Title: The development of e-business in wine industry SMEs: an international perspective

Authors: Leighann C. Neilson, Judith Madill, George H. Haines Jr.

Addresses: Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada. ' Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5, Canada. ' Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada

Abstract: This paper reports on empirical research focused on how small and medium size wineries utilise their websites to provide information, facilitate online purchase and develop customer relationships. Based on a content analysis of a randomly selected sample of Canadian, American, French, Australian and Chilean winery websites, we found that a high proportion of SME wineries utilise websites to provide information to consumers; a range of purchase facilitation models exist; and the proportion of wineries that utilise their websites to develop customer relationships varies across countries. Implications for wineries are discussed; avenues for future research are explored.

Keywords: SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; wine industry; website usability; e-commerce; electronic commerce; relationship marketing; wineries; vineyards; internet; world wide web; information provision; online purchasing; customer relationship management; e-CRM; electronic CRM; Canada; USA; United States; France; Australia; Chile; consumers; purchase facilitation; electronic business; e-business.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2010.032091

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2010 Vol.8 No.2, pp.126 - 147

Published online: 09 Mar 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article