customer Relationships
Improved sales
Efficiency gain
Improved product quality
Increased web traffic
Gaining competitive
advantages
Others
Fig 3. Benefits of B2B e-Marketplace
adoption
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
191
improves from the Internet will interact marketing
capacity to building a total customer relationships.
The results of this study suggest that B2B e-
Marketplace are growing rapidly and should be
integrated into the overall marketing mix.
Respondents also believed that B2B e-Marketplace
would be more effective as a retention rather than
as an acquisition tool, because its interactivity
facilitates two-way communication. The senior
management members interviewed also stressed the
importance of targeting and the use of B2B e-
Marketplace as a marketing tool for their businesses.
Overall, the range of advantages that can be gained
from the B2B e-Marketplaces is extensive, although
not all will apply to every SMEs. Furthermore,
recognition of the advantages to be gained from
B2B e-Marketplaces is crucial from the initial stage
of developing e-business for SMEs to familiarise
the operation of B2B e-Marketplace.
6. Conclusion and Future Research
The concept of B2B e-Marketplace provides new
era to facilitate the marketers work more
intelligently in order to make the right marketing
decisions. This new marketing paradigm is reported
to reshape the business processes and enhances the
business exposure in the market. Similarly there is a
great emphasis on the maintenance of the
conventional model supported by up-to-date-
electronic technology, and appropriate to
innovative business models.
Based on the need from the literature, this study is
intended to make a contribution to: SMEs,
marketers, IT practitioners and other stakeholders
that use the Internet and other electronic means for
B2B marketing purposes. However, the evidence is
indicative of the need for further research. Possible
areas include;
• To produce an original contribution to
knowledge in the area of the performance of e-
Marketplace in conducting B2B marketing in
the global business environment;
• To provide further knowledge in the areas of e-
Marketing by proposing a new model of B2B
interaction;
• Review and recommend a classification of all
available B2B e-Marketplaces, their
characteristics and the technology used by
them.
• To promote e-Marketing techniques and all the
relevant components and;
• To create awareness for SMEs to the
effectiveness of e-Marketing in B2B e-
Marketplace.
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Communications of the IBIMA
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responsibility of its author(s). No part or all of this
work should be copied or reproduced in digital,
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The concept of B2B (Business-To-Business) e-Marketplace provides a new dimension in facilitating the marketers to work more effectively in particular when making critical marketing decision.
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
185
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs:
The Research Methods and Survey Results
Woon Kian Chong, The University of Bolton, Manchester, UK, [email protected]
Dr. Mathew Shafaghi, The University of Bolton, Manchester, UK, [email protected]
Abstract
The concept of B2B (Business-To-Business) e-
Marketplace provides a new dimension in
facilitating the marketers to work more effectively
in particular when making critical marketing
decision. Benefiting from the Internet technologies,
the range of advantages that can be gained from
the B2B e-Marketplace is extensive. This paper is
intended to provide a clear understanding of the
wide range of research approaches, strategies and
methods that will contribute to the study of B2B e-
Marketplace’s performances for Small and Medium
Sized Enterprises (SMEs). A two stage research
design combining qualitative and quantitative
research methodologies are used to generate
relevant data for this study. Focusing on SMEs the
paper will also explore the ability of the SMEs to
capitalise from the opportunities provided by B2B
e-marketplace. Based on the research results, B2B
e-Marketplace is reported to reshape the business
processes and enhances the business exposure in
the market
Keywords: B2B e-Marketplaces, SMEs, Research
Methods, Survey Results
1. Introduction
The rapid growth of the B2B e-Marketplace and the
development of Internet-related technologies have
led to the emergence of new business models [10].
The main advantages for buyers are reported to be:
the lower selection costs [17, 4]; reduce time by
instant access to sellers [13] and the ability to
ensure the best buying price by comparing to
multiple sellers in the e-Marketplace [7]. The major
benefits associated with sellers are increased
exposure to the global markets [17], enhanced
communication [7], and reduced transaction costs
[25] due to the aggregation of needy buyers
generated by the e-Marketplace. As B2B e-
Marketplace provides value for both sellers and
buyers, the expected transactions are highly
promising and are indicative of significant growth.
