Evaluating E-Business Capability and E-Business Value for Fast Growth Small-to-Medium Enterprises

Grounded in the resource-based view theory, we develop, theorize, and test a theoretical model to evaluate e-business capability and e-business value in the fast growth small-to-medium enterprise (SME) context. We propose that e-business value depends on how fast growth SMEs deploy IT resources, strategic planning, culture, and business partnerships to develop e-business capability and business process competence which help these companies to achieve outstanding business performance. Structural equation modeling is employed to test our theoretical conceptualization on a cohort of 310 Australian fast-growth SMEs across different industrial sectors. The results show that IT resources, strategic IT alignment, market orientation, and business partnerships do contribute significantly and indirectly to e-business value through the mediating effects of e-business capability and business process competence. Our study provides an initial empirical evidence to understand the relationship between IT and entrepreneurial SME performance. These findings have important implications for research and business practices.