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Find three small business websites. Analyze each website in terms of its trustworthiness. Discuss why you would or would not trust each site. Be specific. 2-3 pages APA format
Websites I want to use the below websites
1. https://www.baileysblossoms.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorK2co7Nfx3qXvOJsgaq-a3UDFef8seDBaXn8hVDncCMDDrvAs6
2. https://rangeusa.com/
3. https://www.crowntrophy.com/
ONLY SOURCE – TEXTBOOK ATTACHED. PGS. 152-201
DUE: FEB. 3
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This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without
attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee.
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Preface
Imagine a text that your students might actually read. Imagine a book that is the core of your course
without the bloat. Imagine a book that uses customer value, digital technology, and cash flow as key
themes rather than afterthought add-ins. Imagine a text that contains extensive ancillary materials—
PowerPoints, websites, videos, podcasts, and guides to software—all geared to enhancing the educational
experience. Sound good? Small Business Management in the 21st Century is your text.
This text offers a unique perspective and set of capabilities for instructors. It is a text that believes “less
can be more” and that small business management should not be treated as an abstract theoretical concept
but as a practical human activity. It emphasizes clear illustrations and real-world examples.
The text has a format and structure that will be familiar to those who use other books on small business
management, yet it brings a fresh perspective by incorporating three distinctive and unique themes that
are embedded throughout the entire text. These themes ensure that students see the material in an
integrated context rather than a stream of separate and distinct topics.
First, we incorporate the use of technology and e-business as a way to gain competitive advantage
over larger rivals. Technology is omnipresent in today’s business world. Small business must use it to its
advantage. We provide practical discussions and examples of how a small business can use these
technologies without having extensive expertise or expenditures.
Second, we explicitly acknowledge the constant need to examine how decisions affect cash flow by
incorporating cash flow impact content in several chapters. As the life blood of all organizations, cash
flow implications must be a factor in all business decision making.
Third, we recognize the need to clearly identify sources of customer valueand bring that
understanding to every decision. Decisions that do not add to customer value should be seriously
reconsidered.
Another unique element of this text is the use of Disaster Watch scenarios. Few texts cover, in any
detail, some of the major hazards that small business managers face. Disaster Watch scenarios, included
in most chapters, cover topics that include financing, bankers, creditors, employees, economic downturns,
and marketing challenges.
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Chapter 1
Foundations for Small Business
The Twenty-First-Century Small-Business Owner
Source: Used with permission from Frank C. Trotta III.
Frank Trotta III is a recent college graduate, class of 2009, and an excellent example of the
twenty-first-century small business owner. At 23, he is already running his own business and
planning to open a second. This may be second nature because Frank III is a third-generation
small business owner. His grandfather, Frank Trotta Sr., opened a supermarket in 1945. His son,
Frank C. Trotta Jr., began his career by working in the supermarket. Soon he had his own
hardware department within the store and was beginning to understand what it takes to be a
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successful grocer. He observed his dad interacting with his customers and providing value
through customer service.
Frank Jr. now owns and operates one of Long Island’s most successful travel companies: the
Prime Time Travel Club. The experience Frank Jr. garnered from his father in customer service
became the tenet of his business philosophy: give customers value through personal attention
and service. At an early age, Frank III worked in his dad’s office when he was not busy with
school activities. He had a strong entrepreneurial leaning and became very interested in the
travel industry. In high school, Frank III worked for his dad and learned different facets of the
travel business. While attending a Connecticut university, Frank III reached out to other
students on campus and started his own side business: booking spring break trips. The same
people are now repeat customers who call him to book their vacations, honeymoons, and family
trips.
In his junior year, Frank III created a travel site of his own: Cruisetoanywhere.com. He is
involved with every aspect of the site: he takes all calls from the customer service number,
produces all the marketing campaigns, and works on contracts with both major and smaller
cruise lines. Although the site is still young, it has been very successful. Frank III is learning how
larger competitors do business and from their successes and mistakes. Customer service and
attention are his first priority. Frank III believes his competitive business edge comes from what
he learned from his father’s company and business skills such as planning and managing cash
flow from his professors. In addition to his cruise website, Frank III plans to launch another site,
Tourstoanywhere.com. He exemplifies the skill set that will characterize the twenty-first-century
small business owner: a clear focus on creating value for his customers, a willingness to exploit
the benefits of digital technology and e-commerce, and the ability to apply basic business skills
to the effective operation of the firm.
1.1 Small Business in the US Economy
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L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
1. Explain the significance of small business in American history and the US economy.
2. Define small business.
3. Explain how small business contributes to the overall economy.
4. Explain how small business impacts US employment.
It’s an exciting time to be in small business. This is certainly not anything new, but you might not know it.
Scan any issue of the popular business press, and in all probability, you will find a cover story on one of
America’s or the world’s major corporations or a spotlight on their CEOs. Newspapers, talk radio, and
television seem to have an unlimited supply of pundits and politicians eager to pontificate on firms that
have been labeled as “too big to fail.” Listen to any broadcast of a weekday’s evening news program, and
there will be a segment that highlights the ups and downs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500. These market measures provide an insight into what is going on in Wall
Street. However, they are clearly biased to not only large firms but also huge firms. This creates the false
notion that “real” business is only about big business. It fails to recognize that small businesses are the
overwhelming majority of all businesses in America; not only are the majority of jobs in small businesses,
but small businesses have also been the major driving force in new job creation and innovation. Small
business is the dynamo of innovation in our economy. In 2006, Thomas M. Sullivan, the chief counsel for
advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA), said, “Small business is a major part of our
economy,…small businesses innovate and create new jobs at a faster rate than their larger competitors.
They are nimble, creative, and a vital part of every community across the country.” [1]
This text is devoted to small business, not entrepreneurship. There has always been a challenge to
distinguish—correctly—between the small business owner and the entrepreneur. Some argue that there is
no difference between the two terms. The word entrepreneur is derived from a French word for “to
undertake,” which might indicate that entrepreneurs should be identified as those who start
businesses. [2] However, this interpretation is too broad and is pointless as a means of distinguishing
between the two. Some have tried to find differences based on background, education, or age.[3] Often one
finds the argument that entrepreneurs have a different orientation toward risk than small business
owners. The standard line is that entrepreneurs are willing to take great risks in starting an enterprise
and/or willing to start again after a business failure. [4] Others try to make the distinction based on the
issue of innovation or the degree of innovation. Given this focus, entrepreneurs need not even work for
small business because they can come up with innovative products, services, production, or marketing
processes in large organizations. [5] Perhaps the most common interpretation of the entrepreneur is an
individual involved in a high-tech start-up who becomes a billionaire. That is not the focus of this text. It
centers on the true driving force of America’s economy—the small business.
This chapter gives a brief history of small business in the United States, the critical importance of small
business to the American economy, the challenges facing small business owners as they struggle to survive
and prosper, the requisite skills to be an effective small business owner, the critical importance of ethical
behavior, and how these businesses may evolve over time. In addition, three critical success factors for the
twenty-first-century small business are threaded through the text: (1) identifying and providing customer
value, (2) being able to exploit digital technologies with an emphasis on e-business and e-commerce, and
(3) properly managing your cash flow. These three threads are essential to the successful decision
making of any contemporary small business and should be considered of paramount importance. They are
everyday considerations.
A Brief History of Small Business
Throughout American history, from colonial times until today, most businesses were small businesses,
and they have played a vital role in America’s economic success and are a forge to our national identity. It
would not be an exaggeration to say that the small businessperson has always held an important—even
exalted—position in American life. Americans in the early republic were as suspicious of large economic
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enterprises as threats to their liberty as they were of large government. The historian James L. Houston
discussed American suspicion of large economic enterprises: “Americans believed that if property was
concentrated in the hands of a few in the republic, those few would use their wealth to control other
citizens, seize political power, and warp the republic into an oligopoly.” [6] In fact, much of the impetus
behind the Boston Tea Party was the fear on the part of local merchants and tradesmen that the East India
Company, at that time the world’s largest corporation, was dumping low-priced tea in the colonies, which
would have driven local business to ruin. [7] Jefferson’s promotion of the yeoman farmer, which included
small merchants, as the bulwark of democracy stemmed from his fear of large moneyed interests: “The
end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the
hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.” [8] So great was the fear of the large
aggregation of wealth that the colonies and the early republic placed severe restrictions on the creation of
corporate forms. In the first decades of the nineteenth century, state governments restricted the corporate
form by limiting its duration, geographic scope, size, and even profits. [9] This was done because of the
concern that corporations had the potential of becoming monopolies that would drive entrepreneurs out
of business.
Eventually, however, some businesses grew in size and power. Their growth and size necessitated the
development of a professional management class that was distinct from entrepreneurs who started and
ran their own businesses. However, not until the post–Civil War period did America see the true
explosion in big businesses. This was brought about by several factors: the development of the mass
market (facilitated by the railroads); increased capital requirement for mass production; and the 1886
Supreme Court case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, which granted corporations
“personhood” by giving them protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The growth of corporations evoked several responses that were designed to protect small businesses from
their larger competitors. The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) was a federal law designed to regulate the
rates charged by railroads to protect small farmers and businesses. Other federal laws—the Sherman Act
(1890) and the Clayton Act (1914)—were passed with the initial intent of restricting the unfair trading
practices of trusts. In the early years, however, the Sherman Act was used more frequently against small
business alliances and unions than against large businesses. Congress continued to support small
businesses through the passage of legislation. The Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 and the Miller-Tydings
Act of 1937 were designed to protect small retailers from large chain retailers. [10]
The Depression and the post–World War II environments posed special challenges to small business
operations. The Hoover and Roosevelt administrations created organizations (the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation in 1932 and the Small War Plants Corporation in 1942) to assist small firms. The functions of
several government agencies were subsumed into the Small Business Administration in 1953. The
designated purpose of the SBA was to “aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests
of small business concerns.” [11] The SBA functions to ensure that small businesses have a fair chance at
securing government contracts. It also has the responsibility of defining what constitutes a small business.
If anything is to be learned from the passage of all this legislation, it is that, as Conte (2006) eloquently
put it, “Americans continued to revere small businesspeople for their self-reliance and independence.” [12]
Definition of Small Business
The SBA definition of a small business has evolved over time and is dependent on the particular industry.
In the 1950s, the SBA defined asmall business firm as “independently owned and operated…and not
dominant in its field of operation.” [13] This is still part of their definition. At that time, the SBA classified a
small firm as being limited to 250 employees for industrial organizations. Currently, this definition
depends on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for a business. The SBA
recognizes that there are significant differences, across industries, with respect to competitiveness, entry
and exit costs, distribution by size, growth rates, and technological change. Although the SBA defines 500
employees as the limit for the majority of industrial firms and receipts of $7 million for the majority of
service, retail, and construction firms, there are different values for some industries. Table 1.1 “Examples
of Size Limits for Small Businesses by the SBA” presents a selection of different industries and their size
limits.
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Table 1.1 Examples of Size Limits for Small Businesses by the SBA
NAICS
Code NAICS US Industry Title
Size Standards
(Millions of $)
Size Standards (Number
of Employees)
111333 Strawberry farming 0.75
113310 Timber tract operations 7.00
114112 Shellfish fishing 4.00
212210 Iron ore mining
500
236115 New single family housing construction 33.50
311230 Breakfast cereal manufacturer
1,000
315991 Hat, cap, and millenary manufacturing
500
443111 Household appliance store 9.00
454311 Heating oil dealers
50
483111 Deep sea freight transportation
500
484110 General freight trucking, local 25.50
511130 Book publishers
500
512230 Music publishers
500
541214 Payroll services 8.50
541362
Geophysical surveying and mapping
services 4.50
541712
Research and development in physical,
500
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NAICS
Code NAICS US Industry Title
Size Standards
(Millions of $)
Size Standards (Number
of Employees)
engineering, and life sciences
Except aircraft
1,500
722110 Full-service restaurants 7.00
722310 Food service contractors 20.50
811111 General automotive repair 7.00
812320 Dry cleaning and laundry services 4.50
813910 Business associations 7.00
Source: “Table of Small Business Size Standards Matched to North American Industry Classification
System Codes,” US Small Business Administration, August 22, 2008, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-size-standards.
The SBA definition of what constitutes a small business has practical significance. Small businesses have
access to an extensive support network provided by the SBA. It runs the SCORE program, which has more
than 12,000 volunteers who assist small firms with counseling and training. The SBA also operates Small
Business Development Centers, Export Assistance Centers, and Women’s Business Centers. These centers
provide comprehensive assistance to small firms. There can be significant economic support for small
firms from the SBA. It offers a variety of guaranteed loan programs to start-ups and small firms. It assists
small firms in acquiring access to nearly half a trillion dollars in federal contracts. In fact, legislation
attempts to target 23 percent of this value for small firms. The SBA can also assist with financial aid
following a disaster.
Small Business in the American Economy
In 1958, small business contributed 57 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). This value
dropped to 50 percent by 1980. What is remarkable is that this 50 percent figure has essentially held
steady for the last thirty years. [14] It is interesting to note that the contribution of small businesses to the
GDP can vary considerably based on particular industries.Table 1.2 “Small Businesses’ Component of
Industry Contribution to GDP”presents data for selected industries for the period 1998–2004. It can be
seen that in some industries—construction and real estate—80 percent or more of that industry’s
contribution to the GDP comes from small businesses, while in the information industry that number is
20 percent or less.
Few people realize that the overwhelming majority of businesses in the United States are small businesses
with fewer than five hundred employees. The SBA puts the number of small businesses at 99.7 percent of
the total number of businesses in the United States. However, most of the businesses are nonemployee
businesses (i.e., no paid employees) and are home based.
Table 1.2 Small Businesses’ Component of Industry Contribution to GDP
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Year
Construction
(%)
Real Estate and
Leasing (%)
Wholesale
Trade (%)
Transportation and
Warehousing (%)
Information
(%)
1998 88.0 80.4 59.1 39.1 26.4
1999 87.2 80.0 57.5 39.4 25.4
2000 85.4 79.8 56.8 39.0 22.7
2001 85.1 80.3 55.3 41.1 19.7
2002 84.6 79.4 56.3 41.0 20.3
2003 85.4 79.5 54.6 39.1 20.3
2004 85.6 79.6 55.4 38.6 18.0
Source: Katherine Kobe, “Small Business Share of GDP (Contract No. SBAHQ-05-M-0413),” SBA Office of
Advocacy, April 2007, accessed October 7, 2011, http://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs299tot .
One area where the public has a better understanding of the strength of small business is in the area of
innovation. Evidence dating back to the 1970s indicates that small businesses disproportionately produce
innovations. [15] It has been estimated that 40 percent of America’s scientific and engineering talent is
employed by small businesses. The same study found that small businesses that pursue patents produce
thirteen to fourteen times as many patents per employee as their larger counterparts. Further, it has been
found that these patents are twice as likely to be in the top 1 percent of highest impact patents. [16]
It is possible that small size might pose an advantage with respect to being more innovative. The reasons
for this have been attributed to several factors:
• Passion. Small-business owners are interested in making businesses successful and are
more open to new concepts and ideas to achieve that end.
• Customer connection. Being small, these firms better know their customers’ needs
and therefore are better positioned to meet them.
• Agility. Being small, these firms can adapt more readily to changing environment.
• Willingness to experiment. Small-business owners are willing to risk failure on some
experiments.
• Resource limitation. Having fewer resources, small businesses become adept at doing
more with less.
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• Information sharing. Smaller size may mean that there is a tighter social network for
sharing ideas. [17]
Regardless of the reasons, small businesses, particularly in high-tech industries, play a critical role in
preserving American global competitiveness.
Small Business and National Employment
The majority—approximately 50.2 percent in 2006—of private sector employees work for small
businesses. A breakdown of the percentage of private sector employees by firm size for the period 1988 to
2006 is provided in Table 1.3 “Percentage of Private Sector Employees by Firm Size”. For 2006, slightly
more than 18 percent of the entire private sector workforce was employed by firms with fewer than twenty
employees. It is interesting to note that there can be significant difference in the percentage of
employment by small business across states. Although the national average was 50.2 percent in 2006, the
state with the lowest percentage working for small businesses was Florida with 44.0 percent, while the
state with the highest percentage was Montana with a remarkable 69.8 percent. [18]
Table 1.3 Percentage of Private Sector Employees by Firm Size
Year
0–4
Employees
5–9
Employees
10–19
Employees
20–99
Employees
100–499
Employees
500+
Employees
1988 5.70% 6.90%% 8.26% 19.16% 14.53% 45.45%
1991 5.58% 6.69% 8.00% 18.58% 14.24% 46.91%
1994 5.50% 6.55% 7.80% 18.29% 14.60% 47.26%
1997 5.20% 4.95% 6.36% 16.23% 13.73% 53.54%
2000 4.90% 5.88% 7.26% 17.78% 14.26% 49.92%
2003 5.09% 5.94% 7.35% 17.80% 14.49% 49.34%
2006 4.97% 5.82% 7.24% 17.58% 14.62% 49.78%
Source: US Census Bureau, “Statistics of U.S. Business,” accessed October 7,
2011, http://www.census.gov/econ/susb.
Small business is the great generator of jobs. Recent data indicate that small businesses produced 64
percent of the net new jobs from 1993 to the third quarter of 2008. [19] This is not a recent phenomenon.
Thirty years of research studies have consistently indicated that the driving force in fostering new job
creation is the birth of new companies and the net additions coming from small businesses. In the 1990s,
firms with fewer than twenty employees produced far more net jobs proportionally to their size, and two
to three times as many jobs were created through new business formation than through job expansion in
small businesses. [20] The US Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics data confirm that the greatest
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number of new jobs comes from the creation of new businesses. One can get a sense of the extent of net
job change by business size in Table 1.4 “Job Creation by Firm Size”.
An additional point needs to be made about job creation and loss by small businesses in the context of
overall economic conditions. Government data show that of the “net 1.5 million jobs lost in 2008, 64
percent were from small firms.” [21] However, the same study had some interesting results from the past
two recessions. In the 2001 recession, small businesses with fewer than 20 employees experienced 7
percent of the total reduction in jobs, firms with between 20 and 500 employees were responsible for 43
percent of the job losses, and the rest of the job losses came from large firms. As the economy recovered in
the following year, firms with fewer than 20 employees created jobs, while the other two groups continued
to shed jobs. Following the 1991 recession, it was firms with 20 to 500 employees that were responsible
for more than 56 percent of the jobs that were added.
Table 1.4 Job Creation by Firm Size
Years 1–4 5–9 10–19 20–99 100–499 500+
2002–2003 1,106,977 307,690 158,795 304,162 112,702 (994,667)
2003–2004 1,087,128 336,236 201,247 199,298 66,209 (214,233)
2004–2005 897,296 141,057 (11,959) (131,095) 83,803 262,326
2005–2006 1,001,960 295,521 292,065 590,139 345,925 1,072,710
Source: “Small Business Profile,” SBA Office of Advocacy,
2009,http://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/data.html.
One last area concerning the small business contribution to American employment is its role with respect
to minority ownership and employment. During the last decade, there has been a remarkable increase in
the number of self-employed individuals. From 2000 to 2007, the number of women who were self-
employed increased by 9.7 percent. The number of African Americans who were self-employed increased
by 36.6 percent for the same time range. However, the most remarkable number was an increase of nearly
110 percent for Hispanics. It is clear that small business has become an increasingly attractive option for
minority groups. [22] Women and Hispanics are also employed by small businesses at a higher rate than
the national average.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Small businesses have always played a key role in the US
economy.
• Small businesses are responsible for more than half the
employment in the United States.
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• Small businesses have a prominent role in innovation and
minority employment.