The literature provides the current level of Internet-
enabler marketing technologies from B2B e-
Marketplace to the marketers. The online and
offline publications from both academics and
practitioners make a significant contribution to
knowledge in the areas of B2B e-Marketplace that
has the potential to create competitive advantage
and enhance customer value. However, it appears
that there is limited exploitation of such knowledge
by industry professional. In order to develop a
better understanding of the topic under study, this
paper will provide a clear understanding of the
wide range of research approaches, strategies,
methods and survey results that will contribute to the
study of B2B e-Marketplace’s performances for
SMEs.
2. Performances of the B2B e-Marketplace
[18] refers to B2B e-Marketplace as a virtual,
dynamic and real time platform enabling both buyers
and sellers to communicate with raw material
suppliers, manufacturers and distributors by adopting
the Internet technologies. Hence, the B2B e-
Marketplace is regarded as one important part of e-
business solutions in the process of enabling supply
chain integration to maintain the business value and
growing competitive necessity. [18] highlighted
several aspects of the impact and importance of the
B2B e-Marketplace including:
• Share the experiences with their companies
powerfully shaped by the speed and flexibility of
the Internet.
• New concepts of customers and markets relatively
unhindered by time or distance.
• A global shift of speed and responsiveness.
• A trend toward global process visibility and
virtualisation.
• The benefits of global knowledge integration.
• Changing power and responsibility of the
individual.
With wide spread use of the Internet by companies as
a part of the media mix in their marketing activities,
marketers realise that the web has become a new
marketing channel for them. In order to communicate
with customers, the B2B e-Marketplace is one of the
effective tools to convey messages and reduce
marketing costs compare to traditional marketing
media [22]. From the marketing point of view, B2B
e-Marketplace is a place to retrieve products,
information, customer relationships and even
distribution channels to the marketers.
The concept of B2B e-Marketplace provides a new
dimension in facilitating the marketers to work more
effectively in particular when making critical
marketing decision. Benefiting from the Internet
technologies, B2B e-Marketplace can serve both
seller and buyer as a new marketing channel to
conduct or execute marketing functions such as sales
and distribution.
The Internet has impacted all businesses and
marketing functions and it’s now a significant part of
global corporation’s marketing arsenal [16]. As
international acceptance of this new tools increase,
the Internet marketing turns from possibility to reality.
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
186
While marketer’s offline cannot guarantee that they
are reaching people who want to buy. When they
advertise on the Internet, this clearly is not a
problem. There are many types of online marketing
tools in the B2B e-Marketplace:
Banner Advertisements:
Any portal or other popular site such as Yahoo,
Amazon etc. do have banner advertisements. [12]
describes that, banner advertisement is the
billboards of the information superhighway but
actually they are more like road signs, directing
people to online locations they may never have
heard before. He also reveals that, banner
advertisement is static and interactive and can
incorporate both text and images. Typically, banner
advertisement provides a hyperlink to the
advertiser’s home page, enabling users to click
through the banner. [5] identify the following
objectives in banner advertisement:
• Delivering content- click through on banner
advertising leads through to a corporate site
giving more detailed information.
• Enabling transaction- click through leads to a
merchant such as a travel site or an online
bookstore. The advertisement is placed to lead
directly to a site.
• Shopping attitudes- advertisement consistent
within company brand.
• Encouraging retention- advertisement may be
placed as a reminder about the company and its
service.
Search Engines:
The other method for marketing on the B2B e-
Marketplace involves entering the terms into
WWW sites that have been set up to functions as
search engines. The majority of the B2B e-
Marketplace provides the functionality of
submission key words to the major search engines
such as yahoo.com, google.com etc. It is important
to appear the company information within the first
ten results to expose their business’s products via
the Internet.
Sponsorships:
Online sponsorships generally refer to partnerships
between a commercial web site and an information-
based web resource. Companies can more closely
associated with a site, however the costs involved
tend to be a lot higher than others method.
E-mail Advertising:
E-mail advertising is the most cost-effective medium
to get your message in the hands of the people who
are most likely to response to the offer. E-mail
advertising is literally a fraction of the cost of any
traditional marketing vehicle. According to [12], e-
mail marketing can be in two forms; newsletters and
subscriber lists.
A major challenge for B2B e-Marketplace is security.
