Challenging Issues in small business/ ICT research Introduction to LIAISE Dr Rafael Paguio Victoria University ASEAN academic partnerships for small business and ICT knowledge transfer is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-ASEAN Council of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

‘Small’ is not small everywhere! Australian Bureau of Statistics A small business is a business employing fewer than 20 people, including: Non-employing businesses (sole proprietorships and partnerships without employees) Micro-businesses (businesses employing between 1 and 4 people including non‑employing businesses) Other small businesses (businesses that employ between 5 and 19 employees) Australian Taxation Office A small business entity is an individual, partnership, company or trust that is carrying on a business and has less than A$ 2 million in aggregated turnover. Aggregated turnover is the annual turnover from a current business and any annual turnover from other businesses that an individual is connected or affiliated with. Commonwealth of Australia (2015), Definitions and data sources for small business in Australia: a quick guide, [http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/ Parliamentary_Departments/ Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1516/Quick_Guides/Data], accessed 10 April, 2017.

More Definitions of small business Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Definitions (IFC)   Micro Small Medium Malaysia <5 employees 5-50 employees in manufacturing; 5-19 in agriculture and services 51-150 employees in manufacturing; 20-50 employees in agriculture and services Philippines 1-9 employees Below Php 3 million 10-99 employees Above PhP 3 million to PhP 15 million 100-199 employees Above Php 15 million to Php 100 million Thailand <50 employees in production, services <25 employees in wholesale <15 employees in retail <200 employees in production, services <50 employees in wholesale <30 employees in retail Source: IFC (2016). MSME Country Indicator. OECD (2013). Financing SME and Entrepreneurs 2013: An OECD Scoreboard.

Small businesses are not ‘little big’ businesses Background Small businesses are not ‘little big’ businesses Typically limited resources for ICT Use – time; capital; expertise “resource poverty” Contribute 40-50% of private sector employment Diverse terminology: Medium sized business; Small and medium sized business (SME) Small business Micro business Case studies in workshops are typically entrepreneurs ICT lessons presented later are for ‘average’ small businesses

The LIAISE Framework: Conceptual model of effective ICT adoption

Sources: Burgess, S. , Sellitto, C. & Karanasios, S. (2009) Sources: Burgess, S., Sellitto, C. & Karanasios, S. (2009). Effective Web Presence Solutions for Small Businesses, Hershey, PA, Information Science Reference Sellitto, C., Bingley S., Banks, D. and Burgess, S. (2017). Small Business and Effective ICT, New York: Routledge

ICT as an enabler Small businesses overcoming the limitations of resource limitations and achieving growth / profitability Market effectiveness - Reach - Customer satisfaction (higher value –added) / engagement Operational efficiency - productivity - customer and supplier linkages

Basic Small Business Strategy Model Business Analysis Business Strategy ICT ICT Strategy ICT Implementation ICT Evaluation Adapted from Burgess, Sellitto & Karanasios (2009)

Relative advantage Improvement over the current business operations…for ICT this can mean… Linking business strategy with ICT strategy What can ICT do for your business? Improved communications Improved information search and decision support Improved recording and monitoring Improved work practices Improved relationships Improving the big picture

History of LIAISE Based on early work: Schauder, D., Johanson, G., Denison, T. and Stillman, L. 2000, Draft information economy strategy for Australian civil society, Melbourne, Australia: Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University. Designed to help to inform the Australian Government’s non- profit ICT adoption strategy There are many similarities between non-profits and small businesses in their usage of ICT Based around six main principles: ICT Literacy (L), Information Content and Communication (I), Access to ICT-based resources (A), The availability of ICT Infrastructure (I), ICT Support (S) and ICT Evaluation (E)

LIAISE framework for ‘typical’ small businesses ICT Strategy

Based on 60 small business case studies Breakdown ICT Lessons (1-10) Based on 60 small business case studies 41 in Australia; 19 in the United Kingdom Breakdown 20 Leaders 25 ‘Operationals’ 15 Laggards Classified according to three dimensions ICT skills within the business (upper, middle or lower) ICT use and innovation (upper, middle or lower) ICT governance (upper, middle or lower)

The lessons ICT strategy ICT skills ICT governance Match ICT aims and strategy to business aims and strategies Think about the readiness of the business to adopt ICT ICT skills Know about established and newer ICT Possess appropriate skills to use ICT effectively in the business Know how to access ICT skills from reliable sources Know something about added-value uses of ICT ICT governance Consider upgrading ICT resources at least every five years Develop ICT recovery plans that enable functioning systems – to the extent that operations will continue if something fails Evaluate, on a regular basis, the success of ICT investments Develop formal measures to evaluate the success of ICT that relate to the achievement of business aims

10 Formally assess ICT success against business aims Common ‘formal’ measures of ICT success: Customer-related measures Level of online sales or bookings Number of online enquiries Customer feedback Website traffic-related measures Website hits/ online usage Google Analytics Cost control measures Monitoring the costs of ICTs Measuring cost savings through the use of ICT.

Conclusion Small business/ ICT research LIAISE framework Confusing terminology (small business; micro business, SME, …) Non-standard definitions LIAISE framework Use for categorising ICT use in small businesses ‘Traffic light’ system used to show strengths and weaknesses Potential for expanding to Strategy and/or Government constructs ICT Lessons for small business A useful starting point for small businesses research and ICT adoption support

Contact Carmine Sellitto (Project Leader) College of Business, Victoria University Email: Carmine.Sellitto@vu.edu.au Tel: +61 3 9919 4341