EXERCISES
1. Throughout this text, you will be given several assignments. It
would be useful if these assignments had some degree of
consistency. Select a type of business that interests you and
plan on using it throughout some of the chapter assignments.
After selecting your business, go
to www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-
standards and determine the size of the business.
2. In the United States, 50 percent of those employed are
working for small businesses. There are considerable
differences across states. Go
to www.census.gov/econ/susb/ and compute the percentage
for your state. What factors might account for the differences
across states?
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[1] “Small Business by the Numbers,” National Small Business Administration, accessed October 7,
2011, www.nsba.biz/docs/bythenumbers .
[2] “A Definition of Entrepreneurship,” QuickMBA.com, accessed October 7,
2011,www.quickmba.com/entre/definition.
[3] Nick Leiber, “The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, July 8, 2009, accessed October 7,
2011, www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/running_small _business/archives/2009/07/anatomy_of_an_e.html.
[4] “Entrepreneur vs. Small Business Owner: What’s the Difference?,” Mills Communication Group, July 22, 2009,
accessed October 7, 2011,www.millscommgroup.com/blog/2009/06/entrepreneur-vs-small-business-owner-whats-
the-difference.
[5] Dale Beermann, “Entrepreneur or Small Business Owner? Does It Matter?,”Brazen Careerist, January 30, 2009,
accessed October 7, 2011,www.brazencareerist.com/2009/01/29/entrepreneur-or-small-business-owner-does-it-
matter.
[6] Jack Beatty, The Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America 1865–1900 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007),
11.
[7] Ted Nace, The Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy (San Francisco: Berrett-
Koehler Publishers, 2003), 44.
[8] Bob Higgins, “Like Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison—Americans Fear Corporate Control of Public Policy,” TPMCafe,
February 17, 2011, accessed October 23, 2011,tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/r/l/rlh974/2010/02/like-
lincoln-jefferson -madison.php.
[9] Ted Nace, The Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy (San Francisco, Berrett-
Koehler Publishers, 2003), 44.
[10] Mansel Blackford, The History of Small Business in America, 2nd ed. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North
Carolina Press, 2003), 4.
[11] “What We Do,” Small Business Administration, accessed October 7, 2011,www.sba.gov/about-sba-services/what-
we-do.
[12] Christopher Conte, “Small Business in U.S. History,” America.gov, January 3, 2006, accessed October 7,
2011, www.america.gov/st/business-english/2008/July/20080814215602XJyrreP0.6187664.html.
[13] Mansel Blackford, The History of Small Business in America, 2nd ed. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North
Carolina Press, 2003), 4.
[14] Katherine Kobe, “The Small Business Share of GDP, 1998–2004,” Small Business Research Summary, April 2007,
accessed October 7, 2011,http://archive.sba.gov/advo/research/rs299tot .
[15] Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch. “Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical
Analysis,” American Economic Review 78, no. 4 (1988): 678–90.
[16] “Small Business by the Numbers,” National Small Business Administration, accessed October 7,
2011, www.nsba.biz/docs/bythenumbers .
[17] Jeff Cornwall, “Innovation in Small Business,” The Entrepreneurial Mind, March 16, 2009, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.drjeffcornwall.com/2009/03/16/innovation _in_small_business/.
[18] “Small Business by the Numbers,” National Small Business Administration, accessed October 7,
2011, www.nsba.biz/docs/bythenumbers .
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[19] “Statistics of U.S. Businesses,” US Census Bureau, April 13, 2010, accessed October 7,
2011, www.census.gov/econ/susb.
[20] William J Dennis Jr., Bruce D. Phillips, and Edward Starr, “Small Business Job Creation: The Findings and
Their Critics”, Business Economics 29, no. 3 (1994): 23–30.
[21] Brian Headd, “An Analysis of Small Business and Jobs,” Small Business Administration, March 2010, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs359tot (p. 10).
[22] “Statistics of U.S. Businesses,” US Census Bureau, April 13, 2010, accessed October 7,
2011, www.census.gov/econ/susb.
1.2 Success and Failure in Small Businesses
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
1. Be able to explain what is meant by business success.
2. Be able to describe the different components of business failure.
3. Understand that statistics on business failure can be confusing and contradictory.
4. Understand that small business failure can be traced to managerial inadequacy, financial issues, and
the external environment.
5. Understand that small business owners need to be able to formally plan and understand the
accounting and finance needs of their firms.
There are no easy answers to questions about success and failure in a small business. The
different points of view are all over the map.
What Is a Successful Small Business?
Ask the average person what the purpose of a business is or how he or she would define a
successful business, and the most likely response would be “one that makes a profit.” A more
sophisticated reply might extend that to “one that makes an acceptable profit now and in the
future.” Ask anyone in the finance department of a publicly held firm, and his or her answer
would be “one that maximizes shareholder wealth.” The management guru Peter Drucker said
that for businesses to succeed, they needed to create customers, while W. E. Deming, the quality
guru, advocated that business success required “delighting” customers. No one can argue,
specifically, with any of these definitions of small business success, but they miss an important
element of the definition of success for the small business owner: to be free and independent.
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Many people have studied whether there is any significant difference between the small business
owner and the entrepreneur. Some entrepreneurs place more emphasis on growth in their
definition of success.[1] However, it is clear that entrepreneurs and small business owners define
much of their personal and their firm’s success in the context of providing them with
independence. For many small business owners, being in charge of their own life is the prime
motivator: a “fervently guarded sense of independence,” and money is seen as a beneficial by-
product. [2], [3], [4]Oftentimes, financial performance is seen as an important measure of success.
However, small businesses are reluctant to report their financial information, so this will always
be an imperfect and incomplete measure of success. [5]
Three types of small business operators can be identified based on what they see as constituting
success:
1. An artisan whose intrinsic satisfaction comes from performing the business activity
2. The entrepreneur who seeks growth
3. The owner who seeks independence [6]
When discussing failure rates in small business, there is only one appropriate word: confusion.
There are wildly different values, from 90 percent to 1 percent, with a wide range of values in
between. [7] Obviously, there is a problem with these results, or some factor is missing. One
factor that would explain this discrepancy is the different definitions of the termfailure. A
second factor is that of timeline. When will a firm fail after it starts operation?
The term failure can have several meanings. [8] Small-business failure is often measured by the
cessation of a firm’s operation, but this can be brought about by several things:
• An owner can die or simply choose to discontinue operations.
• The owner may recognize that the business is not generating sufficient return to warrant the effort that is
being put into it. This is sometimes referred to as the failure of opportunity cost.
• A firm that is losing money may be terminated to avoid losses to its creditors.
• There can be losses to creditors that bring about cessations of the firm’s operations.
• The firm can experience bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is probably what most people think of when they hear
the term business failure. However, the evidence indicates that bankruptcies constitute only a minor
reason for failure.
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Failure can therefore be thought of in terms of a cascading series of outcomes (see Figure 1.1
“Types of Business Failures”). There are even times when small business owners involved in a
closure consider the firm successful at its closing. [9] Then there is the complication of
considering the industry of the small business when examining failure and bankruptcy. The
rates of failure can vary considerably across different industries; in the fourth quarter of 2009,
the failure rates for service firms were half that of transportation firms. [10]
Figure 1.1 Types of Business Failures
The second issue associated with small business failure is a consideration of the time horizon.
Again, there are wildly different viewpoints. The Dan River Small Business Development Center
presented data that indicated that 95 percent of small businesses fail within five years. [11] Dun
and Bradstreet reported that companies with fewer than twenty employees have only a 37
percent chance of surviving four years, but only 10 percent will go bankrupt. [12] The US Bureau
of Labor Statistics indicated that 66 percent of new establishments survive for two years, and
that number drops to 44 percent two years later. [13] It appears that the longer you survive, the
higher the probability of your continued existence. This makes sense, but it is no guarantee. Any
business can fail after many years of success.
Why Do Small Businesses Fail?
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There is no more puzzling or better studied issue in the field of small business than what causes
them to fail. Given the critical role of small businesses in the US economy, the economic
consequences of failure can be significant. Yet there is no definitive answer to the question.
Three broad categories of causes of failure have been identified: managerial inadequacy,
financial inadequacy, and external factors. The first cause,managerial inadequacy, is the most
frequently mentioned reason for firm failure. [14] Unfortunately, it is an all-inclusive explanation,
much like explaining that all plane crashes are due to pilot failure. Over thirty years ago, it was
observed that “while everyone agrees that bad management is the prime cause of failure, no one
agrees what ‘bad management’ means nor how it can be recognized except that the company has
collapsed—then everyone agrees that how badly managed it was.” [15] This observation remains
true today.
The second most common explanation cites financial inadequacy, or a lack of financial strength
in a firm. A third set of explanations center on environmental or external factors, such as a
significant decline in the economy.
Because it is important that small firms succeed, not fail, each factor will be discussed in detail.
However, these factors are not independent elements distinct from each other. A declining
economy will depress a firm’s sales, which negatively affects a firm’s cash flow. An owner who
lacks the knowledge and experience to manage this cash flow problem will see his or her firm
fail.
Managerial inadequacy is generally perceived as the major cause of small business failure.
Unfortunately, this term encompasses a very broad set of issues. It has been estimated that two
thirds of small business failures are due to the incompetence of the owner-manager. [16] The
identified problems cover behavioral issues, a lack of business skills, a lack of specific technical
skills, and marketing myopia. Specifying every limitation of these owners would be prohibitive.
However, some limitations are mentioned with remarkable consistency. Having poor
communication skills, with employees and/or customers, appears to be a marker for
failure. [17] The inability to listen to criticism or divergent views is a marker for failure, as is the
inability to be flexible in one’s thinking. [18]
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Ask many small business owners where their strategic plans exist, and they may point to their
foreheads. The failure to conduct formal planning may be the most frequently mentioned item
with respect to small business failure. Given the relative lack of resources, it is not surprising
that small firms tend to opt for intuitive approaches to planning. [19], [20] Formal approaches to
planning are seen as a waste of time, [21] or they are seen as too theoretical.[22] The end result is
that many small business owners fail to conduct formal strategic planning in a meaningful
way. [23], [24] In fact, many fail to conduct any planning; [25], [26] others may fail to conduct
operational planning, such as marketing strategies. [27] The evidence appears to clearly indicate
that a small firm that wishes to be successful needs to not only develop an initial strategic plan
but also conduct an ongoing process of strategic renewal through planning.
Many managers do not have the ability to correctly select staff or manage them. [28] Other
managerial failings appear to be in limitations in the functional area of marketing. Failing firms
tend to ignore the changing demands of their customers, something that can have devastating
effects.[29] The failure to understand what customers value and being able to adapt to changing
customer needs often leads to business failure. [30]
The second major cause of small business failure is finance. Financial problems fall into three
categories: start-up, cash flow, and financial management. When a firm begins operation (start-
up), it will require capital. Unfortunately, many small business owners initially underestimate
the amount of capital that should be available for operations. [31] This may explain why most
small firms that fail do so within the first few years of their creation. The failure to start with
sufficient capital can be attributed to the inability of the owner to acquire the needed capital. It
can also be due to the owner’s failure to sufficiently plan for his or her capital needs. Here we see
the possible interactions among the major causes of firm failure. Cash-flow management has
been identified as a prime cause for failure. [32],[33] Good cash-flow management is essential for
the survival of any firm, but small firms in particular must pay close attention to this process.
Small businesses must develop and maintain effective financial controls, such as credit
controls. [34] For very small businesses, this translates into having an owner who has at least a
fundamental familiarity with accounting and finance. [35] In addition, the small firm will need
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either an in-house or an outsourced accountant. [36] Unfortunately, many owners fail to fully use
their accountants’ advice to manage their businesses. [37]
The last major factor identified with the failure of small businesses is the external environment.
There is a potentially infinite list of causes, but the economic environment tends to be most
prominent. Here again, however,confusing appears to describe the list. Some argue that
economic conditions contribute to between 30 percent and 50 percent of small business failures,
in direct contradiction to the belief that managerial incompetence is the major cause. [38] Two
economic measures appear to affect failure rates: interest rates, which appear to be tied to
bankruptcies, and the unemployment rate, which appears to be tied to discontinuance. [39] The
potential impact of these external economic variables might be that small business owners need
to be either planners to cover potential contingencies or lucky.
Even given the confusing and sometimes conflicting results with respect to failure in small
businesses, some common themes can be identified. The reasons for failure fall into three broad
categories: managerial inadequacy, finance, and environmental. They, in turn, have some
consistently mentioned factors (see Table 1.5 “Reasons for Small Business Failure”). These
factors should be viewed as warning signs—danger areas that need to be avoided if you wish to
survive. Although small business owners cannot directly affect environmental conditions, they
can recognize the potential problems that they might bring. This text will provide guidance on
how the small business owner can minimize these threats through proactive leadership.
Table 1.5 Reasons for Small Business Failure
Managerial Inadequacy Financial Inadequacy External Factors
Failure in planning (initial start-up
plan and subsequent plans)
Inexperience with managing
business operation
Ineffective staffing
Poor communication skills
Failure to seek or respond to
Cash-flow problems
Insufficient initial capitalization
Inadequate financial records
Not using accountants’ insights
Inadequate capital acquisition
strategies
Failure to deal with financial
Downturn in economy
Rising unemployment
Rising interest rates
Product or service no longer
desired by customers
Unmatchable foreign
competition
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Managerial Inadequacy Financial Inadequacy External Factors
criticism
Failure to learn from past failures
Ignoring customers’ needs
Ignoring competition
Failure to diversify customer base
Failure to innovate
Ineffective marketing strategies
issues brought about by growth Fraud
Disaster
Ultimately, business failure will be a company-specific combination of factors. Monitor101, a
company that developed an Internet information monitoring product for institutional investors
in 2005, failed badly. One of the cofounders identified the following seven mistakes that were
made, most of which can be linked to managerial inadequacy: [40]
1. The lack of a single “the buck stops here” leader until too late in the game
2. No separation between the technology organization and the product organization
3. Too much public relations, too early
4. Too much money
5. Not close enough to the customer
6. Slowness to adapt to market reality
7. Disagreement on strategy within the company and with the board
“Entrepreneurs Turn Business Failure into Success”
Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2008 cover story highlights owners who turn business failure into
success.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_70/s0810040731198.htm
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• There is no universal definition for small business success.
However, many small business owners see success as their
own independence.
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• The failure rates for small businesses are wide ranging. There is
no consensus.
• Three broad categories of factors are thought to contribute to
small business failure: managerial inadequacy, financial
inadequacy, and external forces, most notably the economic
environment.
EXERCISES
1. Starting a business can be a daunting task. It can be made even
more daunting if the type of business you choose is particularly
risky. Go towww.forbes.com/2007/01/18/fairisaac-nordstrom-
verizon-ent-fin-
cx_mf_0118risky_slide.html?thisSpeed=undefined, where the
ten riskiest businesses are identified. Select any two of these
businesses and address why you think they are risky.
2. Amy Knaup is the author of a 2005 study “Survival and
Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Data”
(seewww.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/05/ressum ). The article
points to different survival rates for ten different industries.
Discuss why there are significant differences in the survival
rates among these industries.
[1] William Dunkelberg and A. C. Cooper. “Entrepreneurial Typologies: An Empirical Study,” Frontiers of
Entrepreneurial Research, ed. K. H. Vesper (Wellesley, MA: Babson College, Centre for Entrepreneurial
Studies, 1982), 1–15.
[2] “Report on the Commission or Enquiry on Small Firms,” Bolton Report, vol. 339 (London: HMSO,
February 1973), 156–73.
[3] Paul Burns and Christopher Dewhurst, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2nd ed. (Basingstoke,
UK: Macmillan, 1996), 17.
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[4] Graham Beaver, Business, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development(Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2002), 33.
[5] Terry L. Besser, “Community Involvement and the Perception of Success Among Small Business
Operators in Small Towns,” Journal of Small Business Management37, no 4 (1999): 16.
[6] M. K. J. Stanworth and J. Curran, “Growth and the Small Firm: An Alternative View,” Journal of
Management Studies 13, no. 2 (1976): 95–111.
[7] Roger Dickinson, “Business Failure Rate,” American Journal of Small Business 6, no. 2 (1981): 17–25.
[8] A. B. Cochran, “Small Business Failure Rates: A Review of the Literature,”Journal of Small Business
Management 19, no. 4, (1981): 50–59.
[9] Don Bradley and Chris Cowdery, “Small Business: Causes of Bankruptcy,” July 26, 2004, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2004_fall/16 .
[10] “Equifax Study Shows the Ups and Downs of Commercial Credit Trends,”Equifax, 2010, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.equifax.com/PR/pdfs/CommercialFactSheetFN3810 .
[11] Don Bradley and Chris Cowdery, “Small Business: Causes of Bankruptcy,” July 26, 2004, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2004_fall/16 .
[12] Don Bradley and Chris Cowdery, “Small Business: Causes of Bankruptcy,” July 26, 2004, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/2004_fall/16 .
[13] Anita Campbell, “Business Failure Rates Is Highest in First Two Years,” Small Business Trends, July 7,
2005, accessed October 7, 2011,smallbiztrends.com/2005/07/business-failure-rates-highest-in.html.
[14] T. C. Carbone, “The Challenges of Small Business Management,” Management World 9, no. 10
(1980): 36.
[15] John Argenti, Corporate Collapse: The Causes and Symptoms (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976), 45.
[16] Graham Beaver, “Small Business: Success and Failure,” Strategic Change 12, no. 3 (2003): 115–22.
[17] Sharon Nelton, “Ten Key Threats to Success,” Nation’s Business 80, no. 6 (1992): 18–24.
[18] Robert N. Steck, “Why New Businesses Fail,” Dun and Bradstreet Reports 33, no. 6 (1985): 34–38.
[19] G. E. Tibbits, “Small Business Management: A Normative Approach,” in Small Business Perspectives,
ed. Peter Gorb, Phillip Dowell, and Peter Wilson (London: Armstrong Publishing, 1981), 105.
[20] Jim Brown, Business Growth Action Kit (London: Kogan Page, 1995), 26.
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[21] Christopher Orpen, “Strategic Planning, Scanning Activities and the Financial Performance of Small
Firms,” Journal of Strategic Change 3, no. 1 (1994): 45–55.
[22] Sandra Hogarth-Scott, Kathryn Watson, and Nicholas Wilson, “Do Small Business Have to Practice
Marketing to Survive and Grow?,” Marketing Intelligence and Planning 14, no. 1 (1995): 6–18.
[23] Isaiah A. Litvak and Christopher J. Maule, “Entrepreneurial Success or Failure—Ten Years
Later,” Business Quarterly 45, no. 4 (1980): 65.
[24] Hans J. Pleitner, “Strategic Behavior in Small and Medium-Sized Firms: Preliminary
Considerations,” Journal of Small Business Management 27, no. 4 (1989): 70–75.
[25] Richard Monk, “Why Small Businesses Fail,” CMA Management 74, no. 6 (2000): 12.
[26] Anonymous, “Top-10 Deadly Mistakes for Small Business,” Green Industry Pro19, no. 7 (2007): 58.
[27] Rubik Atamian and Neal R. VanZante, “Continuing Education: A Vital Ingredient of the ‘Success Plan’
for Business,” Journal of Business and Economic Research 8, no. 3 (2010): 37–42.
[28] T. Carbone, “Four Common Management Failures—And How to Avoid Them,”Management
World 10, no. 8 (1981): 38–39.
[29] Anonymous, “Top-10 Deadly Mistakes for Small Business,” Green Industry Pro19, no. 7 (2007): 58.
[30] Rubik Atamian and Neal R. VanZante, “Continuing Education: A Vital Ingredient of the ‘Success Plan’
for Business,” Journal of Business and Economic Research 8, no. 3 (2010): 37–42.