[20] stated that hackers can cause havoc across the
global computer network. B2B e-Marketplace is
totally exposed to the Internet, and therefore the
information assets need to be protected via the
security technology. Thus, marketers need to be
aware of all stages of security development especially
in payment transaction. In addition, marketers should
also consider improving security by implementing
every aspect of the applications including system
software and networks. [2] also emphasized that, the
content of the website is critical to be appropriate and
relevant to the company business processes and the
languages must be consistent with the local markets.
Furthermore, the marketers also need to be aware of
the local culture and business natures in order to
make their marketing strategy effectively. In short,
the ideal B2B e-Marketplace must provide a high
level of personalisation, high technical contents,
straightforward navigation tools, and interactive
between the company and the customers [17, 10].
3. Research Methodology
A two-stage research design, combining qualitative
and quantitative phases was considered as a
triangulation application that appropriately employed
for this study. The research objectives were achieved
by using the designed research instrument (online
questionnaire and interviews) that captures the
opinions from the participators.
Research Philosophy
Positivism and interpretivism research philosophies
are widely used by social researchers with different
perspectives on the research process. The distinctive
between positivist and interpretivist is highlighted in
table 1. According to [3], positivist approach is based
on realism and attempting to find out about the real
world. It also refers to a rational edifice built by
scientists to explain human behaviour [8].
Interpretivist refers to real direct experiences that
happen daily and can interpret the experience of
participants in order to understand the essence of the
experience as perceived by the participants [8].
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
187
There are two general processes which may result
in the acquisition of new knowledge namely
inductive (often associated with quantitative data)
and deductive (often related with qualitative data).
It is common to relate these processes to the
research philosophies, where deductive owes more
to positivism and inductive relate more to
interpretivism [9]. Inductive involves making
observations, usually to develop a new hypothesis
or contribute to a new theory, where deductive
research begins with known theory and usually
develop by attempting to provide evidence for or
against a pre-specified hypothesis [21]. Inductive
analysis often involves in discovering patterns,
themes, and categories, whereby deductive are
analyzed according to an existing frameworks [21].
[24] identified the major differences between
deductive and inductive research approaches as
shown in table 2.
Based on the general principle of the research
philosophy above, mixed methodologies
(triangulation) are proposed to be employed for this
study. There is a strong suggestion within the
research community that, both quantitative and
qualitative are best thought to be mixed in majority of
the research field. [23] suggest that the advantages of
combining qualitative and quantitative data as
followed:
• enable confirmation or corroboration of each
other via triangulation;
• elaborate or develop analysis, providing richer
details; and
• initiate new lines of thinking through attention to
surprises or paradoxes, “turning ideas around”,
provide fresh insights.
In addition, [1] recognised that, quantitative data can
help with the qualitative side of a study by finding a
representative sample and locating deviant samples,
while qualitative data can help the quantitative side
of the study during design by aiding with conceptual
development and instrumentation. Both results focus
on different aspects of an issue but they are
complementary to each other and lead to a fuller
picture. They also suggested that, qualitative and
quantitative results are divergent or contradictions.
Table 1: Comparison between positivist and interpretivist
Source: [8]
Dimensions of
comparisons
Positivist Interpretivist
Philosophical basis Realism: the world exists and is
knowable as it really is.
Idealism: the world exists but different
people construe in it different ways.
Methods of understanding Identifying conditions or
relationships which permit the
collectivity to exist.
Interpretation of the subjective meanings
which individual place upon their action.
Theory A rational edifice built by scientists
to explain human behavior.
Sets of meanings which people use to
make sense of their world and human
behavior within it.
Research Experimental or quasi-experimental
validation of theory.
The search for meaningful relationships
and the discovery of their consequences
for action.
Methodology Abstraction of reality, especially
though mathematical models and
quantitative analysis.
The representation of reality for
purposes of comparison.
Organisation Goal-oriented. Independent of
people. Instruments of order in
society serving both the society and
the individual.
Dependent upon people and their goals.
Instruments of power which some people
control and can use to attain ends which
seem good to them.
