Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P108 pptx

1004
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
to changing conditions than larger organisations
D Q GW RI X U W K H UEHQ H ¿WI U R PWKH V S HHGD Q G ÀH [ L EL O LW \ 
that the electronic environment offers (Stockdale
& Standing, 2004). E-commerce, for many SMEs,
is manifested in Web sites, which are viewed as
providing the most value within an inherently mar-
NHWLQJGULYHQFRQWH[W0F&XH3ÀXJKRHIW
5DPDPXUWK\6RR¿<DVDL$UGHNDQL)DWHPDK
2003; Quinton & Harridge-March, 2003; Ray-
mond, 2001; Sellitto, Wenn, & Burgess, 2003;
Sparkes & Thomas, 2001; Standing, Vasudavan,
& Borbely, 1998). Many SMEs initially adopt the
Internet for business use as a tool for e-mail and
VXU¿QJWKH:RUOG:LGH:HE+RZHYHU:HEVLWH
adoption takes this Internet adoption to a higher
level by requiring the SME to register a URL
and develop a Web site, which can be accessed
by visitors globally. This Web site adoption, in
turn, will be at different levels at any particular
point in time in terms of its sophistication and
relevance to target customers.
SMEs are adopting e-commerce for market-
ing, promoting, buying and selling of goods
and services electronically. In particular, this is
carried out as a new way of transacting business
and encompasses various aspects of Internet use.
This involves virtual store fronts that are sites for
shopping and making purchases, exchange of data
and e-mail. There is also business-to-business

buying and selling and the need for the security
of data handling and transactions (Van Ketel &
Nelson, 1998). In these terms, Forrester Research
 ZKLFKLVDQLQGHSHQGHQWUHVHDUFK¿UP
GH¿QHVHFRPPHUFHDV³WKHWUDGLQJRIJRRGVDQG
VHUYLFHVLQZKLFKWKH¿QDORUGHULVSODFHGRYHU
the Internet” (p. 1). It is evident that a growing
number of SMEs are accessing the Internet for
their business and to reach new customers. It may
seem intuitive to conclude that larger companies
with greater levels of expertise and resources
would appear to be in a much stronger position to
implement e-commerce strategies. Indeed, Smyth
and Ibbotson (2001) found that smaller businesses
exhibited much lower rates of e-commerce adop-
tion than larger companies. Development of ap-
propriate skills, investment in staff training and
poor knowledge of the Internet adoption process
KDYHEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDVFHQWUDOEDUULHUVWRe-com-
merce diffusion (Smyth et al., 2001). However,
60(,QWHUQHWFRPSHWHQFLHVKDYHEHHQLGHQWL¿HG
and studied by McGowan, Durkin, Allen, Dougan,
and Nixon (2001). They contend that Internet
technology can be a facilitator of SME relation-
ships through its ability to transfer information
EHWZHHQWKHPDQGRWKHU¿UPVLQDQHWZRUN%\
creating Internet-based competencies, a SME can
potentially transcend traditional business barri-
ers such as physical distance between markets
DQGWKXVDOORZLQJPRUHHIIHFWLYHDQGHI¿FLHQW

interactions within the network. To facilitate this
process, McGowan et al. (2001) postulate that a
broad range of skills will be essential in enabling
it to happen. Knowledge of the medium will
be important as well as the vision to predict its
usefulness in future business strategies, and the
ability to translate the vision into actual proac-
tive business practice. Technological awareness
of how Internet technology operates will also be
essential within the process. A survey, conducted
by the Arthur Anderson Enterprise Group and the
National Small Business United (1998), reported
that e-mail and research are the most popular use
of the Internet amongst SMEs. In the survey it
was found that SMEs used a Web site in order
to reach new and potential customers (78%), sell
goods and services (65%), provide information
PRUHHI¿FLHQWO\UHDFKQHZSURVSHFWLYH
employees (13%) and expand globally (17%).
Potential entrepreneurs can be discouraged
from setting up ventures in the global market place
because of the many complexities and barriers that
appear to reduce their chances of success. Through
the use of Web sites many of these barriers can be
overcome. By performing case study interviews
this chapter provides a detailed understanding of
the role of Web sites and e-commerce for global
KLJKHUHGXFDWLRQVSLQRIIV7KHUHLVDQLGHQWL¿FD-
WLRQRIWKHVSHFL¿FSUREOHPVHQFRXQWHUHGDQGWKH
1005