[31] Howard Upton, “Management Mistakes in a New Business,” National Petroleum News 84, no. 10
(1992): 50.
[32] Rubik Atamian and Neal R. VanZante, “Continuing Education: A Vital Ingredient of the ‘Success Plan’
for Business,” Journal of Business and Economic Research 8, no. 3 (2010): 37–42.
[33] Arthur R. DeThomas and William B. Fredenberger, “Accounting Needs of Very Small Business,” The
CPA Journal 55, no. 10 (1985): 14–20.
[34] Roger Brown, “Keeping Control of Your Credit,” Motor Transportation, April 2009, 8.
[35] Arthur R. DeThomas and William B. Fredenberger, “Accounting Needs of Very Small Business,” The
CPA Journal 55, no. 10 (1985): 14–20.
[36] Hugh M. O’Neill and Jacob Duker, “Survival and Failure in Small Business,”Journal of Small Business
Management 24, no. 1 (1986): 30–37.
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[37] Arthur R. DeThomas and William B. Fredenberger, “Accounting Needs of Very Small Business,” The
CPA Journal 55, no. 10 (1985): 14–20.
[38] Jim Everett and John Watson, “Small Business Failures and External Risk Factors,” Small Business
Economics 11, no. 4 (1998): 371–90.
[39] Jim Everett and John Watson, “Small Business Failures and External Risk Factors,” Small Business
Economics 11, no. 4 (1998): 371–90.
[40] Roger Ehrenberg, “Monitor 110: A Post Mortem—Turning Failure into Learning,” Making It!, August
27, 2009, accessed June 1, 2012,http://www.makingittv.com/Small-Business-Entrepreneur-Story-
Failure.htm.
1.3 Evolution
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
1. Define the five stages of small business growth.
2. Identify the stages of the organizational life cycle.
3. Characterize the industry life cycle and its impact on small business.
Small businesses come in all shapes and sizes. One thing that they all share, however, is
experience with common problems that arise at similar stages in their growth and
organizational evolution. Predictable patterns can be seen. These patterns “tend to be
sequential, occur as a hierarchical progression that is not easily reversed, and involve a broad
range of organizational activities and structures.” [1] The industry life cycle adds further
complications. The success of any small business will depend on its ability to adapt to
evolutionary changes, each of which will be characterized by different requirements,
opportunities, challenges, risks, and internal and external threats. The decisions that need to be
made and the priorities that are established will differ through this evolution.
Stages of Growth
Understanding the small business growth stages can be invaluable as a framework for
anticipating resource needs and problems, assessing risk, and formulating business strategies
(e.g., evaluating and responding to the impact of a new tax). However, the growth stages will not
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be applicable to all small businesses because not all small businesses will be looking to grow.
Business success is commonly associated with growth and financial performance, but these are
not necessarily synonymous—especially for small businesses. People become business owners
for different reasons, so judgments about the success of their businesses may be related to any of
those reasons. [2] A classic study by Churchill and Lewis identified five stages of small business
growth: existence, survival, success, take-off, and resource maturity. [3] Each stage has its own
challenges.
• Stage I: Existence. [4] This is the beginning. The business is up and running. The primary problems will
be obtaining customers and establishing a customer base, producing products or services, and tracking
and conserving cash flow. [5] The organization is simple, with the owner doing everything, including
directly supervising a small number of subordinates. Systems and formal planning do not exist. The
company strategy? Staying alive. The companies that stay in business move to Stage II.
• Stage II: Survival. [6] The business is now a viable operation. There are enough customers, and they are
being satisfied well enough for them to stay with the business. The company’s focal point shifts to the
relationship between revenues and expenses. Owners will be concerned with (1) whether they can
generate enough cash in the short run to break even and cover the repair/replacement of basic assets and
(2) whether they can get enough cash flow to stay in business and finance growth to earn an economic
return on assets and labor. The organizational structure remains simple. Little systems development is
evident, cash forecasting is the focus of formal planning, and the owner still runs everything.
• Stage III: Success. [7] The business is now economically healthy, and the owners are considering whether
to leverage the company for growth or consider the company as a means of support for them as they
disengage from the company. [8] There are two tracks within the success stage. The first track is
the success-growth substage, where the small business owner pulls all the company resources together
and risks them all in financing growth. Systems are installed with forthcoming needs in mind. Operational
planning focuses on budgets. Strategic planning is extensive, and the owner is deeply involved. The
management style is functional, but the owner is active in all phases of the company’s business. The
second track is the success-disengagement substage, where managers take over the owner’s operational
duties, and the strategy focuses on maintaining the status quo. Cash is plentiful, so the company should be
able to maintain itself indefinitely, barring external environmental changes. The owners benefit
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indefinitely from the positive cash flow or prepare for a sale or a merger. The first professional managers
are hired, and basic financial, marketing, and production systems are in place.
• Stage IV: Take-off. [9] This is a critical time in a company’s life. The business is becoming increasingly
complex. The owners must decide how to grow rapidly and how to finance that growth. There are two key
questions: (1) Can the owner delegate responsibility to others to improve managerial effectiveness? (2)
Will there be enough cash to satisfy the demands of growth? The organization is decentralized and may
have some divisions in place. Both operational planning and strategic planning are being conducted and
involve specific managers. If the owner rises to the challenges of growth, it can become a very successful
big business. If not, it can usually be sold at a profit.
• Stage V: Resource Maturity. [10] The company has arrived. It has the staff and financial resources to
engage in detailed operational and strategic planning. The management structure is decentralized, with
experienced senior staff, and all necessary systems are in place. The owner and the business have
separated both financially and operationally. The concerns at this stage are to (1) consolidate and control
the financial gains that have been brought on by the rapid growth and (2) retain the advantage of a small
size (e.g., response flexibility and the entrepreneurial spirit). If the entrepreneurial spirit can be
maintained, there is a strong probability of continued growth and success. If not, the company may find
itself in a state ofossification. This occurs when there is a lack of innovation and risk aversion that, in turn,
will contribute to stalled or halted growth. These are common traits in large corporations.
Organizational Life Cycle
Superimposed on the stages of small business growth is theorganizational life cycle (OLC), a
concept that specifically acknowledges that organizations go through different life cycles, just
like people do. [11]“They are born (established or formed), they grow and develop, they reach
maturity, they begin to decline and age, and finally, in many cases, they die.” [12] The changes
that occur in organizations have a predictable pattern, [13] and this predictability will be very
helpful in formulating the objectives and strategies of a small business, altering managerial
processes, identifying the sources of risk, and managing organizational change. [14],[15] Because
not all small businesses are looking to grow, however, it is likely that many small companies will
retain simple organizational structures.
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For those small businesses that are looking to grow, the move from one OLC stage to another
occurs because the fit between the organization and its environment is so inadequate that either
the organization’s efficiency and/or effectiveness is seriously impaired or the organization’s very
survival is threatened. Pressure will come from changes in the nature and number of
requirements, opportunities, and threats. [16]
Four OLC stages can be observed: birth, youth, midlife, and maturity. [17] In the birth stage, a
small business will have a very simple organizational structure, one in which the owner does
everything. There are few, if any, subordinates. As the business moves
through youth and midlife, more sophisticated structures will be adopted, and authority will be
decentralized to middle- and lower-level managers. At maturity, firms will demonstrate
significantly more concern for internal efficiency, install more control mechanisms and
processes, and become very bureaucratic. There are other features as well that characterize the
movement of an organization from birth to maturity, which are summarized in Table 1.6
“Organizational Life Cycle Features”.
Table 1.6 Organizational Life Cycle Features
Feature Birth Cycle Youth Cycle Midlife Cycle Maturity Cycle
Size Small Medium Large Very large
Bureaucratic Nonbureaucratic Prebureaucratic Bureaucratic Very bureaucratic
Division of labor Overlapping tasks Some departments Many departments
Extensive, with
small jobs and many
descriptions
Centralization One-person rule Two leaders rule Two department heads
Top-management
heavy
Formalization No written rules Few rules
Policy and procedure
manuals Extensive
Administrative
intensity
Secretary, no
professional staff
Increasing clerical
and maintenance
Increasing
professional and staff
support
Large-multiple
departments
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Feature Birth Cycle Youth Cycle Midlife Cycle Maturity Cycle
Internal systems Nonexistent
Crude budget and
information
Control systems in
place: budget,
performance, reports,
etc.
Extensive planning,
financial, and
personnel added
Lateral teams, task
forces for
coordination None Top leaders only
Some use of
integrators and task
Frequent at lower
levels to break down
bureaucracy
Source: Richard L. Daft, Organizational Theory and Design (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing,
1992), as cited in Carter McNamara, “Basic Overview of Organizational Life Cycles,” accessed
October 7, 2011,http://managementhelp.org/organizations/life-cycles.htm.
A small business will always be somewhere on the OLC continuum. Business success will often
be based on recognizing where the business is situated along that continuum and adopting
strategies best suited to that place in the cycle.
Industry Life Cycle
The industry life cycle (ILC) is another dimension of small business evolution, which needs to be
understood and assessed in concert with the stages of small business growth and the OLC. All
small businesses compete in an industry, and that industry will experience a life cycle just as
products and organizations do. Although there may be overlap in the names of the ILC stages,
the meaning and implications of each stage are different.
The industry life cycle refers to the continuum along which an industry is born, grows, matures,
and eventually experiences decline and then dies. Although the pattern is predictable, the
duration of each stage in the cycle is not. The stages are the same for all industries, but every
industry will experience the stages differently. The stages will last longer for some and pass
quickly for others; even within the same industry various small businesses may find themselves
at different life cycle stages. [18] However, no matter where a small business finds itself along the
ILC continuum, the strategic planning of that business will be influenced in important ways.
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According to one study, the ILC, charted on the basis of the growth of an industry’s sales over
time, can be observed as having four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and
decline. [19] The introduction stage[20] finds the industry in its infancy. Although it is possible for a
small business to be alone in the industry as a result of having developed and introduced
something new to the marketplace, this is not the usual situation. The business strategy will
focus on stressing the uniqueness of the product or the service to a small group of customers,
commonly referred to as innovators or early adopters. A significant amount of capital is
required. Profits are usually negative for both the firm and the industry.
The growth stage [21] is the second ILC stage. This stage also requires a significant amount of
capital, but increasing product standardization may lead to economies of scale that will, in turn,
increase profitability. The strategic focus is product differentiation, with an increased focus on
responding to customer needs and interests. Intense competition will result as more new
competitors join the industry, but many firms will be profitable. The duration of the growth
stage will be industry dependent.
The maturity stage [22] will see some competition from late entrants that will try to take market
share away from existing companies. This means that the marketing effort must continue to
focus on product or service differentiation. There will be fewer firms in mature industries, so
those that survive will be larger and more dominant. Many small businesses may move into the
ranks of midsize or big businesses.
The decline stage [23] occurs in most industries. It is typically triggered by a product or service
innovation that renders the industry obsolete. Sales will suffer, and the business goes into
decline. Some companies will leave the industry, but others will remain to compete in the
smaller market. The smaller businesses may be more agile for competing in a declining industry,
but they will need to carefully formulate their business strategies to remain viable.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Small-business management should consider the growth
stages, the OLC, and the ILC in its planning.
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• There are five stages of small business growth: existence,
survival, success, take-off, and resource maturity. The success
stage includes two substages, growth and disengagement.
Ossification may result if a mature small business loses its
entrepreneurial spirit and becomes more risk averse.
• Some small businesses may not be looking to grow, so they
may remain in the survival stage.
• The OLC refers to the four stages of development that
organizations go through: birth, youth, midlife, and maturity.
• Some small businesses may stick with the very simple
organizational structures because they are not interested in
growing to the point where more complicated structures are
required.
• The ILC is the time continuum along which an industry is born,
grows, matures, declines, and dies.
• There are four stages in the ILC: introduction, growth, maturity,
and decline.
EXERCISE
1. Interview the owners of three small businesses in your
community, each a different type and size. Where would you
put each business with respect to the five stages of small
business growth? Justify your answer.
[1] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[2] B. Kotey and G. G. Meredith, “Relationships among Owner/Manager Personal Values, Business
Strategies, and Enterprise Performance,” Journal of Small Business Management 35, no. 2 (1997): 37–
65.
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[3] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[4] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[5] Darrell Zahorsky, “Find Your Business Life Cycle,” accessed October 7,
2011,sbinformation.about.com/cs/marketing/a/a040603.htm.
[6] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[7] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[8] Shivonne Byrne, “Empowering Small Business,” Innuity, June 25, 2007, accessed October 7,
2011, innuity.typepad.com/innuity_empowers_small_bu/2007/06/five -stages-of-.html.
[9] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[10] Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis, “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth,” Harvard Business
Review 61, no. 3 (1983): 30–44, 48–50.
[11] Carter McNamara, “Basic Overview of Organizational Life Cycles,” accessed October 7,
2011, http://managementhelp.org/organizations/life-cycles.htm.
[12] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[13] Robert E. Quinn and Kim Cameron, “Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness:
Some Preliminary Evidence,” Management Science 29, no. 1 (1983): 33–51.
[14] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[15] Yash P. Gupta and David C. W. Chin, “Organizational Life Cycle: A Review and Proposed Directions
for Research,” The Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business 30, no. 3 (December 1994): 269–94.
[16] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
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[17] Carter McNamara, “Basic Overview of Organizational Life Cycles,” accessed October 7,
2011, http://managementhelp.org/organizations/life-cycles.htm.
[18] “Industry Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed June 1, 2012,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/industry-life-
cycle.html.
[19] “Industry Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed June 1, 2012,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/industry-life-
cycle.html.
[20] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[21] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[22] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
[23] “Organizational Life Cycle,” Inc., 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,www.inc.com/encyclopedia/organizational-life-cycle.html.
1.4 Ethics
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define ethics.
2. Explain business ethics.
3. Describe small business ethics.
4. Understand why a small business should have an ethics policy.
Ethics are about doing the right thing. They are about well-based standards of right and wrong
that prescribe what humans ought to do—usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to
society, fairness, or specific virtues.[1] They serve as guidelines for making decisions about how
to behave in specific situations; they also guide us in evaluating the actions of
others. [2]Hopefully, they will provide us with a good understanding of how to react to situations
long before those situations occur.
What Ethics Are Not
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It is important to understand what ethics are not. [3]
• Ethics are not the same as our feelings. Our feelings are not always accurate indicators about a
particular action being unethical (e.g., taking a long lunch or spending too much personal time on the
Internet while at work). We all develop defense mechanisms to protect ourselves, so we may not feel badly
about a particular unethical act. Some people may actually feel good about behaving unethically.
• Ethics are not the same as religion. Most religions champion high ethical standards, but not
everyone is religious. Ethics apply to everyone.
• Ethics are not necessarily synonymous with the law. There will be instances in which ethical
behavior and the law are the same (e.g., in the cases of murder, discrimination, whistleblower protection,
and fraud). Such instances are illustrative of a good legal system. There will, however, be times when the
law takes a different path than ethics—the result being ethical corruption that serves only the interests of
small groups.
• Ethics are not about following cultural norms. Following cultural norms works only for ethical
cultures. Although most cultures probably like to see themselves as ethical, all societies have been and will
be plagued with norms that are unethical (e.g., slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War and
sweatshops in developing countries).
• Ethics are not synonymous with science. Science cannot tell us what to do. The sciences can
provide us with insights into human behavior, but ethics provides the reasons and the guidance for what
we should do.
• Ethics are not the same as values. Although values are essential to ethics, the two are not
synonymous. Values are enduring beliefs that a given behavior or outcome is desirable or good. [4] They
create internal judgments that will determine how a person actually behaves. Ethics determine which
values should be pursued and which should not. [5]
Why Ethics Are Important
Ethics are important because they provide structure and stabilization for society. They help us to
understand what is good and bad, and this helps us to choose between right and wrong actions.
Without ethics, our actions would be “random and aimless, with no way to work toward a goal
because there would be no way to pick between a limitless number of goals.” [6]Ethics do not
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provide easy answers to hard questions, but they do provide a framework within which to seek
the answers.
Business Ethics
Business ethics is applying the virtues and discipline of ethics to business behavior. They set the
standard for how your business is conducted and define the value system of how you operate in
the marketplace and within your business. [7] They are relevant to any and all aspects of business
conduct: workplace issues, product and brand, corporate wrongdoing, professional ethics, and
global business ethics. They apply equally to the individual who works for the company and to
the company itself because all ethical and unethical business behavior eventually finds its way to
the bottom line. It is almost a certainty that someone will encounter an ethical dilemma at some
point in his or her professional life.
Video Link 1.1
Business Ethics in the Twenty-First Century
A PBS documentary about business ethics and social responsibility.
http://watch.wliw.org/video/1316867588
Do Business Ethics Pay?
Asking whether business ethics pay may be the wrong question to ask. Behaving ethically should
happen because it is the right thing to do. However, companies large and small are in the
business of making money, so the question is not an unreasonable one. Good ethics carry many
benefits, not the least of which is financial good health. Companies that “outbehave” the
competition ethically will also tend to outperform them financially. [8]According to an Institute
of Business Ethics report, companies with a code of conduct generated significantly more
economic value added and market value added than those companies without a code,
experienced less price to earnings volatility, and showed a 50 percent increase in average return
on capital employed. [9]
Business ethics also pay in other ways that will improve the workplace climate and, ultimately,
positively impact the bottom line. They can “reduce incidents of corruption, fraud, and other
malpractices; enhance the trust of customers, suppliers and contractors; enhance the credibility
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of buyers and salespersons; and enhance the loyalty and goodwill of employees, shareholders
and customers.” [10]
The Costs of Unethical Business Conduct
By contrast, the costs of unethical business behavior can be staggering. Some of the costs
include the loss of physical assets, increased security, the loss of customers, the loss of
employees, the loss of reputation, legal costs, the loss of investor confidence, regulatory
intrusion, and the costs of bankruptcy. According to a report by the Josephson
Institute, [11] unethical business behavior has an adverse impact on sales, stock prices,
productivity, the performance of the highly skilled employees, efficiency, communication, and
employee retention and recruiting plus the risks from scandal and employee fraud.
The costs of employee theft are particularly daunting. An estimated 75 percent of employees
steal from the workplace, and most do so repeatedly. One third of all US corporate bankruptcies
are caused directly by employee theft; US companies lose nearly $400 billion per year in lost
productivity due to “time theft” or loafing; and an estimated 20 percent of every dollar earned by
a US company is lost to employee theft. [12] Office supplies, money, and merchandise are the
most frequently stolen items. [13]Employee theft may be even more of a concern to small
businesses because many small businesses operate so close to the margin. It has been estimated
that theft by small business employees totals nearly $40 billion each year.[14]
Small Business Ethics
In business, it is common for there to be conflicts between business success and ethical
behavior. When faced with an ethical dilemma, the decision may be unduly influenced by profits
and legality. This challenge is particularly acute for small business owners because they are so
much closer to the employees and the customers. The results of ethical decisions will be felt
more immediately by the entire company. [15]
Small-business owners will find themselves confronted more often with ethical choices because
of the decision-making autonomy that they have; there is no need to answer to a large number of
employees, corporate management, or a corporate board. The ethical choices that are made will
likely impact a far greater number of people than will the ethical decisions of individual
employees. Many business decisions will pose ethical challenges—examples being whether to
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use inferior materials to produce products because of competition with larger businesses,
employee and workplace problems, product quality and pricing, legal problems, and
government regulatory concerns. [16] The pressure to make an unethical choice on behalf of the
small business can be very powerful, especially when the health and vitality of the business may
be at stake. [17] Fortunately, the chances of an unethical decision being made in a small business
are lower because the individual or individuals who are harmed will always be more visible. It is
more difficult for the small business owner to be unethical. Ultimately, small business owners
will behave in accordance with “their own moral compass, sense of fair play and inclination to
deal in good faith.” [18]
According to one study, [19] small businesses see norms and pressures from the community and
peers as having more influence on their ethics than moral or religious principles, the
anticipation of rewards, upholding the law, or the fear of punishment. This leads to the
conclusion that small business is influenced significantly by the communities in which their
businesses are located. Socially responsive behavior is visible and it is “rewarded or sanctioned
by local residents through changes in employee morale, performance, and turnover; customer
loyalty; and positive interactions with business service professionals, suppliers, local
government officials, and business colleagues. These local sanctioning mechanisms [in turn
affected] the success of the business.” [20]
Because of this community influence, customer relationships are and must be based on trust
and the relatively immediate visibility of ethical behavior. It is perhaps not surprising that
people in small business are ranked number one on ethical standards ahead of physicians,
people in big business, and government officials. [21]
Developing an Ethics Policy
The small business owner is in a unique position to set the ethical tone for the business.
