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Empowerment of SME websites—Development of a web-empowerment scale and preliminary evidence

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  • Rudolf Sinkovics
  • Elfriede Penz

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has been argued to fundamentally reshape economic conditions and business practices of firms. It is seen as a promoter of rapid internationalisation of companies, particularly small and medium enterprises. In the aftermath of the burst of the electronic-bubble business practitioners and academics look with scrutiny on successful web-strategies, relevant dimensions of online-success and try to identify viable website practices which enable long-term rewards. The literature offers a rather patchy pattern for successful web-strategies and consumer perspectives on what is expected from websites is hardly available. Within this paper, we introduce the dimension “web-empowerment”. This is a multidimensional construct comprising of consumer views on various dimensions of relevant and successful websites. The web-empowerment scale is based on a large sample from Austria, and developed according to scale development procedures. The relevance of this construct and practical issues in the context of a cross-country sample of SME’s is empirically examined. The paper concludes by offering implications for SME practitioners and for research. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005

Suggested Citation

  • Rudolf Sinkovics & Elfriede Penz, 2005. "Empowerment of SME websites—Development of a web-empowerment scale and preliminary evidence," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 303-315, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:3:y:2005:i:4:p:303-315
    DOI: 10.1007/s10843-006-7858-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Madsen, Tage Koed & Servais, Per, 1997. "The internationalization of Born Globals: An evolutionary process?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(6), pages 561-583, December.
    2. Shawna O'Grady & Henry W Lane, 1996. "The Psychic Distance Paradox," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(2), pages 309-333, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pezderka, Noemi & Sinkovics, Rudolf R., 2011. "A conceptualization of e-risk perceptions and implications for small firm active online internationalization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 409-422, August.
    3. Serrano, Raúl & Acero, Isabel, 2015. "Rethinking Entry Mode Choice of Agro-Exporters: The Effect of the Internet," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Reuber, A. Rebecca & Fischer, Eileen, 2011. "International entrepreneurship in internet-enabled markets," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 660-679.
    5. Brieger, Steven A. & Chowdhury, Farzana & Hechavarría, Diana M. & Muralidharan, Etayankara & Pathak, Saurav & Lam, Yan Tong, 2022. "Digitalization, institutions and new venture internationalization," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    6. Glavas, Charmaine & Mathews, Shane, 2014. "How international entrepreneurship characteristics influence Internet capabilities for the international business processes of the firm," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 228-245.
    7. Ipsmiller, Edith & Dikova, Desislava & Brouthers, Keith D., 2022. "Digital Internationalization of Traditional Firms: Virtual Presence and Entrepreneurial Orientation," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    8. David B. Audretsch & Maksim Belitski & Farzana Chowdhury & Sameeksha Desai, . "Home-country export regulations, credit markets, and corruption: implications for different types of internationalization," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    9. Dumitru-Silviu Mistreanu & Liviu-George Maha, 2022. "Evaluating the Internationalization Process of Firms: Methods and Dimensions," Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(1), pages 101-105, September.
    10. Alarcón-del-Amo, María-del-Carmen & Rialp-Criado, Alex & Rialp-Criado, Josep, 2018. "Examining the impact of managerial involvement with social media on exporting firm performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 355-366.
    11. Elfriede Penz & Eva Hofmann & Barbara Hartl, 2017. "Fostering Sustainable Travel Behavior: Role of Sustainability Labels and Goal-Directed Behavior Regarding Touristic Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-17, June.

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