The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
key Internet factors, which have helped them to
succeed, based upon the university and regional
support available. The six case study interviews,
described, lasted about one hour each and were
centred on three key elements:
1. The company:3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQGRI
the spin-off’s Web site, e-commerce devel-
opment and major milestones
2. The university: Analysis of the technology
WUDQVIHURI¿FH772LQWKHGHYHORSPHQWRI
the Web site, e-commerce and internation-
alisation
3. The region: Regional infrastructure Web
site and e-commerce support and interna-
tionalisation
The key results, evidence, and experience
from the empirical case study research highlight
clear and precise reasons for the development of
Web sites and e-commerce by the global start-
ups. The limitations of the results are that they
report early stage development of Web sites and
e-commerce by global start-ups. It is planned to
undertake follow-up interviews in future years to
develop a longitudinal study. There are important
implications of the study for entrepreneurs, policy
makers, practitioners, researchers, and educators
IRUWKHVSHFL¿F¿HOGRIHFRPPHUFHGHYHORSPHQWV
for global start-ups.
BACKGROUND

The increasing importance and role of Web-based
technologies to support company operations
(e-business) is widely acknowledged by both
practitioners and academicians. A number of
studies have appeared in the management litera-
ture, trying to describe and better understand the
e-business phenomenon. One of the key points
WKDWKDYHEHHQFODUL¿HGLVWKDWWKHFRQFHSWRIH
business itself is rather wide, since it includes a
number of different applications and uses of the
Internet technology.
$PRQJ WKH SRVVLEOH FODVVL¿FDWLRQ GLPHQ-
sions, a relevant one is based on the process
supported by Internet tools. For example, supply
chain management refers to the management of
different processes, such as customer relation-
ship management, customer service, demand
management, order management, production and
PDWHULDOÀRZVDQGSXUFKDVLQJ/DPEHUW&RRSHU
& Pagh, 1998). In this context, e-business could
EHFODVVL¿HGDV
•
E-commerce (Brynjolfsson & Smith,
2000): Support to sales, distribution and
customer service processes
•
E-procurement (De Boer, Harink, &
Heijboer, 2002): Support to sourcing, pro-
FXUHPHQWWHQGHULQJDQGRUGHUIXO¿OPHQW
processes

•
E-manufacturing (Kehoe & Boughton,
2001): Supporting demand and capacity
planning, forecasting and internal supply
chain integration
Three phases of Internet use, which SMEs
go through as their e-commerce involvement
develops, are described as connectivity, customer
relations, and commerce (Ng, Pan, & Wilson,
1998; YG, 1998;). The three phases are seen as
the building blocks of e-commerce (Williams &
Phillips, 1999), as shown in Figure 1 (based on
von Goeler, 1998).
The three phases towards e-commerce can be
described as follows:
•
Brochure-ware sites: Enterprises use their
Web sites for product/service advertisement,
gather information, and improve services
through customer feedback forms. Such
enterprises need to install electronic tech-
nology to sell goods over the World Wide
Web.
1006
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
• Pre-commerce sites: Enterprises are able to
provide information on price for immediate
orders from their Web sites. But they do not
carry out online point-of-sale transactions,
although they keep their site current.

•
Simple e-commerce sites: Enterprises ac-
cept orders and payments over the Web.
Customers have developed a behavioural
sequence to online shopping. Indeed, Forrester
Research (1998) has divided the online retail mar-
ket into the three categories of convenience items,
replenishment goods, and research purchases.
Convenience items are low cost discretionary
items such as books, clothes and music. Replen-
ishment goods are medium cost high frequency
purchases like groceries. Research purchases are
information driven and cost more than the other
two categories and include planned purchases
such as cars, computers and airline tickets. The
)RUUHVWHU5HVHDUFKVWXG\IRXQGWKDW¿UVW
time buyers usually bought convenience items and
that it took around one year for online shoppers
to move to a further category.
Internet sales have shown a fast growth in
books, cars, computers, and software (USDoC,
1998). Important players in this growth are online
entrepreneurs (Simons, 1999). Whereas some
SMEs have been early adopters of e-commerce,
others have lagged behind in establishing the
ability to sell their products and services over
the Internet (Williams et al., 1999). In fact, SMEs
have been slower than large businesses in embrac-
ing e-commerce (Mehling, 1998). Even though
the number of SMEs using the Internet is rising