Table 2: Differences between deductive and inductive research approaches
Source: [24]
Deduction emphasizes Induction emphasizes
Scientific principles
Moving from theory to data
The collection of quantitative data
The application of controls to ensure validity of
data
Researcher independence of what is being
researched
The necessity to select samples of sufficient size
in order to generalize conclusions
Gaining understanding of the meanings of
human
A close understanding of the research context
The collection of qualitative data
A more flexible structure to permit changes of
research
A realization that the researcher is part of the
research process
Less concern with the need to generalize
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
188
Qualitative and quantitative mutually confirm and
support the same conclusions [15].
Triangulation is often used to demonstrate different
data sources or inquiry approaches that will lead to
the same result [21]. A triangulation approach is the
combination of methodologies in the study of the
same phenomenon. The purpose of the triangulation
is to increase the credibility and validity of the
research result. By combining multiple research
methods, researchers can overcome the weaknesses
or problems come from a single method. For
instance, the same participates are interviewed and
fill in an online questionnaire, both of the answers
are compare with each other, put together, and refer
to each other in the data analysis.
Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are
reported to be the most widely used research
methods, and these methods are complementary
and their combination often leads to a deeper
understanding of the research problem. The
combination of the above (triangulation) is intended
to generate a mixed blend of data relevant to the
study with a wide range of strategies for data
collection including; Survey, Statistical/data
analysis, Semi-structured interview, Observation,
Case study, Ethnographic study, In-depth interview,
Focus group, Content analysis, Action research,
Personal reflection, Participant observation,
Telephone survey, Online focus groups, E-phone
survey, Internet survey and Mystery shopper.
The choice of methods for this study is motivated
by the desire to combine literature review
(secondary data), survey (online questionnaire), and
interview.
Literature Review
A literature review of published articles, books and
exploitation of relevant theories and past empirical
studies is almost universal in academic research
projects. The preliminary search can help to
generate and refine the research ideas and develop
awareness of the current state of knowledge in the
chosen subject [24]. Hence, it is important to
review the literature from the early stage of the
research process. Based on the dedicated database
designed for this study, it is intended to provide an
evolutionary picture of a clear understanding of the
performance of e-Marketplace in conducting B2B
marketing and the global business environment.
Quantitative Research (Survey)
Surveys are considered the most appropriate tool
for making interference about a large group of
people to compare, explain knowledge, attitudes
and behavior [19, 26, 14]. The fundamental idea of
survey is to descript and explain statistically and
variability of certain features in a particular
population. The advantages of survey research
suggested by [15] include:
• Accuracy - measurement in quantification and
reliability of particular population;
• Generalisability - generalised to a larger
population with minimise of error; and
• Convenience - easy to administer and amenable to
rapid statistical analysis.
Online survey considered one of the most popular
data gathering techniques. The greatest strengths of
online survey are the potential to collect a large
amount of data in a relatively short amount of time.
Furthermore, [6] emphasized that an online survey is
easy to design for the data collection and analysis
process in quantitative research approach. In short,
online survey provides quick, efficient, and accurate
means of assessing information from the population.
Qualitative Research (Interview)
Interview is one of the main data collection tools in
qualitative research. Interviews are particularly useful
for getting the story behind a participant’s
experiences. Two types of interviews will be adopted
to collect data for this study: semi-structured and
unstructured interviews. Semi-structure interview is
non-standardised, allowing a degree of freedom and
adaptability in getting the information from
respondents. In addition, respondents may expand
their answers where it is desirable. Unstructured
interview is not generally-planned, in order to remain
as open and adaptable as possible to the respondent’s
nature and priorities; during the interview, the
respondents are allowed to talk freely around the
subject.
There are three types of interview approaches
proposed to be employed for this study; face-to-face
interview, telephone interview and interview via
Webcam. Through face to face interview, it is easy
for an investigator to obtain in-depth information by
probing and controlling the situation. It also allows
information exchange to remain transparent between
the interviewer and the respondent. Thus, the
research can gain a quality response rate by
establishing rapport and motivate the respondent to
answer fully and accurately [14]. Telephone
interview is another strategy adopted for this study.
“Telephone interviewing is an increasingly popular
means of conducting survey research because not
only does almost everyone have a telephone and it is
easier to access to the particular research population.”
[11, p.4], moreover, the interviewer also has the
opportunity to probe answers by asking the
respondent to clarify or expand on a specific response.
The above strategies are supported by Webcam
interview approach. The advancement of the
Webcam is making this study possible to reach large
and diverse sample populations at relatively low cost
compared with face-to-face and telephone interview.