Employees will follow the lead of the owner when executing their duties and tending to their
responsibilities, so it is critical that the owner establish an ethical work
environment. [22] Establishing anethics policy (code of conduct or code of ethics) is an important
step in creating that environment. Employees who work in companies with active ethics
programs; who observe leaders modeling ethical behavior; and who see honesty, respect, and
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trust applied frequently in the workplace have reported more positive experiences that include
the following: [23]
• Less pressure on employees to compromise ethics standards
• Less observed misconduct at work
• Greater willingness to report misconduct
• Greater satisfaction with their organization’s response to misconduct they report
• Greater overall satisfaction with their organizations
• Greater likelihood of “feeling valued” by their organizations
These positive work experiences would be even more notable in small businesses because of the
smaller number of employees.
Employee perceptions of their organization’s ethical leadership may well be the most important
driver of employee trust and loyalty. [24] Having an ethical culture should, therefore, be a top
priority for every small business.
Many small business owners may feel that a code of ethics is unnecessary. However, the benefit
of having such a code is higher employee morale and commitment, more loyal customers, and a
more supportive community. Even the nonemployee small business benefits. A code of ethics
puts your business in a more positive, proactive light, and it spells out to customers and
employees what behavior is and is not appropriate. [25]
There is no recipe for developing an ethics policy. Its development may involve no one other
than the small business owner, but it should involve several people. The contents should be
specific to the values, goals, and culture of each company, and it should be “a central guide and
reference for users in support of day-to-day decision making. It is meant to clarify an
organization’s mission, values, and principles, linking them with the standards of professional
conduct.” [26] Small-business owners must decide what will make the most sense for their
companies. Jeff Wuorio offered the following eight guidelines: [27]
1. Focus on business practices and specific issues. The content of one company’s code of ethics will
differ from that of another.
2. Tailor it to fit your business. One size does not fit all. Make sure your code of ethics reflects the values
and mission of your company.
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3. Include employees in developing a code of ethics. A mandate from the small business owner will
not be effective. Get input from your employees whenever possible. They will be more accepting of the
ethics policy.
4. Train your people to be ethical. The extent and nature of employee education and training will
depend on the size of the small business. Even the smallest business, however, will benefit from some
ethics training.
5. Post your code of ethics internally and set up a reporting system. Employees need a way to let
someone know about ethics violations. Both an open-door policy and an anonymous reporting system will
be helpful.
6. Consider appointing a compliance person. This would probably not be appropriate for the very
small businesses. However, it would be worth considering if the business has fifty or more employees.
Having someone to whom employees can report suspected ethical problems would make things much
simpler.
7. Follow up on any ethics violations you uncover. Make sure that everyone understands the
ramifications of ethics policy violations. Include an appeals process. If a small business owner fails to act
on ethics violations, employees will not take the policy seriously.
8. Live it from the top down. The small business owner must walk the talk. No one should appear to be
above the code of ethics. Good role modeling is critical.
The actual development of a code of ethics can be done by starting from scratch, hiring a
consultant, or customizing a code from another organization. Before making a choice, it would
be worth doing some research. A good place to start would be www.conductcode.com, a website
that looks at codes of conduct from a practitioner approach. A search of the Internet will provide
examples of codes of ethics, but there is a bias toward larger companies, so small business
owners will have to pick and choose what will be best suited to their respective companies.
Ethical Behavior Survey
The Ethics Resource Center conducted a survey of employees at large and small businesses and
found the following:
• Fifty-six percent of the employees had witnessed misconduct by other employees that violated the firm’s
ethics standards or policies or the law.
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• Fifty-four percent of the employees who had witnessed misconduct believed that reporting the
misconduct would not lead to corrective action.
• Forty-two percent of the employees who had witnessed misconduct reported it. The percentage rose to 61
percent for employees whose employers have a well-implemented ethics and compliance program.
• Thirty-six percent of the employees who had witnessed misconduct but did not report it cited fear of
retaliation as their reason for not reporting it. [28]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Ethics are about doing the right thing. They are about
standards that help us decide between right and wrong. They
are not the same as our feelings, religion, the law, cultural
norms, science, or values.
• Ethics are important because they provide structure and
stabilization for society.
• Business ethics are about applying the virtues and discipline of
ethics to business behavior. They set the standard for how
your business is conducted and define the value system of how
you operate in the marketplace and within your business.
• Companies that “outbehave” the competition ethically tend to
outperform them financially.
• Ethical behavior in business improves the workplace climate
and will ultimately improve the bottom line. The cost of
unethical behavior can be staggering.
• Small-business owners have the opportunity to set the ethical
tone for their companies. Modeling ethical behavior is key. The
community and peers heavily influence small business ethics.
• Establishing an ethics policy is critical for creating an ethical
work environment. The contents of the policy should be
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specific to the values, goals, and culture of each company. One
size does not fit all.
EXERCISES
1. MaryAnn’s marketing team just presented a “Less Sugar” ad
campaign to the cereal brand manager for three of her brands.
The packages shouted “75% LESS SUGAR” in large and colorful
type so that it would catch the parent’s eye and increase sales.
With all the recent attention about childhood obesity, the
company thought that parents would purchase the cereal to
help their children attain and keep a healthy weight. A side-by-
side comparison of the less-sugar and the high-sugar versions
of the cereals, however, revealed that the carbohydrate
content of the cereals was essentially the same. At best, the
less-sugar version had only ten fewer calories per bowl. It
offered no weight-loss advantage. The brand manager
correctly concluded that the marketing campaign was
unethical. [29] Was the campaign illegal? What should the
cereal brand manager do?
2. An office supplies business with fifty employees has been
doing well, but lately there have been suspicions by some of
the employees. No names are known, but it is known that
merchandise has been disappearing without explanation, and
expensive gifts have been accepted from some vendors. The
owner thinks it is time to create and implement a code of
ethics. She has asked you for advice. You told her that it would
be important to involve the employees in the development of
the code, but you committed to do two things for her in
preparation for that involvement: (1) search the Internet for a
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code of ethics that could be tailored to her needs and (2)
prepare a preliminary list of topics that should be included in
the code. She thanked you and asked that you submit your
ideas within the week. She reminded you that her business is
small, so a code of ethics for a large corporation would not be
suitable.
[1] Manuel Velasquez et al., “What Is Ethics?,” Santa Clara University: Markula Center for Applied
Ethics, 2010, accessed October 7, 2011,www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html.
[2] Daniel J. Brown and Jonathan B. King, “Small Business Ethics: Influences and Perceptions,” Journal of
Small Business Management 11, no. 8 (1982): 11–18.
[3] “A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” Santa Clara University: Markula Center for Applied Ethics,
2009, accessed October 7, 2011,www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html.
[4] Milton Rokeach, The Nature of Human Values (New York: Free Press, 1973), 5, as cited in Wayne D.
Hoyer and Deborah J. MacInnis, Consumer Behavior (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), 416.
[5] Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands, “Values,” Importance of Philosophy, 2001, accessed October 7,
2011, www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Values.html.
[6] Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands, “Values,” Importance of Philosophy, 2001, accessed October 7,
2011, www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Values.html.
[7] “Business Ethics,” Small Business Notes, accessed October 7,
2011,www.smallbusinessnotes.com/operating/leadership/ethics.html.
[8] Richard McGill Murphy, “Why Doing Good Is Good for Business,”CNNMoney.com, February 2, 2010,
accessed October 7, 2011,money.cnn.com/2010/02/01/news/companies/dov_seidman_lrn.fortune.
[9] Simon Webley and Elise More, “Does Business Ethics Pay?,” Institute of Business Ethics, 2003,
accessed October 7, 2011,www.ibe.org.uk/userfiles/doesbusethicpaysumm .
[10] Simon Webley and Elise More, “Does Business Ethics Pay?,” Institute of Business Ethics, 2003,
accessed October 7, 2011,www.ibe.org.uk/userfiles/doesbusethicpaysumm .
[11] “The Hidden Costs of Unethical Behavior,” Josephson Institute, 2004, accessed October 7,
2011,josephsoninstitute.org/pdf/Report_HiddenCostsUnethicalBehavior .
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[12] Terrence Shulman, “Employee Theft Statistics,” Employee Theft Solutions, 2007, accessed October
7, 2011, www.employeetheftsolutions.com.
[13] Leslie Taylor, “Four in 10 Managers Have Fired Employees for Theft,” Inc., September 1, 2006,
accessed October 7, 2011,www.inc.com/news/articles/200609/theft.html?partner=rss.
[14] Mary Paulsell, “The Problem of Employee Theft,” MissouriBusiness.net, October 10, 2007, accessed
October 7, 2011,www.missouribusiness.net/sbtdc/docs/problem_employee_theft.asp.
[15] Karen E. Klein, “Making the Case for Business Ethics,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 26, 2010,
accessed October 7,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/content/dec2008/sb20081230_999118.htm.
[16] Jeffrey S. Hornsby et al., “The Ethical Perceptions of Small Business Owners: A Factor Analytic
Study,” Journal of Small Business Management 32 (1994): 9–16, adapted.
[17] “Business Ethics,” Answers.com, 2001, accessed October 7,
2011,www.answers.com/topic/business-ethics.
[18] Jim Blasingame, “Small Business Ethics,” Small Business Advocate, August 13, 2001, accessed
October 7, 2011, www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/motivational-minutes/small-business-ethics-22.
[19] Daniel J. Brown and Jonathan B. King, “Small Business Ethics: Influences and Perceptions,” Journal
of Small Business Management 11, no. 8 (1982): 11–18.
[20] Terry L. Besser, “Community Involvement and the Perception of Success among Small Business
Operators in Small Towns,” Journal of Small Business Management 37, no. 4 (1999): 16–29.
[21] Daniel J. Brown and Jonathan B. King, “Small Business Ethics: Influences and Perceptions,” Journal
of Small Business Management 11, no. 8 (1982): 11–18.
[22] “Business Ethics,” Answers.com, 2001, accessed October 7,
2011,www.answers.com/topic/business-ethics.
[23] Natalie Rhoden, “Ethics in the Workplace,” Articlesbase, November 5, 2008, accessed October 7,
2011, www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/ethics-in-the -workplace-629384.html.
[24] Jennifer Schramm, “Perceptions on Ethics,” HR Magazine, November 2004, 176.
[25] Jeff Wuorio, “Put It in Writing: Your Business Has Ethics,” Microsoft Small Business, 2011, accessed
October 7, 2011, www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/leadership-training/put-
it-in-writing-your-business-has-ethics.aspx ?fbid=WTbndqFrlli.
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[26] “Why Have a Code of Conduct,” Ethics Resource Center, May 29, 2009, accessed October 7,
2011, www.ethics.org/resource/why-have-code-conduct.
[27] Jeff Wuorio, “Put It in Writing: Your Business Has Ethics,” Microsoft Small Business, 2011, accessed
October 7, 2011, www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/leadership-training/put-
it-in-writing-your-business-has-ethics.aspx ?fbid=WTbndqFrlli.
[28] Reported in Jeff Madura, Introduction to Business (St. Paul, MN: Paradigm Publishing, 2010), 52.
[29] J. Brooke Hamilton III, “Case Example 1: ‘Less Sugar’ Marketing,”Operationalizing Ethics in Business
Settings, 2009, accessed June 1, 2012,ethicsops.com/LessSugarMarketingCase.php.
1.5 The Three Threads
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
1. Define customer value and explain why it is important to small business competitiveness.
2. Define digital technology and explain its role in small business competitiveness.
3. Define e-business and explain why e-business is important to small businesses.
4. Define e-commerce and explain why e-commerce should be integrated into small businesses.
There are three threads that flow throughout this text: customer value, cash flow, and digital
resources and e-environments. These threads can be likened to the human body. Cash flow is
the circulatory system, without which there can be no life. Digital technology and e-business are
the internal organs that carry out daily processes. E-commerce is the sensory system that
enables business to observe and interact with the external environment. Customer value is
overall health. These threads must figure prominently in all small business decision making.
Although they are necessary but not sufficient conditions for small business survival, the
chances for survival will be reduced significantly if they are not used.
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Customer Value
In 1916, Nathan Hanwerker was an employee at one of the largest restaurants on Coney Island—
but he had a vision. Using his wife’s recipe, he and his wife opened a hot dog stand. He believed
that the combination of a better tasting hot dog and the nickel price, half that of his competitors,
was his recipe for success. He was wrong. Unfortunately for Nathan, Upton Sinclair’s book The
Jungle a decade before had made the public suspicious of low-cost meat products. Nathan
discovered that his initial business model was not working. Customers valued taste and cost, but
they also valued the quality of a safe product. To convince customers that his hot dogs were safe,
he secured several doctors’ smocks and had people wear them. The sight of “doctors” consuming
Nathan’s hot dogs gave customers the extra value that they needed. It was all about the
perception of quality. If doctors were eating the hot dogs, they must be OK. Today there are over
20,000 outlets serving Nathan’s hot dogs. [1]
In principle, customer value is a very simple concept. It is the difference between the benefits
that a customer receives from a product or a service and the costs associated with obtaining that
product or service.Total customer benefit refers to the perceived monetary value of the bundle of
economic, functional, and psychological benefits customers expect from a product or a service
because of the products, services, personnel, and images involved. Total customer cost, the
perceived bundle of costs that customers expect to occur when they evaluate, obtain, use, and
dispose of the product or use the service, include monetary, time, energy, and psychological
costs. [2] In short, it is all about what customers get and what they have to give up.
In reality, the creation of customer value will always be a challenge—particularly because it
almost always needs to be defined on the customer’s terms. [3] Nonetheless, “the number one
goal of business should be to ‘maximize customer value and strive to increase value
continuously.’ If a firm maximizes customer value, relative to competitors, success will follow. If
a firm’s products are viewed as conveying little customer value, the firm will eventually atrophy
and fail.” [4] This will certainly be true for the small business that is much closer to its customers
than the large business.
The small business owner needs to be thinking about customer value every day: what is offered
now, how it can be made better, and what the competition is doing that is offering more value. It
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is not easy, but it is essential. All business decisions will add to or detract from the value that can
be offered to the customer. If your product or service is perceived to offer more value than that
of the competition, you will get the sale. Otherwise, you will not get the sale.
Cash Flow
Revenue is vanity…margin is sanity…cash is king.
Unknown.
Most people would define success with respect to profits or sales. This misses a critical point.
The survival of a firm hinges not so much on sales or profits, although these are vitally
important, as it does on the firm’s ability to meet its financial obligations. A firm must learn to
properly manage itscash flow, defined as the money coming into and flowing from a business
because cash is more than king. It is a firm’s lifeblood. As the North Dakota Small Business
Development Center put it, “Failure to properly plan cash flow is one of the leading causes for
small business failure.” [5]
An understanding of cash flow requires some understanding of accounting systems. There are
two types: cash based and accrual. In a cash-based accounting system, sales are recorded when
you receive the money. This type of system is really meant for small firms with sales totaling less
than $1 million. Accrual accounting systems, by contrast, are systems that focus on measuring
profits. They assume that when you make a sale, you are paid at that point. However, almost all
firms make sales on credit, and they also make purchases on credit. Add in that sales are seldom
constant, and you begin to see how easily and often cash inflows and outflows can fall out of
sync. This can reduce a firm’s liquidity, which is its ability to pay its bills. Envision the following
scenario: A firm generates tremendous sales by using easy credit terms: 10 percent down and
one year to pay the remaining 90 percent. However, the firm purchases its materials under tight
credit terms. In an accrual accounting system, this might appear to produce significant profits.
However, the firm may be unable to pay its bills and salaries. In this type of situation, the firm,
particularly the small firm, can easily fail.
There are other reasons why cash flow is critically important. Firms need to have the money to
buy new materials or expand. In addition, firms should have cash available to meet unexpected
contingencies or investment opportunities.
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Cash-flow management requires a future-focused orientation. You have to anticipate your future
cash inflows and outflows and what actions you may need to take to preserve your liquidity.
Today, even the nonemployee firm can begin this process with simple spreadsheet software.
Slightly larger firms could opt for the user-dedicated software. In either case, cash-flow analysis
requires the owner to focus on the future and to develop effective planning skills.
Cash-flow management also involves activities such as expense control, receivables
management, inventory control, and developing a close relationship with commercial lenders.
The small business owner needs to think about these things every day. Their requirements may
tax many small business operators, but they are essential skills.
• Expense control requires owners or operators to think in terms of constantly seeking out efficiencies and
cost-reduction strategies.
• Receivables management forces owners to think about how to walk the delicate balance of offering
customers the benefits of credit while trying to receive the payments as quickly as possible. They can use
technology and e-business to expedite the cash inflow.
• Effective inventory control translates into an understanding of theABC classification system (sorting
inventory by volume and value), and determining order quantities and reorder points. Inevitably, any
serious consideration of inventory management leads one to the study of “lean”
philosophies. Lean inventory management refers to approaches that focus on minimizing inventory by
eliminating all sources of waste. Lean inventory management inevitably leads its practitioners to adopt a
new process-driven view of the firm and its operations.
• Lastly, attention to cash-flow management recognizes that there may well be periods when cash outflows
will exceed cash inflows. You may have to use commercial loans, equity loans (pledging physical assets for
cash), and/or lines of credit. These may not be offered by a lender at the drop of a hat. Small-business
owners need to anticipate these cash shortfalls and should already have an established working
relationship with a commercial lender.
A small business needs to be profitable over the long term if it is going to survive. However, this
becomes problematic if the business is not generating enough cash to pay its way on a daily
basis. [6] Cash flow can be a sign of the health—or pending death—of a small business. The need
to ensure that cash is properly managed must therefore be a top priority for the business. [7]This
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is why cash-flow implications must be considered when making all business decisions.
Everything will be a cash flow factor one way or the other. Fred Adler, a venture capitalist, could
not have said it better when he said, “Happiness is a positive cash flow.” [8]
Digital Technology and the E-Environment
Digital technology and the e-environment continue to change the way small and large
businesses operate. Digital technology refers to a broad spectrum of computer hardware,
software, and information retrieval and manipulation systems. The e-environment is a catchall
term that includes e-business and e-commerce. The Internet in particular has had a powerful
impact on the demands of customers, suppliers, and vendors, each of whom is ready—perhaps
even expects—to do business 24/7.
Why Digital Technology?
With the advent of the personal computer and the Internet, small firms may be able to compete
on a more equal footing with larger firms through their intelligent use of digital technologies. It
would be impossible to list all the types of software that can enhance small business operations,
so the focus will be on the major types of aids.
Today, even the smallest of firms can acquire a complete accounting system at a reasonable
price. These packages can be tailored for specific industries and are designed to grow with the
company. They not only generate standard accounting and financial reports but also assist with
management decision making. Information about accounting software for small businesses is
easily available on the Internet.