there are a number of obstacles to their use of
HFRPPHUFH6SHFL¿FDOO\60(VDUHSDUWLFXODUO\
constrained by resource factors, and are there-
fore more sensitive than larger organisations to
e-commerce adoption costs (Lewis & Cockrill,
2002; Smith & Webster, 2000). If there is no
FOHDUEHQH¿WLQ:HEVLWHDGRSWLRQIRUH[DPSOH
within resource constraints, SMEs will be more
constrained in adoption than a larger company
who will have more latitude to experiment (Jones,
Muir, & Benyon-Davies, 2004). However, on a
m o r e c a u t i o n a r y n o t e , S a d o w s k i e t a l . (2 0 0 2) a r g u e
that over-concentration on perceived costs/bar-
riers has prevented many SMEs from properly
H[SORULQJWKHEHQH¿WVZKLFKFRXOGEHH[WUDFWHG
from e-commerce adoption, resulting in adoption
which is opportunistic, rather than being based
on a clear perception of its potential value. Es-
VHQWLDOO\E\FOHDUO\H[SORULQJERWKWKHEHQH¿WV
and the barriers, a SME can more effectively
perceive the value of e-commerce within their
Figure 1. Phases in the development of e-commerce for SME Web sites (Adapted from von Goeler,
1998)
Phases Information exchange Web site development
Connectivity Product/Service and Enterprise
Information
Customer Feedback Forms
Brochure-ware sites
Customer Connections Online catalogue Pre E-Commerce sites
E-Commerce Online ordering

Online payment
Simple E-Commerce sites
1007
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
business context. Quayle (2001), who explores
perception and level of implementation of e-com-
merce, has eloquently described the e-commerce
challenge for SMEs. Results of a survey of 298
VPDOO¿UPVZHUHXVHGWRLGHQWLI\EDUULHUVIDFHG
by these enterprises and he suggests paths, which
might be followed in seeking to achieve best
in class performance for e-commerce. In order
to overcome the barriers to e-commerce, the
e-commerce ladder has been developed which
involves step 0 (not started), step 1 (using e-mail
and the Web), step 2 (basic Web site), step 3 (an
effective Web site), step 4 (an online store), step 5
(integration), and step 6 (advanced e-commerce)
(Opportunity Wales, 2007). In relation to this the
chapter proposes the e-commerce stairway as
a method of measuring the type of e-commerce
adopted by case companies (Figure 2).
SMEs rely on knowing customer needs and
build business processes and quality control
around communications. A major concern is that
the loss of customer contact may lead to a lower
quality of service, and there may be customer
resistance to product price at the point of transac-
tion. Low technology enterprises, in contrast to
high tech businesses, will have concerns about

online sales and e-commerce (von Goeler, 1998).
Most SMEs recognise the importance of selling
on the Internet as being important in the future
(Williams et al., 1999). It is the proposition of this
chapter that, because of the increasing importance
of SMEs being able to sell their products and ser-
vices over the internet, it is necessary for regional
governments to develop an e-commerce policy,
particularly as affects global start-ups, to ensure
the future competitiveness of their regions.
GLOBAL START-UPS’ WEB SITES
AND E-COMMERCE
Rialp-Criado, Rialp-Criado, and Knight (2002)
noted several key driving forces behind the
emergence of global start-ups as well as their age,
LQGXVWU\DI¿OLDWLRQH[SRUWEHKDYLRXUDQGSHUIRU-
mance, geographic distribution, (rise in) number
and size. In addition, international operations from
the start-up of the business have been seen to be
important. General consensus has provided that
WKHXQGHUO\LQJQRWLRQDQGWKHRUHWLFDOGH¿QLWLRQ
of the global start-up phenomenon perceives them
DV\RXQJHQWUHSUHQHXULDO¿UPVHQJDJHGLQLQWHU-
national business from inception (Rialp-Criado
et al., 2002). On the one hand, researchers have
considered a six-year period as the standard in
measuring international operations from the start-
up of the business (Oviatt & McDougall, 1997).
On the other hand, academics have selected other
FULWHULDWRHPSLULFDOO\GH¿QHWKHglobal start-ups

