Adoption of ICT and e‐commerce in small businesses: an HEI‐based consultancy perspective

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Abstract
This article sets out to critically evaluate the impact that higher education institution (HEI)‐based consultancy can have upon the adoption and use of e‐commerce by businesses units operating in the small business sector of the British economy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that “new” (post‐1992) universities are more likely to offer consultancy services to small businesses. It is also claimed that owner/managers seem reluctant to pay full economic prices and would only subscribe to HEI‐based consultancy services if and when these are supported by considerable subsidies. In order to test the owner/manager reluctance hypothesis, 60 matched case studies were conducted, involving small businesses based in the West Midlands region of Great Britain. Preliminary results indicate that most small business owner/managers are aware of the potential benefits accruing from ICT and e‐commerce and tend to use HEI‐based consultancy services as a subsidised access point to e‐markets, involving both their core and peripheral activities. There exists, however, an apparent mismatch between the supply and demand sides of the HEI‐based ICT and e‐commerce consultancy market.