Small-business operations have also benefited greatly from affordable software that can handle
forecasting, inventory control and purchasing, customer relations, and shipping and receiving.
In fact, the software has advanced to the point where a small firm can cost-effectively possess its
ownenterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Only a few years ago, ERP systems were out of
reach for all but the largest firms. ERP systems integrate multiple business functions, from
purchasing to sales, billings, accounting records, and payroll (see Figure 1.2 “Broad Schematic of
an ERP System”). These advances now give small firms the capability and opportunity to
participate in global supply chains, thus broadening their customer base.
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Figure 1.2 Broad Schematic of an ERP System
Touch screen computers, smartphones, or iPads can bring a new level of sophistication to data
entry and manipulation and communications. Smartphones can boost productivity, especially
when out of the office. [9] It is predicted that the iPad will change how we build business
relationships, particularly with respect to connecting with prospects in a more meaningful
way. [10] Inventory control may soon be revolutionized by a technology known as radio-
frequency identity devices (RFIDs). These small devices enable the tracking of inventory items.
These same devices may change retailing by curtailing time at checkout and eliminating
pilferage. [11]
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Using Smartphones in Your Business
Lloyd’s Construction is a 100-person demolition and carting firm in Eagan, Minnesota. This
small, family-owned business is not your typical candidate for a firm that exploits cutting-edge
technology. At the suggestion of the president’s 17-year-old daughter, the firm switched to a
smartphone system that allows for integrated data entry and communication. This system
allowed the firm to reduce its routing and fuel costs by as much as 30 percent. The firm was also
able to further reduce accounting and dispatch costs. On an investment of $50,000, the firm
estimated that it saved $1 million in 2007. [12]
All these technologies, and others, are within the reach of the small business, but careful
analysis must determine which technologies are best suited for a company. Given the speed of
digital technology development, this analysis is something that should be conducted on a
frequent basis. It is in the best interest of every small business to introduce digital technologies
into the business as quickly as is practical and affordable. There should always be an interest in
doing things better and faster. Through technology, a small business owner will be able to do so
much more: grow the business (if desired), work smarter, attract more customers, enhance
customer service, and stay ahead of the competition. [13]
The smaller the business, the more efficient it needs to be. Digital technology can help. Digital
technologies, with their relatively low cost, ease of implementation, and power, can offer small
businesses the rare opportunity to compete with larger rivals. If smaller firms are able to fully
use the capabilities of these technologies along with exploiting their faster decision-making
cycle, they can be the ones that secure competitive advantage.
Why E-business?
E-business is a term that is often used interchangeably with e-commerce, but this is not
accurate. E-business uses the Internet and online technologies to create operational efficiencies,
thereby increasing value to the customer. [14] Its focus is internal—for example, online inventory
control systems; accounting systems; procurement processes; supplier performance evaluation
processes; tools to increase supply chain efficiency; processing requests for machine repairs;
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and the integration of planning, sourcing, and manufacturing. Critical business systems are
connected to critical constituencies—customers, vendors, and suppliers—via the Internet,
extranets, and intranets. [15] No revenue is generated, but “e-business applications turn into e-
commerce precisely when an exchange of value occurs.” [16]
E-business processes should be introduced wherever there is a process that is currently working
OK but is costing unnecessary time and money to implement via paper. This would certainly
apply to the small business that finds itself drowning in paperwork. Small businesses should
always consider that e-business processes could improve their operational and cost efficiencies
overall, so thinking about e-business implications should be part of many decisions. E-business
can work for any small business “because it involves the whole business cycle for production,
procurement, distribution, sales, payment, fulfillment, restocking and marketing. It’s about
relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and distributors. It involves support services
like banks, lawyers, accountants and government agencies.” [17] The way you do business and
your future profitability will be affected by e-business. Converting your current business into e-
business may require some redesign and reshaping, depending on the size of your company.
However, e-business integration should be seen as an essential element in the efforts of a small
business to increase its agility in responding to customer, market, and other strategic
requirements. [18]
Why E-commerce?
E-commerce, the marketing, selling, and buying of goods and services online, is a subset of e-
business. It generates revenue, whereas other areas of e-business do not. E-commerce has
experienced extraordinary and rapid growth and will continue to grab more market share. [19]
In a survey of 400 small businesses, each with fewer than 100 employees, it was reported that
the Internet had significantly improved growth and profitability while helping to reduce costs.
Some businesses even indicated that they rely on the Internet to survive. Interestingly, the
survey participants themselves took advantage of e-commerce to purchase computers and office
technology online (54 percent), capital equipment and supplies (48 percent), and office
furnishings (21 percent); one third bought inventory for online resale, and 59 percent purchased
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other business-related goods online. [20] E-commerce offers many benefits to small businesses,
including the following: [21]
• Lower business costs. It may not be necessary to maintain as much physical space and staff.
• Greater accessibility. Customers can shop when they want to.
• The ability to provide customized service. Like Amazon.com, companies can address their
customers on a personal level by recognizing and greeting repeat shoppers.
• Increased customer loyalty. Companies can give information to customers while offering something
of value (e.g., a coupon for use on the next purchase or helpful hints about using a product).
These benefits make it possible for a small business to compete with, perhaps even overtake,
larger companies that do not have the agility and innovation of a smaller company.
The realities of Internet usage make a strong case for small businesses to integrate e-commerce
into their operations, including the following:
• Seventy-four percent of American adults use the Internet.
• Eighty-one percent use the Internet for information online about a service or product they are thinking of
buying.
• Seventy-one percent buy products online. [22]
• Sixty-six percent of adults have home broadband. [23]
• American small businesses have embraced broadband. [24]
• Fifty-five percent of American adults connect to the Internet wirelessly.[25]
• All income groups have high Internet usage, from 65 percent (less than $30,000 per year) to 98 percent
($75,000 per year or more). [26]
• Forty-six percent of small business owners plan to grow their businesses by creating or improving their
company’s online presence. [27]
• Almost half (49 percent) of online adults have used online classified ads.[28]
We live in a society of 24/7 immediacy, where the equivalent of foot traffic is increasingly
becoming eyeballs on a website. [29] People and businesses turn to the Internet to solve problems
and address the needs that they have. Embracing this change and moving existing small
business practices to include e-commerce would not seem to be an option. Rather, it is
increasingly becoming a requirement for survival. Even so, small business must think carefully
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about how to enter the e-commerce world or, if already there, how to best take advantage of the
opportunities. Both situations will require careful and deliberate decision making that takes e-
commerce implications into consideration regularly.
K E Y T A K E A W A Y S
• The creation of customer value must be a top priority for small business. The small business owner should be thinking
about it every day.
• Cash flow is a firm’s lifeblood. Without a positive cash flow, a small business cannot survive. All business decisions will
have an impact on cash flow—which is why small business owners must think about it every day.
• A cash-based accounting system is for small firms with sales totaling less than $1 million. Accrual accounting systems
measure profits instead of cash.
• Digital technologies are very important to small businesses. They can improve efficiencies, help create greater
customer value, and make the business more competitive. Digital technology integration should be something that
small business owners think about regularly.
• It is not correct to use the terms e-business and e-commerceinterchangeably. E-commerce is a subset of e-business.
• E-business can work for any small business.
• E-commerce generates revenue. E-business does not.
• Moving existing small business practices to e-commerce is increasingly becoming a requirement for survival.
E X E R C I S E S
1. “A customer calls L.L. Bean about a favorite jacket he purchased more than 10 years ago and has recently lost. In a
matter of minutes, the sales agent identifies the old jacket, locates a replacement model in the current catalog,
suggests a matching size and color, and orders the jacket. The replacement jacket arrives three days later.” [30] How
has L.L. Bean added to the customer’s perception of value?
2. When thinking about customer value, you should plan to address three questions: (a) What do my customers truly
value? (b) What do I provide? and (c) How does what I provide differ from my competitors? Select a small business
and interview the owner to see how he or she answered these questions. Pay particular attention to the first question.
3. Intuit QuickBooks, Peachtree, and AccountEdge are three popular accounting packages. Gather information from their
websites and conduct a comparative analysis as though you were a new small business looking to buy one of them.
[1] John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle, Fast Food (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 163–
64.
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[2] Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane, Marketing Management (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall,
2009), 121.
[3] H. Whitelock, “How to Create Customer Value,” eZine Articles, March 16, 2007, accessed October 7,
2011, ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Create-Customer-Value &id=491697.
[4] Earl Nauman, Creating Customer Value: The Path to Sustainable Competitive Advantage (New York:
Free Press, 1995), 16.
[5] “Why Is Cash Flow So Important?,” North Dakota Small Business Development Center, 2005, accessed
October 7, 2011, www.ndsbdc.org/faq/default.asp?ID=323.
[6] Barry Minnery, “Don’t Question the Importance of Cash Flow: Making a Profit Is the Goal but Day-to-
Day Costs Must Be Met in Order to Keep a Business Afloat,” The Independent.com, May 28, 2010,
accessed October 7, 2011,http://www.articlesezinedaily.com/dont-question-the-importance-of-cash-
flow/.
[7] Barry Minnery, “Don’t Question the Importance of Cash Flow: Making a Profit Is the Goal but Day-to-
Day Costs Must Be Met in Order to Keep a Business Afloat,” The Independent.com, May 28, 2010,
accessed October 7, 2011,http://www.articlesezinedaily.com/dont-question-the-importance-of-cash-
flow/.
[8] Fred Adler, QuotationsBook.com, accessed October 7, 2011,quotationsbook.com/quote/18235.
[9] Christopher Elliott, “5 Ways Smartphones & Servers Boost Productivity,”Microsoft Small Business
Center, 2010, accessed October 7, 2011,www.microsoft.com/business/en-
us/resources/technology/communications/smartphones-and-business –
productivity.aspx?fbid=WTbndqFrlli.
[10] Brent Leary, “The iPad: Changing How We Build Business Relationships,” Inc., accessed October 7,
2011, www.inc.com/hardware/articles/201005/leary.html.
[11] Kevin Bonsor, Candace Keener, and Wesley Fenlon, “How RFID Works,”HowStuffWorks.com,
accessed October 23, 2011,electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/rfid.htm.
[12] Jonathan Blum, “Running an Entire Business from Smartphones: Mobile Software Helps Track
Equipment, Accounts—and Employee Lunch Breaks,”CNNMoney.com, March 12, 2008, accessed
October 7, 2011,money.cnn.com/2008/03/11/smbusiness/mobile_phone_software.fsb/index.htm.
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[13] “Technology: Your Roadmap to Small Business Success,” Intel, 2009, accessed October 7,
2011, www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/world-ahead/world-ahead -small-business-success-
article.html.
[14] Kelly Wright, “E-Commerce vs. E-Business,” Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, November 27,
2002, accessed October 7, 2011,scm.ncsu.edu/public/lessons/less021127.html.
[15] Elias M. Awad, Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, 2004), 4.
[16] Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol Guercio Traver, E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society (Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007), 11.
[17] “Making Money on the Internet,” BizBeginners.biz, accessed October 23,
2011,bizbeginners.biz/e_business.html.
[18] William M. Ulrich, “E-Business Integration: A Framework for Success,”Software Magazine, August
2001, accessed October 7, 2011,findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is_4_21/ai_78436110.
[19] Heather Green, “US Ecommerce Growth to Pick up in 2010, But Hit Mature Stride,” Bloomberg
BusinessWeek, February 2, 2009, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/the_thread_05272011/blogspotting/archives/2009/0
2/us_ecommerce_gr.html.
[20] Robyn Greenspan, “Net Drives Profits to Small Biz,” ClickZ, March 25, 2004, accessed October 7,
2011, www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1719145/net-drives-profits-small-biz.
[21] “E-commerce: Small Businesses Become Virtual Giants on the Internet,”SCORE, accessed October 7,
2011,www.score.org/system/files/become_a_virtual_giant .
[22] “Trend Data: What Internet Users Do Online,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, May 1, 2011,
accessed June 1, 2012, http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data-%28Adults%29/Online-Activites-
Total.aspx.
[23] “Home Broadband Adoption Since 2000,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010, accessed June
1, 2012, http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-(Adults)/Home -Broadband-
Adoption.aspx.
[24] Robyn Greenspan, “Small Biz Gets Up to Speed,” ClickZ.com, January 26, 2004, accessed October 7,
2011, www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1704631/small-biz -gets-up-to-speed.
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[25] Lee Rainie, “Internet, Broadband, and Cell Phone Statistics,” Pew Internet & American Life Project,
January 5, 2010, accessed October 7,
2011,pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2010/PIP_December09_update .
[26] “Demographics of Internet Users,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2012, accessed June 21,
2012, http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-%28Adults%29/Whos-Online.aspx.
[27] “Small Biz Plans to Grow with Social,” eMarketer.com, 2010, accessed October 7,
2011, www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007706.
[28] Sydney Jones, “Online Classifieds,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010, accessed June 1,
2012, http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/7–Online-Classifieds/1-Overview.aspx.
[29] Sramana Mitra, “The Promise of E-Commerce,” Forbes.com, April 9, 2010, accessed October 7,
2011, www.forbes.com/2010/04/08/retailing-entreprenuers-online -intelligent-technology-
ecommerce.html.
[30] Peter Kolesar, Garrett van Rysin, and Wayne Cutler, “Creating Customer Value through
Industrialized Intimacy,” Strategy + Business, July 1, 1998, accessed October 7, 2011, www.strategy-
business.com/article/19127?gko=81aa7.
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Chapter 2
Your Business Idea: The Quest for Value
Cheshire Package Store
Source: Used with permission from Robert Brown.
Robert Brown has been the owner and operator of the Cheshire Package Store for 25 years. It is
one of several liquor stores in this town of 25,000 people. Some of his competitors are smaller
or approximately the same size, and one is significantly larger. Robert is very clear in his
understanding of what gives his store a competitive edge. He believes his establishment provides
the setting that makes a customer feel at home. “My feeling has always been that small
businesses must have a feeling of comfort. If your customers do not feel that they can ask you
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questions about the product or if they feel that they are imposing on you, then they are not likely
to return.”
Robert took every opportunity available to better understand his customers and provide them
with value. One way his business does this is by developing a personal relationship with its
customers. This may mean carefully looking at checks or credit cards, not for security reasons,
but to identify customers by name. Robert points out that he always pays careful attention to
what customers like and dislike; by doing so, they develop confidence in his suggestions. To
foster this confidence, he and his family actively engage their customers in conversations.
Customers, Robert, and the employees share stories, which is a key way to build better customer
relationships. By listening to his customers, Robert can identify what they are looking for and
assist him in knowing what new products he might offer.
In addition to this personalized level of service, the Cheshire Package Store also recognizes the
importance of other factors. Robert talks about the importance of maintaining a well-lit store
with spacious aisles, making it an inviting place in which to shop. He is careful about even minor
details, such as assuring that there are open parking spaces near the entrance to his store. He
recognizes that even walking short distances to or from the store might be a burden or deterrent
for his customers. Robert’s store possesses a cutting-edge inventory software package designed
specifically for liquor stores. It enables him to track inventory levels, which can provide
estimates for future inventory levels of different products; however, he sees this as a guide only.
As he puts it, “Your knowledge of your customers will be the key determinant for your success.”
Robert also strongly believes that the success of a small business depends on the owner being
there. Stores have their own personality, in his view, and that personality is created by the
owner. This personality imparted by the owner impacts all operational aspects of the business—
“Your employees will pick up on what you expect, and they will know what your customers
deserve.”
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2.1 Defining the Customer’s Concept of Value
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define customer value.
2. Understand the five sources of perceived customer benefits.
3. Understand the three sources of perceived costs.
Look beneath the surface; let not the several qualities of neither the thing, nor its worth escape
thee.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
In the previous chapter, Peter Drucker and W. Edward Deming placed the customer at the
center of their definitions of the purpose of a business. They used the customer as being at the
core of that purpose rather than focusing on financial measures such as profit, return on
investment (ROI), or shareholders’ wealth. Drucker’s logic was that if a business did not create a
sufficient number of customers, there never would be a profit with the business. Deming argued
that delighting customers would become the basis for them to consistently return, and loyalty
would ensure that the business would have a higher probability of surviving in the long term.
The clearest way of doing that is by focusing on providing your customers with a clear sense of
value. This emphasis on value will produce economic benefits. Gale Consulting explains the
notion of value this way, “If customers don’t get good value from you, they will shop around to
find a better deal.” [1] A recent study put it this way, “These firms have been successful…by
consistently creating superior customer value—and profiting handsomely from that customer
value.” [2]
Strong evidence indicates that this focus on making the customer central to defining the
business translates into economic success. It has been estimated that the cost of gaining a new
customer over retaining a current customer is a multiple of five. The costs of regaining a
dissatisfied customer over the cost of retaining a customer are ten times as much. [3] So a key
question for any business then becomes, “How does one then go about making the customer the
center of one’s business?”
What Is Value?
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It is essential to recognize that value is not just price. Value is a much richer concept.
Fundamentally, the notion of customer value is fairly basic and relatively simple to understand;
however, implementing this concept can prove to be tremendously challenging. It is a challenge
because customer value is highly dynamic and can change for a variety of reasons, including the
following: the business may change elements that are important to the customer value
calculation, customers’ preferences and perceptions may change over time, and competitors may
change what they offer to customers. One author states that the challenge is to “understand the
ever changing customer needs and innovate to gratify those needs.” [4]
The simple version of the concept of customer value is that individuals evaluate the perceived
benefits of some product or service and then compare that with their perceived cost of acquiring
that product or service. If the benefits outweigh the cost, the product or the service is then seen
as attractive (see Figure 2.1 “Perceived Cost versus Perceived Benefits”). This concept is often
expressed as a straightforward equation that measures the difference between these two values:
customer value = perceived benefits − perceived cost.
Figure 2.1 Perceived Cost versus Perceived Benefits
Some researchers express this idea of customer value not as a difference but as a ratio of these
two factors. [5] Either way, it needs to be understood that customers do not evaluate these factors
in isolation. They evaluate them with respect to their expectations and the competition.
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Firms that provide greater customer value relative to their competitors should expect to see
higher revenues and superior returns. Robert Buzzell and Bradley Gale, reporting on one finding
in the Profit Impact through Marketing Strategy study, a massive research project involving
2,800 businesses, showed that firms with superior customer value outperform their competitors
on ROI and market share gains. [6]
Given this importance, it is critical to understand what makes up the perceived benefits and the
perceived costs in the eyes of the consumer. These critical issues have produced a considerable
body of research. Some of the major themes in customer value are evolving, and there is no
universal consensus or agreement on all aspects of defining these two components. First, there
are approaches that provide richly detailed and academically flavored definitions; others provide
simpler and more practical definitions. These latter definitions tend to be ones that are closer to
the aforementioned equation approach, where customers evaluate the benefits they gain from
the purchase versus what it costs them to purchase. However, one is still left with the issue of
identifying the specific components of these benefits and costs. In looking at the benefits portion
of the value equation, most researchers find that customer needs define the benefits component
of value. But there still is no consensus as to what specific needs should be considered. Park,
Jaworski, and McGinnis (1986) specified three broad types of needs of consumers that
determine or impact value. [7] Seth, Newman, and Gross (1991) [8] provided five types of value, as
did Woodall (2003), although he did not identify the same five values. [9] To add to the
confusion, Heard (1993–94) [10] identified three factors, while Ulaga (2003) [11] specified eight
categories of value; and Gentile, Spiller, and Noci (2007) mentioned six components of
value. [12] Smith and Colgate (2007) attempted to place the discussion of customer value in a
pragmatic context that might aid practitioners. They identified four types of values and five
sources of value. Their purpose was to provide “a foundation for measuring or assessing value
creation strategies.” [13] In some of these works, the components or dimensions of value
singularly consider the benefits side of the equation, while others incorporate cost dimensions
as part of value.