being analysed. Rennie (1993) has reported that
Step 6: Full e-commerce
Step 5: Integration
Step 4: On-line store
Step 3: Operational Web site
Step 2: Web site
Step 1: E-mail & the Web
No e-commerce activity
Figure 2. The e-commerce stairway
1008
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
¿U PVEHJDQH[SRU WL QJW ZR\HD UVDI WH UIRXQG DWLRQ
on average and realised 76% of their total sales
E\ H[SRUWLQJ 2WKHU DXWKRUV KDYH GH¿QHG WKLV
according to foreign sales of 25% or more after
starting exporting activities and within three
years of birth (Knight & Cavusgil, 1996; Madsen,
Rasmussen, & Servais, 2000; Servais & Rasmus-
sen, 2000). By describing, understanding, and
interpreting the reasons behind the emergence of
global start-ups it is possible to gain insight into
their needs for IT support provision. Interestingly,
according to Rialp-Criado et al. (2002), much of
the present literature about global start-ups has
been assumed to be concerned with high tech
businesses, considering the globalisation aspects
SUHVHQWLQVHFWRUVZLWKLQZKLFKWKHVH¿UPVFRP-
pete (Autio & Sapienza, 2000; Autio, Sapienza,
& Almeida, 2000; Bell, 1995; Burgel & Murray,
2000; Coviello & Munro, 1995; McDougall &

Oviatt, 1996; Roberts & Senturia, 2000; Zahira,
Ireland, & Hitt, 2000).
According to Rialp-Criado et al. (2002), the
top ten characteristics considered as critical suc-
cess factors (CSFs) for global start-ups (not in
rank order) are:
• Managerial global vision from
inception.
• High degree of previous international
experience on behalf of managers.
• Management commitment.
• Strong use of personal and business
networks (networking).
• Market knowledge and market
commitment.
• Unique intangible assets based on
knowledge management.
• High value creation through product
differentiation, leading edge technology
products,
technological innovativeness
(usually associated with a greater use
of IT), and quality leadership.
• Niche focussed, proactive international
strategy in geographically spread lead
markets around the World from the very
beginning.
 1DUURZO\GH¿QHGFXVWRPHUJURXSVZLWK
strong customer orientation and close
customer relationships.

• Flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing
external conditions and circumstances
(Rialp-Criado et al, 2002, p. 25-26).
Further to this, Rialp-Criado et al. (2002)
from their research into twenty seven of the
most important studies in the decade 1993-2002,
which consider global start-ups amongst other
forms of these types of businesses, say that hav-
LQJLGHQWL¿HGH[DPLQHGDQGFULWLFDOO\DVVHVVHG
these studies they have been able to formulate
an adequate observation of the state of the art of
WKLVLPSRUWDQWUHVHDUFKDUHDZLWKLQWKH¿HOGRI
international entrepreneurship (IE).
According to Wakkee, van der Sijde, and Kir-
wan (2003), global start-ups are described in the
literature as perfect examples of entrepreneurial
ventures and therefore need to be investigated
from an entrepreneurial perspective. They go on
WRVD\WKDWWKHFRQFH SWRIJOREDOVW DU WXSZDV¿U VW
mentioned in a paper by Mamis (1989). At about
the same time, Ray (1989) undertook four cases for
which the term global start-up was used. Following
WKLVWKHWHUPJOREDOVWDUWXSZDVGH¿QHGE\2YLDWW
DQG0F'RXJDOO³DVRQHWKDWVHHNVWRGHULYH
VL J Q L ¿F D QW F RP SH W LW L YH D GY D QW D JH I U RP H [W H Q VLY H
co-ordination along multiple organisational ac-
tivities, the location of which is geographically
unlimited” (p. 59-60). Wakkee et al. (2003) add
WKDWWKHVH¿UPVGRQRWRQO\UHVSRQGWRJOREDOPDU-
ket conditions, they also act to acquire resources

