TABLE OF CONTENTS Tetteh and Burn (2001) suggest that central to the global strategy of the online SME is the virtual transformation of five key dimensions (or attributes) of the SME environment. These attributes, which capture the scope of business operations of the SME, are:
Size/value of assets and resources;
Market coverage and product mix;
Activities and processes;
Linkages and relationships within environment; and
Locational diversity/scope.
Together they form the S-M-A-L-L framework.
The attributes focus on those aspects of the SME that impact on its ability to reach wider markets; access extensive resources; enhance, diversify and integrate its activities; manage collaborative engagements with others; and deal with temporal and locational diversity issues. By gaining a wider market the SME is placed in a favourable position to enhance its competitive performance estimated as a composite measure of a number of performance variables including value of sales, profits, enhanced global image, increased market access and broader customer base. Leveraging the online infrastructure can lead to an extension of the dimensions of the SME to varying degrees. The extent of transformation depends on the fit between the firm's business model, its strategic direction and the appropriate infrastructure management strategy. Table 6.2 provides detailed descriptions of each attribute and the associated organizational variables. For any SME, relative values can be assigned to each of the attributes using a set of discrete values low, medium high on a Likert-type quantitative estimation.
