Designing and Deploying an E-Business Model for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Saudi Arabia

This work was carried out to deploy e-business and e-commerce through small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia. To that end, a study on market behaviour was conducted, and a model was developed to transfer from traditional business to e-business. Finally, an application of this model was applied in a local small business. A study was carried out to find the two main characteristics of SMEs in Saudi Arabia: the level of adoption of e-business and the most significant limitations and barriers to this adoption. According to a survey of one hundred and nine SMEs in Saudi Arabia, 14% were found to depend only on e-mails for communication purposes. A total of 76% were found to have used websites for marketing their businesses. Six percent were already using e-commerce for online sales, and only 4% of Saudi SMEs had fully integrated e-business systems through their supply chains. The results also showed that organizational, technical and economic barriers are the most significant in terms of e-business adoption. Therefore, when the model was under development, these three groups of barriers were used as criteria. After the study was conducted, a model was developed in the form of a strategy to transform traditional businesses into e-businesses. A new strategy was introduced that combines in-sourcing and outsourcing with the help of e-commerce site builders. Finally, this research will contribute to deploying e-business systems among SMEs in Saudi Arabia to align them with current market needs and consumer expectations better and to sustain competitive advantage.