and sell wherever in the World there is the largest
value. Since Oviatt and McDougall (1994, 1995)
the term global start-up has been referred to by
Harveston (2000), Madsen and Servais (1997), and
Saarenketo (2002). Furthermore, Rasmussen and
Madsen (2002) have suggested that they are the
only type of international new venture. Wakkee
HWDOKDYHVDLGWKDW³DJOREDOVWDUWXSLVWKH
1009
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
most radical manifestation of the international
new venture"(pp. 6-7). According to Wakkee et
al (2003), from their discussion of the literature on
WKHGH¿QLWLRQRIDglobal start-up¿YHUHOHYDQW
characteristics are apparent, and these are:
1. The diversity or scope of the international
activities
2. The company age
3. The timing of international activities (time
to entry)
4. The global diversity of the international
activities
5. The purpose of the international activities
(strategic choice) (Wakkee et al., 2003, p.
13).
In fact, they say that the nature of the opportu-
nity differences global start-ups from other types
of start-ups since the opportunity is a global one.
)URPWKLV:DNNHHHWDOGH¿QHDJOREDO
start-up as:

A new venture that from its inception (“opportu-
nity recognition”) seeks to pursue opportunities
wherever they arise (i.e., global or in an unlimited
number of countries around the world), it coordi-
nates multiple activities in the value chain through
the interaction with network actors around the
World. The entrepreneur(ial team) leading the
¿UPLV LQWHUQDWLRQDOO\H[SHULHQFHG DQGVNLOOHG
(Wakkee et al., 2003, p. 14).
They go on to say that global start-ups are
characterised by high levels of entrepreneurial
orientation (EO) although originally developed
by Lumpkin and Dess (1996) and Lumpkin (1998)
IRUHVWDEOLVKHG¿UPVZKHQFRQVLGHUHGIRUJOREDO
start-ups they exhibit high levels of EO. In these
terms, Wakkee et al. (2003), bring together the
descriptions of global start-ups and, describe them
DV³DQHQWUHSUHQHXULDO¿UPWKDWOLWHUDOO\IURPLWV
inception is involved in a variety of international
activities around the World” (Wakkee et al., 2003,
p. 28).
The case studies selected are spin-offs, from
a new university, which are believed to have
global potential and exhibit differing states of
technological innovativeness. Those that have
been selected are university spin-offs operating
in the global market or with a global potential.
Founders, closely involved with the spin-offs from
establishment until now, have been interviewed.
No restrictions have been placed with regard to

the spin-off age and industry. Although, it is the
case that spin-offs running for a number of years
will provide more valuable information about their
IT development than those only recently founded.
For spin-offs in existence for many years it may be
GLI¿FXOWWR¿QGDIRXQGHUZKRKDVEHHQLQYROYHG
with the business since the original idea. It might
DOVREHPRUHGLI¿FXOWIRUWKHVHSHRSOHWRUHPHPEHU
WKH VSHFL¿F SUREOHPV HQFRXQWHUHG LQWKHHDUO\
stages of the IT development of the spin-off. The
spinout managers (see noutwales.
co.uk/man.htmlLGHQWL¿HGWKHLQWHUHVWLQJVSLQRII
cases and provided contact names for interviews.
7KH\DOVRDSSURDFKHGWKHFRPSDQLHVLQWKH¿UVW
instance to gain their support. The stages of
development of the case study companies have
been measured against the e-commerce ladder
(Opportunity Wales, 2007).
GLOBAL START-UPS: CASE
STUDIES
Described next are the six global start-up case
studies, which were investigated, and these reveal
different characteristics and aspects for Web site
development and e-commerce activity. Perhaps the
main limitation is that most of the companies are in
the early stage of IT and business development, but
it is envisaged that this work will be developed into
a longitudinal study, which will show interesting
evolutionary Web site and e-commerce dynamics
1010

The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
in future years. Due to the sensitive nature and
stage of their development all the companies have
been referred to anonymously.
Consultancy Services
3UR¿OHDQG%DFNJURXQGWRWKH
Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce
Development
The consultancy services (CS) company founded
in January 2004 as a University spinout, com-
menced trading in January 2005 to assist organi-
sations access European Union (EU) funding in
RUGHUWRLPSOHPHQWVSHFL¿FSURMHFWVLQDFFRUGDQFH
with regulations accompanying the use of funds.
In particular, the Internet has been used to interact
with organisations who, as the customers, need to
access EU funds. This has been taken into account
in the company’s overall marketing strategy and
e-business strategy. Services involve a range of
training courses that cover all aspects of European
Union (EU) funded projects, including State Aid
Rules and Public Procurement Directive. CS has
a team of Prince 2 practitioners and freelance
FRQVXOWDQWV7DEOHVXPPDULVHVWKHSUR¿OHDQG
background of the company.
The company has grown on an incremental
basis and this followed a long period of time to
receive approval with the University. The con-
struction of the Web site took six months and this
was achieved on 1