From the standpoint of small businesses, what sense can be made of all this confusion? First, the
components of the benefits portion of customer value need to be identified in a way that has
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significance for small businesses. Second, cost components also need to be identified. Seth,
Newman, and Gross’s five types of value provide a solid basis for considering perceived benefits
(see Figure 2.2 “Five Types of Value”). Before specifying the five types of value, it is critical to
emphasize that a business should not intend to compete on only one type of value. It must
consider the mix of values that it will offer its customers. (In discussing these five values, it is
important to provide the reader with examples. Most of our examples will relate to small
business, but in some cases, good examples will have to be drawn from larger firms because they
are better known.)
Figure 2.2 Five Types of Value
The five types of value are as follows:
1. Functional value relates to the product’s or the service’s ability to perform its utilitarian purpose.
Woodruff (1997) identified that functional value can have several dimensions. [14] One dimension would be
performance related. This relates to characteristics that would have some degree of measurability, such as
appropriate performance, speed of service, quality, or reliability. A car may be judged on its miles per
gallon or the time to go from zero to sixty miles per hour. These concepts can also be seen when
evaluating a garage that is performing auto repairs. Customers have an expectation that the repairs will be
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done correctly, that the car will not have to be brought back for additional work on the same problem, and
that the repairs will be done in a reasonable amount of time. Another dimension of functional value might
consider the extent to which the product or the service has the correct features or characteristics. In
considering the purchase of a laptop computer, customers may compare different models on the basis of
weight, battery lifetime, or speed. The notion of features or characteristics can be, at times, quite broad.
Features might include aesthetics or an innovation component. Some restaurants will be judged on their
ambiance; others may be judged on the creativity of their cuisine. Another dimension of functional value
may be related to the final outcomes produced by a business. A hospital might be evaluated by its number
of successes in carrying out a particular surgical procedure.
2. Social value involves a sense of relationship with other groups by using images or symbols. This may
appear to be a rather abstract concept, but it is used by many businesses in many ways. Boutique clothing
stores often try to convey a chic or trendy environment so that customers feel that they are on the cutting
edge of fashion. Rolex watches try to convey the sense that their owners are members of an economic elite.
Restaurants may alter their menus and decorations to reflect a particular ethnic cuisine. Some businesses
may wish to be identified with particular causes. Local businesses may support local Little League teams.
They may promote fundraising for a particular charity that they support. A business, such as Ben & Jerry’s
Ice Cream, may emphasize a commitment to the environment or sustainability.
3. Emotional value is derived from the ability to evoke an emotional or an affective response. This can cover
a wide range of emotional responses. Insurance companies and security alarm businesses are able to tap
into both fear and the need for security to provide value. Some theme parks emphasize the excitement
that customers will experience with a range of rides. A restaurant may seek to create a romantic
environment for diners. This might entail the presence of music or candlelight. Some businesses try to
remind customers of a particular emotional state. Food companies and restaurants may wish to stimulate
childhood memories or the comfort associated with a home-cooked meal. Häagen-Dazs is currently
producing a line of all-natural ice cream with a limited number of natural flavors. It is designed to appeal
to consumers’ sense of nostalgia. [15]
4. Epistemic value is generated by a sense of novelty or simple fun, which can be derived by inducing
curiosity or a desire to learn more about a product or a service. Stew Leonard’s began in the 1920s as a
small dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut. Today, it is a $300 million per year enterprise of consisting of four
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grocery stores. It has been discussed in major management textbooks. These accomplishments are due to
the desire to turn grocery shopping into a “fun” experience. Stew Leonard’s uses a petting zoo,
animatronic figures, and costumed characters to create a unique shopping environment. They use a
different form of layout from other grocery stores. Customers are required to follow a fixed path that takes
them through the entire store. Thus customers are exposed to all items in the store. In 1992, they were
awarded a Guinness Book world record for generating more sales per square foot than any food store in
the United States. [16] Another example of a business that employs epistemic value is Rosetta Stone, a
company that sells language-learning software. Rosetta Stone emphasizes the ease of learning and the
importance of acquiring fluency in another language through its innovative approach.
5. Conditional value is derived from a particular context or a sociocultural setting. Many
businesses learn to draw on shared traditions, such as holidays. For the vast majority of
Americans, Thanksgiving means eating turkey with the family. Supermarkets and grocery stores
recognize this and increase their inventory of turkeys and other foods associated with this period
of the year. Holidays become a basis for many retail businesses to tap into conditional value.
Another way businesses may think about conditional value is to introduce a focus on
emphasizing or creating a sociocultural context. Business may want to introduce a “tribal”
element into their customer base, by using efforts that cause customers to view themselves as a
member of a special group. Apple Computer does this quite well. Many owners of Apple
computers view themselves as a special breed set apart from other computer users. This sense of
special identity helps Apple in the sale of its other electronic consumer products. They reinforce
this notion in the design and setup of Apple stores. Harley-Davidson does not just sell
motorcycles; it sells a lifestyle. Harley-Davidson also has a lucrative side business selling
accessories and apparel. The company supports owner groups around the world. All of this
reinforces, among its customers, a sense of shared identity.
It should be readily seen that these five sources of value benefits are not rigorously distinct from
each other. A notion of aesthetics might be applied, in different ways, across several of these
value benefits. It also should be obvious that no business should plan to compete on the basis of
only one source of value benefits. Likewise, it may be impossible for many businesses,
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particularly start-ups, to attempt to use all five dimensions. Each business, after identifying its
customer base, must determine its own mix of these value benefits.
As previously pointed out, the notion of perceived customer value has two components—
perceived value benefits and perceived value costs. When examining the cost component,
customers need to recognize that it is more than just the cost of purchasing a product or a
service. Perceived cost should also be seen having multiple dimensions (seeFigure 2.3
“Components of Customer Value”).
Figure 2.3 Components of Customer Value
Perceived costs can be seen as being monetary, time, and psychic. Themonetary component of
perceived costs should, in turn, be broken down into its constituent elements. Obviously, the
first component is the purchase price of the product or the service. Many would mistakenly
think that this is the only element to be considered as part of the cost component. They fail to
consider several other cost components that are quite often of equal—if not greater—importance
to customers. Many customers will consider the operating cost of a product or a service. A
television cable company may promote an introductory offer with a very low price for the cable
box and its installation. Most customers will consider the monthly fees for cable service rather
than just looking at the installation cost. They often use service costs when evaluating the value
proposition. Customers have discovered that there are high costs associated with servicing a
product. If there are service costs, particularly if they are hidden costs, then customers will find
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significantly less value from that product or service. Two other costs also need to be considered.
Switching cost is associated with moving from one provider to another. In some parts of the
country, the cost of heating one’s home with propane gas might be significantly less than using
home heating oil on an annualized basis. However, this switch from heating oil to propane
would require the homeowner to install a new type of furnace. That cost might deter the
homeowner from moving to the cheaper form of energy. Opportunity cost involves selecting
among alternative purchases. A customer may be looking at an expensive piece of jewelry that
he wishes to buy for his wife. If he buys the jewelry, he may have to forgo the purchase of a new
television. The jewelry would then be the opportunity cost for the television; likewise, the
television would be the opportunity cost for the piece of jewelry. When considering the cost
component of the value equation, businesspeople should view each cost as part of an integrated
package to be set forth before customers. More and more car dealerships are trying to win
customers by not only lowering the sticker price but also offering low-cost or free maintenance
during a significant portion of the lifetime of the vehicle.
These monetary components are what we most often think of when we discuss the term cost,
and, of course, they will influence the decision of customers; however, the time component is
also vital to the decision-making process. Customers may have to expend time acquiring
information about the nature of the product or the service or make comparisons between
competing products and services. Time must be expended to acquire the product or the service.
This notion of time would be associated with learning where the product or the service could be
purchased. It would include time spent traveling to the location where the item would be
purchased or the time it takes to have the item delivered to the customer. One also must
consider the time that might be required to learn how to use the product or the service. Any
product or service with a steep learning curve might deter customers from purchasing it. Firms
can provide additional value by reducing the time component. They could simplify access to the
product or the service. They may offer a wide number of locations. Easy-to-understand
instructions or simplicity in operations may reduce the amount of time that is required to learn
how to properly use the product or the service.
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The psychic component of cost can be associated with those factors that might induce stress on
the customer. There can be stress associated with finding or evaluating products and services. In
addition, products or services that are difficult to use or require a long time to learn how to use
properly can cause stress on customers. Campbell’s soup introduced a meal product called
Souper Combos, which consisted of a sandwich and a cup of soup. At face value, one would think
that this would be a successful product. Unfortunately, there were problems with the demands
that this product placed on the customer in terms of preparing the meal. The frozen soup took
twice as long to microwave as anticipated, and the consumer had to repeatedly insert and
remove both the soup and the sandwich from the microwave. [17]
In summary, business owners need to constantly consider how they can enhance the benefits
component while reducing the cost components of the value equation. Table 2.1 “Components of
Perceived Benefit and Perceived Cost” summarizes the subcomponents of perceived value, the
types of firms that emphasize those components, and the activities that might be necessary to
either enhance benefits or reduce costs.
Table 2.1 Components of Perceived Benefit and Perceived Cost
Component Aspects Activities to Deliver
Components of Perceived Benefit
Functional
Measurable quality
Performance
Reliability
Support network
Quality assurance in product and services
Superior product and process design
Selection of correct attributes
Ability to improve product and operations
Management of value chain
Social
Builds identification with social, ethnic,
or class group
Emphasize lifestyle
Development of interaction among
Market research correctly identifies customer
base(s)
Ability to build social community among
customers
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Component Aspects Activities to Deliver
people
Build bonds within groups
Emotional
Assist in making one feel good about
themselves
Attachment to product or service
Produces a change in how others see
the user
Trustworthiness
Profound customer experience
Aesthetics
Market research understands psychological
dimensions of customer base(s)
Marketing content emphasizes desired
psychological dimensions
Reliability between marketing message and
delivery
Epistemic
Novelty
Fun
Evoke interest in product or service
Interest in learning
Produces a willing suspension of
disbelief
Creative personnel
Creative product or process development
Commitment to innovation
Willingness to experiment
Conditional
Produces meaning in a specific context
Tied to particular events
Tied to holidays
Demonstrates social responsibility
Flexibility (can alter physical facilities or
marketing message depending on context)
Management commitment to responsible action
Components of Perceived Cost
Monetary
Reduce purchase price
Reduce operating costs
Reduce maintenance costs
Superior design
Operational efficiency
Cost containment
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Component Aspects Activities to Deliver
Reduce opportunity costs Quality control and assurance
Easy acquisition
Time
Reduce time to search for product or
service
Reduce time to purchase
Reduced learning curve
Broad distribution channels
Web-based purchasing option
Web-based information
Superior design
Psychic
Simplified use
“Comfortable” feeling with regard to
product or service use
Superior design
Ability to write clear instructions
Different Customers—Different Definitions
It is a cliché to say that people are different; nonetheless, it is true to a certain extent. If all
people were totally distinct individuals, the notion of customer value might be an interesting
intellectual exercise, but it would be absolutely useless from the standpoint of business because
it would be impossible to identify a very unique definition of value for every individual.
Fortunately, although people are individuals, they often operate as members of groups that
share similar traits, insights, and interests. This notion of customers being members of some
type of group becomes the basis of the concept known as market segmentation. This involves
dividing the market into several portions that are different from each other. [18] It simply
involves recognizing that the market at large is not homogeneous. There can be several
dimensions along which a market may be segmented: geography, demographics,
psychographics, or purchasing behavior. Geographic segmentation can be done by global or
national region, population size or density, or even climate. Demographic segmentation divides
a market on factors such as gender, age, income, ethnicity, or occupation. Psychographic
segmentation is carried out on dimensions that reflect differences in personality, opinions,
values, or lifestyle. Purchasing behavior can be another basis for segmentation. Differences
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among customers are determined based on a customer’s usage of the product or the service, the
frequency of purchases, the average value of purchases, and the status as a customer—major
purchaser, first-time user, or infrequent customer. In the business-to-business (B2B)
environment, one might want to segment customers on the basis of the type of company.
Market segmentation recognizes that not all people of the same segment are identical; it
facilitates a better understanding of the needs and wants of particular customer groups. This
comprehension should enable a business to provide greater customer value. There are several
reasons why a small business should be concerned with market segmentation. The main reason
centers on providing better customer value. This may be the main source of competitive
advantage for a small business over its larger rivals. Segmentation may also indicate that a small
business should focus on particular subsets of customers. Not all customers are equally
attractive. Some customers may be the source of most of the profits of a business, while others
may represent a net loss to a business. The requirements for providing value to a first-time
buyer may differ significantly from the value notions for long time, valued customer. A failure to
recognize differences among customers may lead to significant waste of resources and might
even be a threat to the very existence of a firm.
Video Clip 2.5
Tom Peters: The Biggest Underserved Markets
Tom Peters, a self-described “professional loudmouth” who has been compared to Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken,
declares war on the worthless rules and absurd organizational barriers that stand in the way
of creativity and success. In a totally outrageous, in-your-face presentation, Peters reveals the
following: a reimagining of American business; two big markets—underserved and worth
trillions; the top qualities of leadership excellence; and why passion, talent, and action must
rule business today.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Essential to the success of any business is the need to correctly
identify customer value.
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• Customer value can be seen as the difference between a
customer’s perceived benefits and the perceived costs.
• Perceived benefits can be derived from five value sources:
functional, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional.
• Perceived costs can be seen as having three elements:
monetary, time, and psychic.
• To better provide value to customers, it may be necessary to
segment the market.
• Market segmentation can be done on the basis of
demographics, psychographics, or purchasing behavior.
EXERCISES
Frank’s All-American BarBeQue
Robert Rainsford is a twenty-eight-year-old facing a major
turning point in his life. He has found himself unemployed for
the first time since he was fifteen years old. Robert holds a BS
degree in marketing from the University of Rhode Island. After
graduation, a firm that specialized in developing web
presences for other companies hired him. He worked for that
firm for the last seven years in New York City. Robert rose
rapidly through the company’s ranks, eventually becoming one
of the firm’s vice presidents. Unfortunately, during the last
recession, the firm suffered significant losses and engaged in
extensive downsizing, so Robert lost his job. He spent months
looking for a comparable position, yet even with an excellent
résumé, nothing seemed to be on the horizon. Not wanting to
exhaust his savings and finding it impossible to maintain a low-
cost residence in New York City, he returned to his hometown
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in Fairfield, Connecticut, a suburban community not too far
from the New York state border.
He found a small apartment near his parents. As a stopgap
measure, he went back to work with his father, who is the
owner of a restaurant—Frank’s All-American BarBeQue. His
father, Frank, started the restaurant in 1972. It is a midsize
restaurant—with about eighty seats—that Frank has built up
into a relatively successful and locally well-known enterprise.
The restaurant has been at its present location since the early
1980s. It shares a parking lot with several other stores in the
small mall where it is located. The restaurant places an
emphasis on featuring the food and had a highly simplified
décor, where tables are covered with butcher paper rather
than linen tablecloths. Robert’s father has won many awards at
regional and national barbecue cook-offs, which is unusual for
a business in New England. He has won for both his barbecue
food and his sauces. The restaurant has been repeatedly
written up in the local and New York papers for the quality of
its food and the four special Frank’s All-American BarBeQue
sauces. The four sauces correspond to America’s four styles of
barbecue—Texan, Memphis, Kansas City, and Carolina. In the
last few years, Frank had sold small lots of these sauces in the
local supermarket.
As a teenager, Robert, along with his older sister Susan,
worked in his father’s restaurant. During summer vacations
while attending college, he continued to work in the
restaurant. Robert had never anticipated working full-time in
the family business, even though he knew his father had hoped
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that he would do so. By the time he returned to his hometown,
his father had accepted that neither Robert nor Susan would
be interested in taking over the family business. In fact, Frank
had started to think about selling the business and retiring.
However, Robert concluded that his situation called for what
he saw as desperate measures.
Initially, Robert thought his employment at his father’s
business was a temporary measure while he continued his job
search. Interestingly, within the first few weeks he returned to
the business, he felt that he could bring his expertise in
marketing—particularly his web marketing focus—to his
father’s business. Robert became very enthusiastic about the
possibility of fully participating in the family business. He
thought about either expanding the size of the restaurant,
adding a takeout option, or creating other locations outside his
hometown. Robert looked at the possibility of securing a much
larger site within his hometown to expand the restaurant’s
operations. He began to scout surrounding communities for
possible locations. He also began to map out a program to
effectively use the web to market Frank’s All-American
BarBeQue sauce and, in fact, to build it up to a whole new level
of operational sophistication in marketing.
Robert recognized that the restaurant was as much of a child
to his father as he and his sister were. He knew that if he were
to approach his father with his ideas concerning expanding
Frank’s All-American BarBeQue, he would have to think very
carefully about the options and proposals he would present to
his father. Frank’s All-American BarBeQue was one of many
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restaurants in Fairfield, but it is the only one that specializes in
barbecue. Given the turnover in restaurants, it was amazing
that Frank had been able to not only survive but also prosper.
Robert recognized that his father was obviously doing
something right. As a teenager, he would always hear his
father saying the restaurant’s success was based on “giving
people great simple food at a reasonable price in a place
where they feel comfortable.” He wanted to make sure that
the proposals he would present to his father would not destroy
Frank’s recipe for success.
1. Discuss how Robert should explicitly consider the customer
value currently offered by Frank’s All-American BarBeQue. In
your discussion, comment on the five value benefits and the
perceived costs.
2. Robert has several possible options for expanding his father’s
business—find a larger location in Fairfield, add a takeout
option, open more restaurants in surrounding communities,
incorporate web marketing concepts, and expand the sales of
sauces. Review each in terms of value benefits.
3. What would be the costs associated with those options?
[1] “Why Customer Satisfaction Fails,” Gale Consulting, accessed December 2,
2011,www.galeconsulting.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id= 18&Itemid=23.
[2] George Day and Christine Moorman, Strategy from the Outside In (New York: McGraw Hill, Kindle
Edition, 2010), 104–10.
[3] Forler Massnick, The Customer Is CEO: How to Measure What Your Customers Want—and Make Sure
They Get It (New York: Amacom, 1997), 76.
[4] Sudhakar Balachandran, “The Customer Centricity Culture: Drivers for Sustainable Profit,” Course
Management 21, no. 6 (2007): 12.
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[5] M. Christopher, “From Brand Value to Customer Value,” Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied
Marketing Science 2, no. 1 (1996): 55.
[6] Robert D. Buzzell and Bradley T. Gale, The PIMS Principles—Linking Strategy to Performance (New
York: Free Press, 1987), 106.
[7] C. Whan Park, Bernard J. Jaworski, and Deborah J. MacInnis, “Strategic Brand Concept Image
Management,” Journal of Marketing 50 (1986): 135.
[8] Jagdish N. Seth, Bruce I. Newman, and Barbara L. Gross, Consumption Values and Market Choice:
Theory and Applications (Cincinnati, OH: Southwest Publishing, 1991), 77.
[9] Tony Woodall, “Conceptualising ‘Value for the Customer’: An Attributional, Structural and
Dispositional Analysis,” Academy of Marketing Science Review 2003, no. 12 (2003), accessed October 7,
2011, www.amsreview.org/articles/woodall12-2003 .
[10] Ed Heard, “Walking the Talk of Customers Value,” National Productivity Review11 (1993–94): 21.
[11] Wolfgang Ulaga, “Capturing Value Creation in Business Relationships: A Customer
Perspective,” Industrial Marketing Management 32, no. 8 (2003): 677.