Sample
The online questionnaire aimed at managing director,
general manager, IT manager, marketing manager
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
189
and other professionals in the particular firms. The
targeted populations for this survey are three
selected B2B Marketplaces base on their suitability;
Asiaep.com (Malaysia), Alibaba.com (China), and
Tradeindia.com (India)
The full details including; name, designation, full
address, email address, contact number, and
number of employees of the recipients were
obtained from B2B e-Marketplaces above. Two
hundred and fifty email addresses were sent
together with the cover letters. This is followed by
the ‘follow-up’ emails (thank early respondents and
remind non-respondents) were sent two week after
emailing the questionnaire to the recipients. The
‘second follow-up’ emails were sent to the
recipients who have not responded after three
weeks. The online survey was supported by
interviews with selected respondents to the online
questionnaire who expressed their interest in taking
part in an interview, and those respondents who
were considered suitable after analyzing their
response to the questionnaire.
4. Results
Out of two hundred and fifty email addresses sent,
seventy nine valid questionnaires were received,
yielding a response rate of thirty one percent. The
response rate was considered high because of the
efficiency and flexibility of the web-based data
collection and administration.
Characteristics of Sample
As shown in figure 1, 25.8 percent of the
companies who participated in this survey are in
information technology (IT) sector, 9.7 percent
from finance/banking sector, 6.5 percent from the
construction, communication and dot.com
companies respectively, 22.6 percent from the
manufacturer, 3.2 percent from travel-based sector
and 19.4 percent from other sectors.
Fig 1. Business Domain
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Investment
The main purpose of this section is to identify the
ICT investment for the sample companies. Many
businesses are automating their processes and ICT is
considered essential to their operations in the global
market. The sample companies widely invested in the
basic ICT infrastructures such as desktop, laptop,
printer, corporate email services and Microsoft office
software packages as indicated in table 3. In addition,
over 77 percent of the sample companies have
dedicated IT department, 74 percent of the
respondents have IT manager and majority of the IT
department employ between five to ten personnel (63
percent).
From this observation, although SMEs have limited
resources, they still widely invest in IT
infrastructures for competitive advantages. The
increased investment in ICT infrastructure has
enabled the responding companies to manage and
control their operations more efficiently and
effectively with improved relationship with
stakeholders in particular the customers. From the
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
perspective, ICT can track the customer preferences
from the Internet; and the ability to track and collate
detailed data on individual users is considered an
important aspect of successful marketing.
Table 3: ICT Investment
Software Percentage
E-mail 100%
Microsoft Office 100%
Desktop/Laptop 100%
Accounting/finance systems 90%
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) Systems
7%
Decision Support Systems (DSS) 4.5%
Enterprise Resources
Planning(ERP) Systems
8.9%
Human Resources Management
(HRM) Systems
5.1%
Management Information Systems
(MIS)
8.9%
Operational Systems 8.3%
Others 0.6%
Main Reasons to participate in B2B e-Marketplace
Referring to table 4, over 21 percent believed B2B e-
Marketplace is an important element of their
marketing strategies. The respondents indicated that,
competitive pressures from the global market (26.3
percent) are their top priority to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace. When asked about how the
performance of B2B e-Marketplace, 61.3 percent said
it was good, 19.4 percent have no idea about it, 12.9
percent said it was not efficient at all and only 6.5
Woon Kian Chong and Mathew Shafaghi
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
190
percent stated that B2B e-Marketplace was
excellent for their businesses.
Based on the survey results, B2B e-Marketplace
has been considered an important asset for
competing in the global marketplace. The results
also indicated that, majority of the respondents
believed B2B e-Marketplace performed well in
their businesses. In summary, the need for
marketing for gaining a competitive edge in global
markets is the main reasons for marketers to
participate in B2B e-Marketplace.