st
March 2005. The company has
won a number of contracts and this has therefore
not been an issue. It has also been important to
have clients returning and to draw on their exper-
tise. There are six current clients including public
sector and voluntary organisations.
Development of the Web Site and
E-Commerce
To a large extent the company has relied on public
support, through the Spinout programme, in its
early stage development. The founder has been
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provided and the company has received £30,000
from its activities, which has included grant aid
to pay for the Web site and employees’ wages
that have been subcontracted from the Univer-
sity Commercial Services Company to carry out
work. Whilst these staff have been undertaking
this work the company has been making money
and this has been found to be a good arrange-
ment. Support through the Spinout programme
to set up the business plan was slow and it was
not proactive. This could have been undertaken
in a month, rather then six or seven months, if
more advice had been provided at the start. As
part of the business plan the Founder is hoping
to recruit a partner to drive the business forward
off campus so that he can retain his position on
campus.

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Industry European Project Management
Technology Project Management software
Product/service Training and consultancy
Market and targeted customers Wales, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria and other
European countries
Company’s current mission and focus To develop the company at a European level over the next three
years.
1011
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
Web Site and E-Commerce Support
A spinout loan has been secured and there has
been an undergraduate working with the company
for 10 weeks. Additionally, the company has been
assigned a mentor to develop a strategy to make a
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The company has also received grant aid to
develop the Web site. There has been an additional
£750 provided for a Web site psychologist to at-
tract customers through the Web site. Regarding
the potential role played by the Internet, since the
company has been trading for less than two years,
it is yet to be seen if the results of the company,
LQWHUPVRIUHYHQXHSUR¿WQXPEHUVRIVWDIIDQG
customers, generated through its Web site, are on
target when compared with the original business
plan. In terms of the e-commerce ladder, the
company is at step 3 of development.

Energy Management Systems
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Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce
Development
Energy management systems (EMS) was launched
in January 2005 as a spinout company. The focus
of the company is to reduce utility costs and to
provide customised online utility information
regarding these costs and to ensure that they
remain low. The company works with customers
to provide a full energy/utility service ranging
from fuel purchasing, meter installation, advanced
monitoring and targeting to project engineering
and information technology (IT) solutions. In its
early stages the company received public support
through the Spinout programme and more recent
developments have been resourced by the foud-
ners. In addition to IT and software developments,
EMS undertakes remote analysis of customers’
consumption patterns and works closely with cli-
ents to achieve reduced costs. The company aims
to be a professional service provider by establish-
ing trust through building personal relationships
with customers over the Internet. This has been
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business strategy. Through this trust it enables
EMS to work with customers, employing the
most appropriate technology to gain outstand-
ing results. The products and services provided
include metering hardware and connectivity; IT

support, hosting, VDN and networking; installa-
tion of metering hardware and network cabling;
installation of gas, water and steam meters; Web
design, Web development and consultancy. Table
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company.
Development of the Web Site and
E-Commerce
The reasons why customers have chosen EMS
for their energy system requirements are because
they have energy bills over £100,000, require a
rebate, have experienced a large rise in energy
bills, want to improve their bottom line for little
capital outlay and are concerned about the environ-
ment. Additionally, technical reasons for choosing
EMS include their unique and advanced .Net Web
management system, advanced statistical process
control and proactive alarming, secure VPN data
connectivity to each company, customisable re-
porting, visualisation, and an exceptional range of
business patterns and support. Also, the company
is one of the few organisations that offer a full
energy management service remotely. So far there
have been four pilot customers.
Web Site and E-Commerce Support
With the company Web site, it is possible to log
on from anywhere and it provides online real-
time monitoring. Through the Web site it will be
possible to market the company internationally.
Due to the importance of this, the founders have