[12] Chiara Gentile, Nicola Spiller, and Giuliana Noci, “How to Sustain the Customer Experience: An
Overview of Experience Components That Co-Create Value with the Customer,” European Management
Journal 25, no. 5 (2007): 395.
[13] J. Brock Smith and Mark Colgate, “Customer Value Creation: A Practical Framework,” Journal of
Marketing Theory and Practice 15, no. 1 (2007): 7.
[14] Robert B. Woodruff, “Customer Value: The Next Source of Competitive Advantage, Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science 25, no. 2 (1997): 139.
[15] “Maturalism,” Trendwatching.com, accessed June 1,
2012,http://trendwatching.com/trends/maturialism/.
[16] “Company Story,” Stew Leonards, accessed October 7,
2011,www.stewleonards.com/html/about.cfm.
[17] Calvin L. Hodock, Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007),
65.
[18] “Market Segmentation,” NetMBA Business Knowledge Center, accessed October 7,
2011, www.netmba.com/marketing/market/segmentation.
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2.2 Knowing Your Customers
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand that in order to provide customer value, firms
must be able to listen to the voice of the customer.
2. Comprehend that businesses must attempt to identify those
customers’ needs that are not being met by competitors.
3. Understand that businesses should segment their customers to
better meet their needs.
4. Understand that businesses should consider the lifetime value
of their various customer segments.
5. Understand that although some businesses can create
products and services based on their intuitive insights, others
need to conduct careful analyses.
6. Comprehend that new product or service development
requires that organizations support creativity and innovation.
The perceived value proposition offers a significant challenge to any business. It requires that a
business have a fairly complete understanding of the customer’s perception of benefits and
costs. Although market segmentation may help a business better understand some segments of
the market, the challenge is still getting to understand the customer. In many cases, customers
themselves may have difficulty in clearly understanding what they perceive as the benefits and
costs of any offer. How then is a business, particularly a small business, to identify this vital
requirement? The simple answer is that a business must be open to every opportunity to listen
to the voice of the customer (VOC). This may involve actively talking to your customers on a
one-to-one basis, as illustrated by Robert Brown, the small business owner highlighted at the
beginning of this chapter. It may involve other methods of soliciting feedback from your
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customers, such as satisfaction surveys or using the company’s website. Businesses may engage
in market research projects to better understand their customers or evaluate proposed new
products and services. Regardless of what mechanism is used, it should serve one purpose—to
better understand the needs and wants of your customers.
Research
Chapter 6 “Marketing Basics” of this text will focus on the topic of marketing for small business.
Naturally, it will include significant materials on the subject of market research. In this section,
the focus will be on how a business may gain better insight into what constitutes the benefits
and the costs for particular customers. It will take a broad view and leave the details of market
research for Chapter 6 “Marketing Basics”.
Good research in the area of customer value simply means that one must stop talking to the
customer—talking through displays, advertising, and/or a website. It means that one is always
open to listening carefully to the VOC. Active listening in the service of better identifying
customer value means that one is always open to the question of how your business can better
solve the problems of particular customers.
If businesses are to become better listeners, what should they be listening for? What types of
questions should they be asking their customers? Businesses should address the following
questions when they attempt to make customer value the focus of their existence:
• What needs of our customers are we currently meeting?
• What needs of our customers are we currently failing to meet?
• Do our customers understand their own needs and are they aware of them?
• How are we going to identify those unmet customer needs?
• How are we going to listen to the VOC?
• How are we going to let the customer talk to us?
• What is the current value proposition that is desired by customers?
• How is the value proposition different for different customers?
• How—exactly—is our value proposition different from our competitors?
• Do I know why customers have left our business for our competitors?
Who Your Customer Is—and Is Not
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At the beginning of this chapter, it was argued that your central focus must be the customer. One
critical way that this might be achieved is by providing a customer with superior value. However,
creating this value must be done in a way that assures that the business makes money. One way
of doing this is by identifying and selecting those customers who will be profitable. Some have
put forth the concept of customer lifetime value, a measure of the revenue generated by a
customer, the cost generated for that particular customer, and the projected retention rate of
that customer over his or her lifetime. [1], [2]
This concept is popular enough that there are lifetime value calculator templates available on
the web. The Harvard Business School created the calculator used in Exercise 2.1. It looks at the
cost of acquiring a customer and then computes the net present value of the customer during his
or her lifetime. Net present value discounts the value of future cash flows. It recognizes the time
value of money. You can use one of two models: a simple model that examines a single product
or a more complex model with additional variables. One of the great benefits in conducting
customer lifetime value analysis is combining it with the notion of market segmentation. The
use of market segmentation allows for recognizing that certain classes of customers may
produce significantly different profits during their lifetimes. Not all customers are the same.
Let us look at a simple case of segmentation based on behavioral factors. Some customers make
more frequent purchases; these loyal customers may generate a disproportionate contribution of
a firm’s overall profit. It has been estimated that only 15 percent of American customers have
loyalty to a single retailer, yet these customers generate between 55 percent and 70 percent of
retail sales. [3] Likewise, a lifetime-based economic analysis of different customer segments may
show that certain groups of customers actually cost more than the revenues that they generate.
Having segmented your customers, you will probably find that some require more handholding
during and after the sale. Some customer groups may need you to “tailor” your product or
service to their needs. [4] As previously mentioned, market segmentation can be done along
several dimensions. Today, some firms use data mining to determine the basis of segmentation,
but that often requires extensive databases, software, and statisticians. One simple way to
segment your customers is the customer value matrix that is well suited for small retail and
service businesses. It uses just three variables: recency, frequency, and monetary value. Its data
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requirements are basic. It needs customer identification, the date of purchase, and the total
amount of purchase. This enables one to easily calculate the average purchase amount of each
customer. From this, you can create programs that reach out to particular segments. [5]
What Your Gut Tells You
The role of market research was already discussed in this chapter. For many small businesses,
particularly very small businesses, formal market research may pose a problem. In many small
businesses, there may be a conflict between decision making made on a professional basis and
decision making made on an instinctual basis. [6] Some small business owners will always decide
based on a gut instinct. We can point to many instances in which gut instinct concerning the
possible success in product paid off, whereas a formal market research evaluation might
consider the product to be a nonstarter.
In 1975, California salesman Gary Dahl came up with the idea of the ideal pet—a pet that would
require minimal care and cost to maintain. He developed the idea of the pet rock. This unlikely
concept became a fad and a great success for Dahl. Ken Hakuta, also known as Dr. Fad,
developed a toy known as the Wallwalker in 1983. It sold over 240 million units. [7] These and
other fad products, such as the Cabbage Patch dolls and Rubik’s Cube, are so peculiar that one
would be hard pressed to think of any marketing research that would have indicated that they
would be viable, let alone major successes.
Sometimes it is an issue of having a product idea and knowing where the correct market for the
product will be. Jill Litwin created Peas a Pie Pizza, which is a natural food pizza pie with
vegetables baked in the crust. She knew that the best place to market her unique product would
be in the San Francisco area with its appreciation of organic foods. [8]
This notion of going with one’s gut instinct is not limited to fad products. Think of the birth of
Apple Computer. The objective situation was dealing with a company whose two major
executives were college dropouts. The business was operating out of the garage of the mother of
one of these two executives. They were producing a product that up to that point had only a
limited number of hobbyists as a market. None of this would add up to very attractive prospect
for investment. You could easily envision a venture capitalist considering a possible investment
asking for a market research study that would identify the target market(s) for its computers.
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None existed at the company’s birth. Even today, there is a strong indication that Apple does not
rely heavily on formal marketing research. As Steve Jobs put it,
It’s not about pop culture, it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing
people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I
think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot
of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do. So you can’t
go out and ask people, you know, what’s the next big [thing.] There is a great quote
by Henry Ford, right? He said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they
would’ve told me ‘A faster horse.’” [9]
The Voice of the Customer—QFD
Quality function deployment (QFD) is an approach that is meant to take the VOC concept
seriously and uses it to help design new products and services or improve existing ones. It is an
approach that was initially developed in Japan for manufacturing applications. It seeks “to
transform user demands into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to
deploy methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts, and
ultimately to specific elements.” [10] To put it more clearly, QFD takes the desires of consumers
and explores how well the individual activities of the business are meeting those desires. It also
considers how company activities interact with each other and how well the company is meeting
those customer desires with respect to the competition. It achieves all these ends through the
means of a schematic; see Figure 2.4 “House of Quality”, which is known as the house of quality.
The schematic provides the backbone for the entire QFD process. A comprehensive design
process may use several houses of quality, moving from the first house, which concentrates on
the initial specification of customer desires, all the way down to developing a house that focuses
on the specification for parts or processes. Any house is composed of several components:
• Customer requirements (the whats). Here you identify the elements desired by customers; this
section also contains the relative importance of these needs as identified by customers.
• Engineering characteristics (the hows). This is the means by which an organization seeks to meet
customer needs.
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• Relationship matrix. This illustrates the correlations among customer requirements and engineering
characteristics. The degree of the correlation may be represented by different symbols.
• “Roof” of the house. This section illustrates the correlations among the engineering characteristics and
reveals synergies that might exist among the engineering characteristics.
• Competitive assessment matrix. This is used to evaluate the position of a business with respect to its
competition.
• “Basement.” This section is used for assessing the engineering characteristics or setting target values.
The “basement” enables participants to instantly see the relative benefits of the activities undertaken by a
company in meeting consumer desires by multiplying the values in each cell by the weight of the “why”
and then adding the values together.
Figure 2.4 House of Quality
Although it might initially appear to be complex, QFD provides many benefits, including the
following: (1) reduces time and effort during the design phase, (2) reduces alterations in design,
(3) reduces the entire development time, (4) reduces the probability of inept design, (5) assists
in team development, and (6) helps achieve common consensus. [11]
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Unfortunately, QFD is most often associated with manufacturing. Few realize that it has found
wide acceptance in many other areas—software development, services, education, amusement
parks, restaurants, and food services. (For examples of these applications of QFD, go
tohttp://www.mazur.net/publishe.htm.) Further, company size should not be seen as a
limitation to its possible application. The QFD approach, in a simplified form, can be easily and
successfully used by any business regardless of its size. [12] Its visual nature makes it extremely
easy to comprehend, and it can convey to all members of the business the relative importance of
the elements and what they do to help meet customers’ expectations. Figure 2.5 “Simplified
House of Quality for a Restaurant”illustrates this by providing a simplified house of quality chart
for a restaurant.
Figure 2.5 Simplified House of Quality for a Restaurant
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QFD Analysis and Excel
Some companies provide Excel-based software that can assist in conducting a QFD analysis.
This shows a template in the QI Macros software to help structure your thinking, making sure
nothing is left out. For more information and to download a 30-day trial of the QI Macros,
including the QFD template, see www.qimacros.com/six-sigma-articles.html.
How to Become a Better Listener
Although some succeed by listening to their instincts—their inner voices—it is highly advisable
to all businesses to be proactive in trying to listen to the VOC. Listening to the customer is the
domain of market research. However, it should not be surprising that many small businesses
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have severe resource constraints that make it difficult for them to use complex and sophisticated
marketing and market research approaches. [13] To some extent, this is changing with the
introduction of powerful, yet relatively low cost, web-based tools and social media. These will be
discussed in greater detail inSection 2.4.2 “Digital Technology and E-Environment
Implications” of this chapter. Another restriction that a small business may face in the area of
marketing is that the owner’s marketing skills and knowledge may not be very extensive. The
owners of such firms may opt for several types of solutions. They may try to mimic the
marketing techniques employed by larger organizations, drawing on what was just mentioned.
They may opt for sophisticated but easy to use analytical tools, or they may just simply take
marketing tools and techniques and apply them to the small business environment. [14]
The most basic and obvious way to listen to customers is by talking to them. All businesses
should support programs in which employees talk to customers and then record what they have
to say about the product or the service. It is important to centralize these observations.
Other ways of listening to customers are through comment cards and paper and online surveys.
These approaches have their strengths and limitations (see Note 2.31 “Video Clip 2.11”).
Regardless of these limitations, they do provide an insight into your customers. Another way
one can gather information about customers is through loyalty programs. Loyalty programs are
used by 81 percent of US households. [15] Social media options—see Section 2.4.2 “Digital
Technology and E-Environment Implications”—offer a tremendous opportunity to not only
listen to your customer but also engage in an active dialog that can build a sustainable
relationship with customers.
Website
Cisco Website for Innovation
A web forum for small businesses to share
information:communities.cisco.com/community/technology/collaboration/business/blog/tags/
innovation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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• Businesses must become proactive in attempting to identify
the value proposition of their customers. They must know how
to listen to the VOC.
• Businesses must make every effort to identify the unmet needs
of their customers.
• Businesses should recognize that customer segmentation
would enable them to better provide customer value to their
various customers.
• Businesses should think in terms of computing the customer
lifetime value within different customer segments.
• Intuition can play an important role in the development of new
products and services.
• Tools and techniques such as QFD assist in the design of
products and services so that a business may be better able to
meet customer expectations.
• Innovation can play a key role in creating competitive
advantage for small businesses.
• Innovation does not require a huge investment; it can be done
by small firms by promoting creativity throughout the
organization.
• Small businesses must be open to new social and consumer
trends. Readily available technology can help them in
identifying such trends.
EXERCISES
1. The Harvard Business School provides an online
customer lifetime value calculator
athbsp.harvard.edu/multimedia/flashtools/cltv/index.
html. You provide some key values, and it computes
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the net present value of customer purchases. Go to
the site and use the following data. What impact does
changing the customer retention have on the value of
the customer?
Average spent per purchase $250.00
Average number of purchases per
period 4
Direct marketing cost per period per
year $30
Average gross margin 20%
Average retention rate
25%, 35%, 50%, 70%, 80%, and
90%
Annual discount rate 10%
2. Imagine you are planning to open a boutique clothing store in
the downtown section of a major city in the United States. You
are interested in using a QFD chart to help you design the store.
Identify the customer requirements (whats) in the engineering
characteristics (hows). You need not to conduct a full-blown
QFD analysis but at least show the degree of relationship
between customer requirements and engineering
characteristics.
3. You are the owner of a children’s clothing store in a
prosperous suburban community. What methods and
techniques might you use to become more adept at listening
to the VOC? Outline specific programs that go beyond just
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talking to your customer that might enable you to better
understand their notion of value.
[1] Jack Schmid, “How Much Are Your Customers Worth?,” Catalog Age 18, no. 3 (2001): 63.
[2] Jonathon Lee and Lawrence Feick, “Cooperating Word-of-Mouth Affection Estimating Customer
Lifetime Value,” Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Strategy Management 14 (2006): 29.
[3] “Loyalty Promotions,” Little & King Integrated Marketing Group, accessed December 5,
2011, www.littleandking.com/white_papers/loyalty_promotions .
[4] “Determining Your Customer Perspective—Can You Satisfy These Customer
Segments?,” Business901.com, accessed October 8, 2011,business901.com/blog1/determining-your-
customer-perspective-can-you-satisfy-these-customer-segments.
[5] Claudio Marcus, “A Practical yet Meaningful Approach to Customer Segmentation,” Journal of
Consumer Marketing 15, no. 5 (1998): 494.
[6] Malcolm Goodman, “The Pursuit of Value through Qualitative Market Research,” Qualitative Market
Research: An International Journal 2, no. 2 (1999): 111.
[7] “What Are Wacky WallWalkers?,” DrFad.com, accessed December 2,
2011,www.drfad.com/fad_facts/wallwalker.htm.
[8] Susan Smith Hendrickson, “Mining Her Peas and Carrots Wins Investors,”Mississippi Business
Journal 32, no. 21 (2010): S4.
[9] Alain Breillatt, “You Can’t Innovate Like Apple,” Pragmatic Marketing 6, no. 4, accessed October 8,
2011,www.pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/6/4/you_cant_innovate_like_apple.
[10] Yoji Akao, Quality Function Deployment: Integrating Customer Requirements into Product
Design (New York: Productivity Press, 1990), 17.
[11] Gerson Tontini, “Deployment of Customer Needs in the QFD Using a Modified Kano Model,” Journal
of the Academy of Business and Economics 2, no. 1 (2003).
[12] Glen Mazur, “QFD for Small Business: A Shortcut through the Maze of Matrices” (paper presented
at the Sixth Symposium on Quality Function Deployment, Novi, MI, June 1994).
[13] David Carson, Stanley Cromie, Pauric McGowan, Jimmy Hill, Marketing and Entrepreneurship in
Small and Midsize Enterprises (Hemel Hempstead, UK: Prentice-Hall, 1995), 108.
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[14] Malcolm Goodman, “The Pursuit of Value through Qualitative Market Research,” Qualitative
Market Research: An International Journal 2, no. 2 (1999): 111.
[15] Shallee Fitzgerald, “It’s in the Cards,” Canadian Grocer 118, no. 10 (2004/2005): 30.
2.3 Sources of Business Ideas
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand that creativity and innovation are critical for small
businesses.
2. Realize that innovation need not be limited to the creation of
new products and services. It may involve seeing new uses for
a product, new ways of packaging a product, or new ways of
marketing a product.
3. Understand that creativity and innovation must be nurtured in
any organization and that there are several areas small
businesses must learn to avoid in order to promote creativity.
4. Realize that small businesses should be aware of social and
consumer trends, which has been made easier because of the
existence of online data sources.
Small businesses have always been a driver of new products and services. Many products and
inventions that we might commonly associate with large businesses were originally created by
small businesses, including air-conditioners, Bakelite, the FM radio, the gyrocompass, the high
resolution computed axial tomography scanner, the outboard engine, the pacemaker, the
personal computer, frozen food, the safety razor, soft contact lenses, and the zipper. [1] This
creativity and innovative capability probably stems from the fact that smaller businesses, which
may lack extensive financial resources, bureaucratic restraints, or physical resources, may find a
competitive edge by providing customers value by offering new products and services. It is
therefore important to consider how small businesses can foster a commitment to creativity and
innovation.
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Creativity and Innovation
One way smaller firms may compete with their larger rivals is by being better at the process of
innovation, which involves creating something that is new and different. It need not be limited
to the creation of new products and services. Innovation can involve new ways in which a
product or a service might be used. It can involve new ways of packaging a product or a service.
Innovation can be associated with identifying new customers or new ways to reach customers.
To put it simply, innovation centers on finding new ways to provide customer value.
Although some would argue that there is a difference between creativity and innovation
(see Note 2.38 “Video Clip 2.13”), one would be hard pressed to argue that creativity is not
required to produce innovative means of constructing customer value. An entire chapter, even
an entire book, could be devoted to fostering creativity in a small business. This text will take a
different track; it will look at those factors that might inhibit or kill creativity. Alexander Hiam
(1998) identified nine factors that can impede the creative mind-set in organizations: [2]
1. Failure to ask questions. Small-business owners and their employees often fail to ask the
required why-type questions.
2. Failure to record ideas. It does not help if individuals in an organization are creative and produce a
large number of ideas but other members of the organization cannot evaluate these ideas. Therefore, it is
important for you to record and share ideas.
3. Failure to revisit ideas. One of the benefits of recording ideas is that if they are not immediately
implemented, they may become viable at some point in the future.
4. Failure to express ideas. Sometimes individuals are unwilling to express new ideas for fear of criticism.
In some organizations, we are too willing to critique an idea before it is allowed to fully develop.
5. Failure to think in new ways. This is more than the cliché of “thinking outside the box.” It involves
new ways of approaching and looking at the problem of providing customer value.
6. Failure to wish for more. Satisfaction with the current state of affairs or with the means of solving
particular problems translates into an inability to look at new ways of providing value to customers.
