Small firm Internet adoption: opportunities forgone, a journey not begun

This paper explores the endeavours of five small firms to develop Web‐based commerce capabilities within their existing operations. The focus is on the strategic acquisition and exploitation of knowledge which underpins new value creating activities related to Web‐based commerce. A normative Web‐based commerce adoption model developed from a review of the extant literature related to electronic marketing, entrepreneurship, and the diffusion of new innovations was empirically tested. A multiple case study design enabled the exploration of contemporary marketing and entrepreneurship issues within the real life context of five small firms. The model aimed to emphasis best‐practice adoption methods emphasizing the value of a firm’s market orientation and entrepreneurial capabilities. A preliminary test of the model’s theoretical contentions lent support to its overall focus, but found that the firm’s existing learning capabilities were diminished during the adoption of Web‐based commerce, and that a lack of vision and prior knowledge produced sub‐optimal adoption outcomes.