Resource Constraints and Information Systems Implementation in Singaporean Small Businesses

Abstract

While the information systems (IS) literature has identified potential factors of IS implementation success, none has investigated the relative importance of these factors in the context of small businesses. Small businesses have very different characteristics from large businesses; notably, small businesses suffer from resource poverty. Without knowing the relative importance of key factors, small businesses may be expending their limited resources and energy on less important factors which have limited contribution to IS implementation success. This paper develops a resource-based model of IS implementation for small businesses based on Welsh and White's (Harv Bus Rev 59(4) (1981) 18-32) framework of resource constraints in small businesses and Attewell's (Organ Sci 3(1) (1992) 1-19) knowledge barrier theory. The model is then tested on a sample of 114 small businesses. The results show that small businesses with successful IS tend to have highly effective external experts, adequate IS investment, high users’ IS knowledge, high user involvement, and high CEO support. External expertise is the predominant key factor of IS implementation success in small businesses.

Keywords: external expertise, implementation success, resource-based theory, small business, user involvement, top management support, IT investment