A Phenomenological Study of the EC Process from the Perspective of EC Entrepreneurs

摘要

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of a strategic process model by successful electronic commerce (EC) entrepreneurs of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and articulate the components and interrelationships of such a model to readers. Exploration adhered to the qualitative tradition of phenomenology is employed to document the particulars of the study. Results revealed that EC entrepreneurs guide their business efforts with a systematic and strategic process model. A rich description of the model is documented including emergent themes, theme interrelationships, and process flow. Original themes and their inter-relationships were identified and explored through an iterative data coding process. This process included deep and iterative perusal of data transcripts as well as additional data collection to validate themes, remove inconsistent or redundant themes, and deepen our understanding of theme relationships.