Table 4: Reasons for B2B e-Marketplace Adoption
Reasons Percentage
It is part of my marketing
strategies
21.1%
Demanded/instructed/advised by
senior management
11.6%
Competition 26.3%
Follow the industry sector 12.6%
Customer feedback 10.5%
Make a global presence 15.8%
Others 2.1%
Benefits and Problems of B2B e-Marketplace
Adoption
These results have been evaluated in order to
identify trends that could lead to a greater
understanding of the B2B e-Marketplaces’ benefits
and problems. As indicated in figure 2, over 24
percent respondents which is the highest rate stated
that, the implementation is the main problem. It is
followed by technology (23.5 percent), expertise
(21 percent), resources (13.6 percent), lack of
senior management support (9.9 percent) and lack
of time (3.7 percent). In terms of the benefits, over
24 percent which is the majority indicated that,
B2B e-Marketplace can make better relationships
with customers. Moreover, over 19 percent of
respondents believed B2B e-Marketplace
improving their sales, it is followed by efficiency
gain (21 percent), improve product quality (7
percent), increase web traffic (15.8 percent), gain
competitive advantage (15 percent) and others
benefits just accounted for 1 percent (figure 3).
Fig 2. Problems of B2B e-Marketplace adoption
5.0 Discussions
The research results shown in section 5 may seem
surprising that SMEs are planning to use B2B e-
Marketplace to a larger extent. According to the
respondents, the main reason to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace is gaining competitive advantages in the
global marketplace. SMEs also realised B2B e-
Marketplace can “make better relationships with
customers”, and CRM become an important element
in B2B e-Marketplace. In the literature, a series of
benefits of B2B e-Marketplace have been suggested
and these benefits are the motivations for the
respondents to transfer into online trading. These
firms identified a need to participate in B2B e-
Marketplace because it facilitates access to global
markets, improved sales, increased web traffic,
efficiency gain and improved products/services
quality. However, the respondents also pointed out
some of the problems of B2B e-Marketplace. This
was dominated by the lack of understanding of
available technologies, expertise, and lack of
alignment in relation to business strategy.
Many marketers believed that this technique will
change their approach to market, and the result
proved that, is more complement to traditional
marketing practices. Moreover, the technology
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
Customer Relationships
Improved sales
Efficiency gain
Improved product quality
Increased web traffic
Gaining competitive
advantages
Others
Fig 3. Benefits of B2B e-Marketplace
adoption
Performances of B2B e-Marketplace for SMEs: The Research Methods and Survey Results
Communications of the IBIMA
Volume 9, 2009 ISSN: 1943-7765
191
improves from the Internet will interact marketing
capacity to building a total customer relationships.
The results of this study suggest that B2B e-
Marketplace are growing rapidly and should be
integrated into the overall marketing mix.
Respondents also believed that B2B e-Marketplace
would be more effective as a retention rather than
as an acquisition tool, because its interactivity
facilitates two-way communication. The senior
management members interviewed also stressed the
importance of targeting and the use of B2B e-
Marketplace as a marketing tool for their businesses.
Overall, the range of advantages that can be gained
from the B2B e-Marketplaces is extensive, although
not all will apply to every SMEs. Furthermore,
recognition of the advantages to be gained from
B2B e-Marketplaces is crucial from the initial stage
of developing e-business for SMEs to familiarise
the operation of B2B e-Marketplace.
6. Conclusion and Future Research
The concept of B2B e-Marketplace provides new
era to facilitate the marketers work more
intelligently in order to make the right marketing
decisions. This new marketing paradigm is reported
to reshape the business processes and enhances the
business exposure in the market. Similarly there is a
great emphasis on the maintenance of the
conventional model supported by up-to-date-
electronic technology, and appropriate to
innovative business models.
Based on the need from the literature, this study is
intended to make a contribution to: SMEs,
marketers, IT practitioners and other stakeholders
that use the Internet and other electronic means for
B2B marketing purposes. However, the evidence is
indicative of the need for further research. Possible
areas include;
• To produce an original contribution to
knowledge in the area of the performance of e-
Marketplace in conducting B2B marketing in
the global business environment;
• To provide further knowledge in the areas of e-
Marketing by proposing a new model of B2B
interaction;
• Review and recommend a classification of all
available B2B e-Marketplaces, their
characteristics and the technology used by
them.
• To promote e-Marketing techniques and all the
relevant components and;
• To create awareness for SMEs to the
effectiveness of e-Marketing in B2B e-
Marketplace.
7. References
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[3] Bryman, A. and Cramer, D. (1990), Quantitative
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London.
[4] Büyüközkan, G. (2004), “Multi-criteria decision
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