allocated money in the business plan to update
1012
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
the site since it will be the main marketing tool.
Again, since the company has been trading for
less than two years it is yet to be seen if the re-
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numbers of staff and customers, generated through
its Web site, are on target. According to the e-
commerce ladder, the company is again at step
3 of development.
Literary Book Publishing
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Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce
Development
Literary Book Publishing (LBP) was launched
and registered, as a limited company in May 2001
as a spinout company from the university with
public support through the Spinout programme.
The company publishes short stories by authors
in a small book format and provides retailing
through coffee shops, tearooms, restaurants, and
hotels. The books are being marketed, over the
Internet, to customers in the United Kingdom
(UK), United States (U.S.) initially and the English
speaking world due to the co-founders’ business
partner being American. This role of the Inter-
net has been included in the company’s overall
marketing and e-business strategy. Other markets
and languages will be considered later. There is

a three-year business plan targeting sales in the
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off is linked to the University since both of the
co-founders are graduates of the English Depart-
ment Centre for Creative Writing. This provides
a link with academics and a network of authors.
The co-founders are MPhil students from the
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background of the company.
Development of the Web Site and
E-Commerce
The initial markets are in the UK and U.S. to
be followed internationally. Work with partners
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product is proved LBP will approach international
chains such as Marks and Spencer. As a small
start-up company they are not ready to sell to
Marks and Spencer who have 6 warehouses and
140 coffee shops in the UK. The large international
chain stores will consider the product once it is
proven. A contact for London and Cambridge
has taken the books to shops that are willing to
pay a higher price. The product will sell better
in the South East of England and it is hoped that
this will be the case with international markets.
The company organised a short story competition
for authors on its Web site for the winners and
UXQQHUVXSWR KDYHWKHLU¿UVWERRNV SXEOLVKHG
There are also competitions for poetry and writ-
ing for children.

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Industry Energy
Technology Energy management technology
Product/service .Net Web management system
Market and targeted customers Public, private and leisure organisations
Company’s current mission and focus To maintain and consolidate company activities over the next
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1013
The Role of Web Sites and E-Commerce in the Development of Global Start-Ups
Web Site and E-Commerce Support
Networks are important to the business on a na-
tional level and to grow internationally. The power
of the Web is also important and the company Web
site has been set up to give creditability, publicise
the competitions and people have been referred to
the site for information. Since no one had heard
of the company this was important. The Web site
involves graphics and the competition had a good
response. Another Web site is being constructed
to complement the current site, which provides
information about the company in order to sell
books online. This will develop the current four
pages into a 16-page site with online ordering. It
is envisaged that this potential role of the Internet
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impact, on how the company will grow since
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staff and customers. The company is moving from

step 3 to step 4 of the e-commerce ladder.
Mobile Phone Security
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Company’s Web Site and E-Commerce
Development
The mobile phone security (MPS) company is
a spinout of the university with limited public
support through the spinout programme. It was
formed in 2004 by the founder who as an un-
dergraduate developed a unique patent pending
software application, which overcomes password
protection technology limitations. The application
is different to existing mobile security software
since it is undetectable. This provides high levels
of data security since there is no evidence that
data is hidden. Once the application is installed
in a mobile phone it creates a second menu for
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RI¿FHGRFXPHQWVSLFWXUHVRUYLGHR¿OHV7KHVH
are safe since there is no trace of the second menu,
which is not visible in the event of unauthorised
use, theft, or loss. Since the menu mirrors stan-
dard phone functionality it is easy for the user to
navigate requiring little effort to learn.
Since the take up of 3G services has not been
as strong as the industry forecast companies are
looking for third party content to differentiate
between their own and competitors’ service and
product offerings. This will result in third party
software developers such as MPS to be in a strong

position. It is envisaged that the primary route to
the OEM market will be through regional licens-
ing agreements with major network operators.
Through the pre-installation of the software in
phones this will enable users to experience the
software application and will allow the encour-
agement of new potential users through direct
marketing by the network operators. In order to
encourage new users to adopt the service the try
before you buy approach is a powerful tactic.
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7DEOH3UR¿OHDQGEDFNJURXQG²literary book publishing
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Industry Book Publishing
Technology Book publishing graphic design technology
Product/service A6 pocket sized books
Market and targeted customers UK, USA and the English speaking world
Company’s current mission and focus To develop the company in the book publishing trade over the
next three years.