E-business, innovation and SMEs: the significance of hosted services and firm aggregations

David H. Brown and Nigel Lockett

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2007, vol. 7, issue 1, 92-112

Abstract: Against a background of the low engagement of Small- to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in e-business this paper investigates the significance of hosted services and firm aggregations. On the basis of qualitative case studies of aggregations of SMEs, the research shows how e-business-based innovation can occur, and identifies the extent to which the aggregation factor contributes to this innovation. The research confirms existing understanding of the importance of network-based aggregations but adds to this with further detail and examples, including the 'outsourcing' of innovation to the Application Service Providers (ASPs).

Keywords: small-and-medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; information technology; communication technology; ICT adoption; firm aggregations; hosted applications; intermediaries; innovation; networks; e-business. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijeima:v:7:y:2007:i:1:p:92-112

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