Just because e-commerce technologies seem like useful
tools that may assist a small to medium enterprise (SME)
do its business better, it does not necessarily follow that
these technologies will be adopted by this business. The
implementation of an e-commerce system in an SME necessitates writing small business plan
change in the way the business operates, and so
it should be considered as an innovation and studied using
innovation theory.
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is concerned with
how computers, information systems and communications
technologies can be used by people to improve the ways
in which they do business. As e-commerce necessarily
involves interactions of people and technology, any study
of how it is used by a writing small business plan must be considered
in a socio-technical context. Although there is no universal
consensus on what constitutes e-commerce, it must be
considered to contain elements of information systems,
computer hardware technology, business processes, communications
technologies, and people. The complexity of
studies in e-commerce is due, to a considerable degree, to
the interconnected parts played by human actors and by the
multitude of non-human entities involved. Small business
managers, sales people, staff involved in procurement and
warehouse operations, computers, software, Web browsers,
Internet service providers (ISP), modems, and Web portals
are only some of the many heterogeneous components of
an e-commerce system.writing small business plan
bacKground: adoptIon of
e-commerce by an sme
In this article we will argue that the decision to adopt, or not
to adopt a new technology is not a straightforward one and
has more to do with the interactions and associations of both
human and non-human actors involved in the project than with
the characteristics of the technology itself (Tatnall, 2005).
Information systems are complex socio-technical entities,
and research into their implementation needs to take account
of this complexity, which will only be seen if it is repor

in all its "messy reality" (Hughes, 1983). Research into the
implementation and operation of these systems needs to take
this heterogeneity into account and to find a way to give due
regard to both their human and non-human aspects.
One view of the adoption of an electronic commerce
innovation by a small to medium enterprise suggests that
decisions are made primarily based on perceptions, by
business managers, of the characteristics of the technology
concerned. Such an "essentialist" approach (Haslam, 1998)
involves consideration of the "essential" characteristics of
the technology. Innovation diffusion (Rogers, 1995) uses this
approach and is based upon the following elements:
• characteristics of the innovation itself,
• the nature of the communications channels,
• the passage of time,
• and the social system.
Another approach that has recently gained prominence
is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), formulated
by Davis and his colleagues (Davis, 1986, 1989; Davis,
Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989). Davis identifies three major
determinants of technology acceptance (or adoption) suggested
by previous research studies that relate to cognition
and effectiveness:
• perceived usefulness and
• perceived ease of use
to which are sometimes added attitude toward using technology
and behavioral intention. TAM then attempts to use
these factors to explain technology adoption.
Using approaches of this sort, the researcher would
probably begin by looking for characteristics of the specific
e-commerce technology to be adopted, and the perceptions,
attitudes, advantages, and problems associated with its use.
The next step would be to suggest that the adoption, or
rejection, of this technology by an SME was due largely to
these characteristics. We contend that while there may be
some validity in such an approach, it is unlikely to provide
the complete explanation as it would miss other influences
due to inter-personal and intra-business interactions, and to
the backgrounds of the people involved.

InnovatIon translatIon
We argue that actor-network theory (ANT) has much to offer
in a situation like this. A researcher using an actor-network
approach to study innovation would concentrate on issues of
network formation, investigating the human and non-human
actors and the alliances and networks they build up. They
would investigate how the strength of these alliances may
have enticed the small business to make the adoption or, on
the other hand, to have deterred them from doing so (Tatnall,
2002; Tatnall & Burgess, 2006; Tatnall & Gilding, 1999).
While some research approaches to technological innovation
treat the social and the technical in entirely different ways,
actor-network theory proposes a socio-technical account in
which neither social nor technical positions are privileged.
Actor-network theory argues that interactions between
actors are heterogeneous and denies that purely technical or
purely social relations are possible. It considers the world
to be full of hybrid entities (Latour, 1993) containing both
human and non-human elements. Change, in the ANT view,
results from decisions made by actors, and involves the
exercise of power. Latour (1986) argues that the mere possession
of power by an actor does not automatically lead to
change unless other actors can also be persuaded to perform
the appropriate actions for this to occur.
In our experience it is often the case that when a small or
medium business is considering a technological innovation
it is interested in only some aspects of this innovation and
not others (Tatnall, 2002; Tatnall & Burgess, 2002, 2006;
Tatnall & Davey, 2005). In actor-network terms it needs
to translate (Callon, 1986) this piece of technology into a
form where it can be adopted, which may mean choosing
some elements of the technology and leaving out others.
What results is that the innovation finally adopted is not the
innovation in its original form, but a translation of it into a
form that is suitable for use by the recipient small business
(Tatnall, 2002; Tatnall & Burgess, 2006).
In many instances a small business proprietor will adopt
e-commerce because a friend is using it, or because they know
a competitor is using it, or because a son or daughter learned
about it at school (Burgess, 2002; Tatnall, 2002; Tatnall &
Burgess, 2006). The nature and size of each small business,
the intra-business interactions in which they engage, and the
backgrounds and interests of particular individuals in each
are also likely to have had an important affect that would,
most likely, have been ignored by the essentialist approach
offered by innovation diffusion or TAM. Actor-network
theory, in examining alliances and networks of human and
non-human actors, provides a good foundation from which
small business adoption and use of e-commerce can be
researched. The ANT approach will be further amplified in
the case studies that follow, particularly in respect of the
identification of actors and networks.
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