7. Failure to try to be creative. Many people mistakenly think that they are not at all creative. This
means you will never try to produce new types of solutions to the ongoing problems.
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8. Failure to keep trying. When attempting to provide new ways to create customer value, individuals are
sometimes confronted with creative blocks. Then they simply give up. This is the surest way to destroy the
creative thinking process.
9. Failure to tolerate creative behavior. Organizations often fail to nurture the creative process. They
fail to give people time to think about problems; they fail to tolerate the “odd” suggestions from employees
and limit creativity to a narrow domain.
One of the great mistakes associated with the concept of innovation is that innovation must be
limited to highly creative individuals and organizations with large research and development
(R&D) facilities. [3] The organization’s size may have no bearing on its ability to produce new
products and services. More than a decade ago, studies began to indicate that small
manufacturing firms far exceeded their larger counterparts with respect to the number of
innovations per employee. [4]
A more recent study, which covered the period from 2003 to 2007, showed that R&D
performance by small US companies grew slightly faster than the comparable performance
measures for larger US firms. During that period, small firms increased their R&D spending by
more than 40 percent, compared to an approximate 33 percent increase for large companies.
These smaller firms also increased their employment of scientists and engineers at a rate
approximately 75 percent greater than larger companies. Further, the results of this study,
which are presented in Figure 2.6 “R&D Intensity by Firm Size”, illustrate that particularly since
2004, smaller businesses have outpaced their larger rivals with respect to R&D intensity. The
term R&D intensity refers to the current dollars spent on R&D divided by a company’s reported
sales revenue. [5]
Figure 2.6 R&D Intensity by Firm Size
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It cannot be over emphasized that innovation should not be limited to the creation of products
or services. The following are just a few examples of innovation beyond the development of new
products:
• In 1965, Thomas Angove, an Australian winemaker, developed the idea of packaging wine in boxes that
had a polyethylene bladder. The package was not only more convenient to carry but also kept the wine
fresher for a longer period of time. [6]
• Apple’s iPod was certainly an innovative product, but its success was clearly tied to the creation of the
iTunes website that provided content.
• Baker Tweet alerts customers via Twitter any time a fresh batch of baked goods emerge from a
participating baker’s oven. [7]
• Patrons at Wagaboo restaurants in Madrid can book specific tables online. [8]
• Restaurants often mark up bottles of wine by 200 percent to 300 percent. Several restaurants in New
York, Sydney, and London have developed relationships with wine collectors. The collectors may have
more wine than they can possibly drink, so they offer the wine for sale in the restaurant, with the
restaurant selling it at a straightforward markup of 35 percent. This collaboration with customers is
beneficial for the wine collector, the restaurant, and the customer.
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Social and Consumer Trends
Not all businesses have to concern themselves with social and consumer trends. Some
businesses, and this would include many small businesses, operate in a relatively stable
environment and provide a standard good or service. The local luncheonette is expected to
provide standard fare on its menu. The men’s haberdasher will be expected to provide mainline
men’s clothing. However, some businesses, particularly smaller businesses, could greatly benefit
by recognizing an emerging social or consumer trend. Small businesses that focus on niche
markets can gain sales if they can readily identify new social and consumer trends.
Trends differ from fads. Fads may delight customers, but by their very nature, they have a short
shelf life. Trends, on the other hand, may be a portend of the future. [9] Smaller businesses may
be in a position to better exploit trends. Their smaller size can give them greater flexibility;
because they lack an extensive bureaucratic structure, they may be able to move with greater
rapidity. The great challenge for small businesses is to be able to correctly identify these trends
in a timely fashion. In the past, businesses had to rely on polling institutes for market research
as a way of attempting to identify social trends. Harris Interactive produced a survey about the
obesity epidemic in America. This study showed that the vast majority of Americans over the age
of 25 are overweight. The percentage of those overweight has steadily increased since the early
1980s. The study also indicated that a majority of these people desired to lose weight. This
information could be taken by the neighborhood gym, which could then create specialized
weight-loss programs. Recognizing this trend could lead to a number of different products and
services. [10]
In the past, the major challenge for smaller businesses to identify or track trends was the
expense. These firms would have to use extensive market research or clipping services. Today,
many of those capabilities can be provided online, either at no cost or a nominal cost. [11] Google
Trends tracks how often a particular topic has been searched on Google for a particular time
horizon. The system also allows you to track multiple topics, and it can be refined so that you
can examine particular regions with these topics searched. The data are presented in graphical
format that makes it easy to determine the existence of any particular trends. Google Checkout
Trends monitors the sales of different products by brand. One could use this to determine if
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seasonality exists for any particular product type. Microsoft’s AdCenter Labs offers two products
that could be useful in tracking trends. One tool—Search Volume—tracks searches and also
provides forecasts. Microsoft’s second tool—Keyword Forecast—provides data on actual
searches and breaks it down by key demographics. Facebook provides a tool called Lexicon. It
tracks Facebook’s communities’ interests. (Check out the Unofficial Facebook Lexicon Blog for a
description on how to fully use Lexicon.) The tool Twist tracks Twitter posts by subject areas.
Trendpedia will identify articles online that refer to particular subject areas. These data can be
presented as a trend line so that one can see the extent of public interest over time. The trend
line is limited to the past three months. Trendrr tracks trends and is a great site for examining
the existence of trends in many areas.
Online technology now provides even the smallest business with the opportunity to monitor and
detect trends that can be translated into more successful business ventures.
Websites
• Google Trends: www.google.com/trends
• Microsoft AdCenter Labs: adlab.microsoft.com
• Microsoft AdCenter Labs Keyword Forecast:adlab.microsoft.com/Keyword-Forecast/default.aspx
• Unofficial Facebook Lexicon Blog: www.facebooklexicon.com
• Twitter Grader: http://tweet.grader.com
• Trendpedia: www.attentio.com
• BuzzMetrics: http://www.nmincite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MyBuzzMetrics
• NielsenBuzzMetrics: nielsen-online.com/products_buzz.jsp?section=pro_buzz
• Trendrr: www.trendrr.com
• Google Analytics:code.google.com/apis/checkout/developer/checkout_analytics_integration.html
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Small businesses must be open to innovation with respect to
products, services, marketing methods, and packaging.
• Creativity in any organization can be easily stifled by a variety
of factors. These should be avoided at all cost.
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• Small businesses should be sensitive to the emergence of new
social and consumer trends.
• Online databases can provide even the smallest of businesses
with valuable insights into the existence and emergence of
social and consumer trends.
EXERCISES
1. Generate a new product or service idea. You should be able to
describe it in two or three sentences. Work with your fellow
students in groups of three to four and then ask them to
review their ideas and select one for presentation in class. At
the end of the presentation, everyone should write what he or
she saw as occurring during the process of group decision
making. Did it make the process more creative? Did it allow for
the better evaluation of ideas? Do they see problems with this
type of group innovation thinking?
2. In Exercise 1, students were asked to develop a new product or
service. Repeat this exercise but now ask students to think up
an innovation for an existing product in the area of either
packaging or marketing. Again, ask them the following
questions after the group decision-making process: (a) Did it
make the process more creative? (b) Did it allow for the better
evaluation of ideas? (c) Do they see problems with this type of
group innovation thinking?
3. Consider that you are at the gym mentioned earlier in this
section. This gym is considering adding a weight-loss program.
Use some of the online tracking programs with respect to the
term weight loss program. What useful information could be
extracted from these searches?
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[1] Jerry Katz and Richard Green, Entrepreneurial Small Business, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009),
17.
[2] Alexander Hiam, Creativity (Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1998), 6.
[3] “Innovation Overload,” Trendwatching.com, accessed December 2,
2011,trendwatching.com/trends/pdf/2006_08_innovation_overload .
[4] A. Roy Thurik, “Introduction: Innovation in Small Business,” Small Business Economics 8 (1996): 175.
[5] L. Rausch, “Indicators of U.S. Small Business’s Role in R&D,” National Science Foundation (Info Brief
NSF 10–304), March 2010.
[6] Jancis Robinson, “The Oxford Companion to Wine,” 2nd ed., Wine Pros Archive, accessed October 8,
2011, www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford _entry.jsp?entry_id=430.
[7] “Innovation Jubilation,” Trendwatching.com, accessed December 2,
2011,trendwatching.com/trends/innovationjubilation.
[8] “Transparency Triumph,” Trendwatching.com, accessed December 2,
2011,trendwatching.com/trends/transparencytriumph.
[9] MakinBacon, “Why and How to Identify Real Trends,” HubPages, accessed October 8,
2011, hubpages.com/hub/trendsanalysisforsuccess.
[10] “Identifying and Understanding Trends in the Marketing Environment,”BrainMass, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.brainmass.com/library/viewposting.php?posting_id=51965.
[11] Rocky Fu, “10 Excellent Online Tools to Identify Trends,” Rocky FU Social Media & Digital Strategies,
May 9, 2001, accessed October 8, 2011,www.rockyfu.com/blog/10-excellent-online-tools-to-identify-
trends.
2.4 The Three Threads
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand that providing customer value can have a
tremendous positive impact on a firm’s cash flow.
2. Understand that determining customer value is critical to the
survival of any business. Customer relationship marketing
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software, which previously was available only to the largest
firms, is now priced so that even small firms can extract their
benefit.
In Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, customer value, cash flow, and digital
technology and the e-environment were compared to various parts of the human body and
overall health. This analogy was made because these themes are viewed as essential to the
survival of any small business in the twenty-first century. Individually, these threads may not
ensure survival, but taken together, the probability of surviving and prospering increases
tremendously. Their importance is so great for a twenty-first century enterprise that they are not
only embedded in each chapter but also highlighted in each chapter. Throughout the text, each
chapter’s topic will be reviewed through the prism of these three threads.
Focusing on Providing Value to the Customer
The entire thrust of this chapter has been on the topic of customer value. The essence of the
argument presented in this chapter has been that any business that fails to provide perceived
customer value is a business that will probably fail.
Value’s Impact on Cash Flow
It is not that difficult to envision how the successful creation of customer value can significantly
enhance a firm’s cash flow (see Figure 2.7 “Superior Cash Flow as a Result of Superior Customer
Value”). Firms that are successful in correctly identifying the sources of value should be able to
provide superior customer value. This may produce a direct relationship with their customers.
These relationships produce a back-and-forth flow of information that should enable the
business to further enhance its ability to provide customer value. A successful relationship
enhances the probability of customer loyalty, hopefully building a strong enough relationship to
produce a customer for life.
Customer loyalty can have several positive outcomes. Loyalty will result in increased sales from
particular customers. This does more than generate additional revenue; as the business comes
to better understand its loyal customers, the cost of serving those customers will decrease.
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Increased sales, with declining costs, translate into a significant boost in cash flow. Customer
loyalty also has the benefit of generating positive word-of-mouth support for a business. Word-
of-mouth advertising can be one of the most powerful forms of advertising and can be seen as a
form of free advertising. It has been estimated that word-of-mouth advertising is the primary
factor in 20–50 percent of all purchasing decisions. A study by the US office of consumer affairs
(formally known as the Federal Trade Commission) indicated that satisfied customers are likely
to tell five other customers about their positive experiences. [1] It is particularly powerful in the
case of first-time buyers or with expensive items and those items that require extensive research
before purchase. [2] Positive word-of-mouth advertising coming from loyal customers can
generate additional sales, which in turn enhances cash flow. The creation of superior customer
value combined with an intelligent cost control system inevitably produces superior cash flow.
Figure 2.7 Superior Cash Flow as a Result of Superior Customer Value
Digital Technology and E-Environment Implications
In the last decade, firms desiring to better understand the customer’s notion of perceived value
relied on customer relationship management (CRM)
software. Customer relationship management refers to a service approach that hopes to build a
long-term and sustainable relationship with customers that has value for both the customer and
the company. It is a generic term covering different software and browser applications that
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collect information about customers and organize it in a way that may be used effectively by
management. This term will be referred to repeatedly throughout this text. CRM can assist small
businesses with respect to customer value in the following ways: [3]
• It can assist in identifying and targeting the best customers of a business.
• It can help a company develop individualized relationships with customers, thus improving customer
satisfaction.
• It can improve customer service, particularly with the best customers.
• It can help management and employees better understand customers and therefore deliver better value to
them.
Although originally designed for large corporations with large budgets, CRM is now available to
many firms in the small business environment. In addition to being expensive, original fees-first
CRM packages were far too complex for small businesses. [4] Now there are many CRM packages
that are specifically dedicated to the small business environment.
To maximize the benefits of the CRM package, several factors should be considered. Small
businesses should have a clear idea as to their requirements for the CRM solution. Some
questions that should be considered are as follows: [5]
• Is our focus on increasing the number of customers?
• Are we attempting to improve our relationships with our customers?
• Will the CRM package help us with e-mail marketing?
• How are we seeking to more effectively use the Internet to communicate with our customers?
• Will we be able to integrate social media?
In some ways, integrating the CRM package may be easier in the small business than in large
business because you can overcome some bureaucratic hurdles. However, you must always
recognize that the successful implementation of any software package is highly dependent on
your employees. [6]
Perhaps the greatest incentive for small businesses to adopt CRM packages is the advent of
cloud computing. Cloud computing, also known as SaaS (software as a service), refers to the
situation in which vendor software does not reside on the computer system of a small
business. [7] All aspects of the system, from maintenance to backups, are the responsibility of the
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vendor. This minimizes the need for computing capability by the small business. Cloud
computing can significantly reduce the course of acquiring and maintaining such computer
programs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Focusing on customer value improves customer loyalty, which
improves cash flow.
• Customer loyalty can translate into positive word-of-mouth
advertising, which increases sales and cash flow.
• Customer value can be improved through the correct use of
CRM software.
• CRM software was formerly so complex and expensive that it
was suitable for large corporations only. Now it can be used by
the smallest of businesses to improve customer value.
EXERCISE
1. Assume you are managing a small business that is experiencing
a very rapid increase in sales. Unfortunately, this increase in
sales has been accompanied by an increase in customer
complaints that your company is letting “things slip between
the cracks.” You recognize that the old way of interacting with
customers is no longer sufficient. You have a sales force of ten,
and you would like to supply each with access to a basic CRM
package. Go online and identify several CRM packages that
might be appropriate for your business. Specify each package’s
capabilities and cost. How would you go about selecting one of
these packages? Write a report outlining the information you
collected and the logic of your selection.
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Disaster Watch
The failure to accurately understand a customer’s notion of perceived value is the surest recipe
for complete disaster. This may be a large requirement because in many cases customers may be
quite unsure about their own notion of value or have difficulty in explicitly articulating that
notion. One would think that larger firms—those with much greater resources—would be in a
better position to clearly identify their customers’ notion of value. This does not seem to be the
case, however, with all large firms. Even they may stumble in attempting to develop products
and services that they believe will meet their customers’ concept of value. In this feature, several
noticeable product failures are identified. Almost every failure came from a large corporation.
This is because we are much more familiar with the failures of large corporations that invest
considerable time and effort into the introduction of new products and services. There is far less
press given to the failures of small businesses that misread or misunderstand their customers’
notion of perceived value.
When Your Notion of Value Is Not the Same as Your Customer’s
Perhaps the most famous company failure to adequately gauge customers’ notion of value
revolved around the introduction of New Coke. In 1985, Coca-Cola was under great pressure,
losing market share to its major rival, Pepsi. In an effort to recapture market share, particularly
among the younger segment of the market, Coca-Cola initiated one of the largest market
research projects of its time. It conducted extensive taste tests throughout the nation and
investigated the possibility of introducing a new formula for Coke. The results from the taste
tests were positively skewed toward a sweeter version. There was some debate whether this
should be an additional option to the Coke line of products or whether it should replace the
standard formula for Coke. Although there were some negative indications about this new
formula from focus groups, Coke decided to begin a major introduction of New Coke, but it was
universally considered a major disaster. Public reaction, particularly in the South, was very
negative toward New Coke. A lot of this negative reaction stemmed from the fact that Coke had
become an iconic product in the nation, particularly in southern regions. Hundreds of thousands
of people called and wrote to Coca-Cola expressing their dissatisfaction with this
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decision. [8] Coca-Cola failed to recognize the emotional and social components of value for a
significant number of its customers.
Many firms fail to realize that they have established, in the eyes of customers, a very strong
sense of how a particular company provides value. These companies may wish to diversify their
product or service line while at the same time attempting to exploit their brand name. However,
customers may perceive the companies as being so closely identified with the original product
that any attempt at diversification may be difficult, if not guaranteed to be a failure. Some
examples of this are as follows: Smith & Wesson, noted for handguns, attempted to sell a line of
mountain bikes in 2002; Coors beer attempted to sell bottled water; and Colgate toothpaste
tried to produce a line of products known as Colgate Kitchen Entrées. [9]
Companies may produce products that run directly counter to their customers’ notion of
perceived value. McDonald’s produces value for its customers by offering fast food and a family-
friendly environment. Several years ago, in an effort to capture a different segment of the
market, McDonald’s introduced the Arch Deluxe hamburger, which was supposedly designed for
more adult tastes. Even with a $100 million marketing campaign, McDonald’s was unable to
“sell” this product to its customers.
One health management organization invested more than one third of $1 million on a
computerized member information service. The intention was that this would be more efficient,
thus providing greater benefit value to customers. Their mistake was not recognizing that
members preferred conversing with human beings. Customers did not want to use a
computerized system. [10] Although customers of health-care organizations appreciate factors
such as ease of access and reliability, they tend to view with greater importance and value the
perceived expression of human compassion.
The dry cleaning business industry in the United States is extremely fragmented. The largest 50
firms control only 40 percent of the total industry’s business. This translates into a simple fact:
dry cleaning is still the domain of small business owners, with nearly 35,000 establishments
throughout the United States. A decade ago, two firms wanted to change the structure of the
industry. Both companies thought that they would be able to provide unique sources of value to
customers. Mixell Technologies operates a franchise—Hanger’s Cleaners—that focuses on
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environmentally responsible dry cleaning. Dry cleaning normally involves some fairly volatile
chemicals. Hanger’s Cleaners used a new process developed by Mixell Technology. The belief
was that customers would respond to this much more environmentally friendly technology.
Initially, the cost of this technology was two to three times the cost of normal dry cleaning
equipment. One of the major investors in this firm was Ken Langone, a cofounder of Home
Depot. In the same time frame, Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples, was investing in a dry
cleaning franchise called Zoots. Their focus on customer value was the ability to have employees
pick up clothes for dry cleaning and drop off the clean clothes at the customer’s home residence
or work. [11] Neither business prospered. Mixell has moved on to other applications of its
technologies. Zoots has significantly reduced its number of outlets. The reality was that dry
cleaning establishments produce low margins and require long hours and close identification
with customers. Unfortunately for both businesses, even though they had an experienced
executive staff, they failed to correctly identify the true sources of customer value. [12]
[1] James L. Heskitt, W. Earl Sasser, and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain (New York: Free
Press, 1997): 88.
[2] Colette Weil, “Word-of-Mouth Marketing,” Home Care Magazine 33, no. 1 (2010): 49.
[3] “CRM (Customer Relationship Management,” About.com, accessed October 8,
2011, sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/g/crm.htm.
[4] Maria Verlengia, “CRM for the Small Business, Part 1: When Is It Time to Invest?,” CRMBuyer,
February 16, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.crmbuyer.com/story/69349.html.
[5] Maria Verlengia, “CRM for the Small Business, Part 2: Choosing the right CRM Tool,” CRMBuyer,
February 23, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.crmbuyer.com/story/69402.html.
[6] Maria Verlengia, “CRM for the Small Business, Part 4: Getting the New System Up and
Running,” CRMBuyer, March 9, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011,www.crmbuyer.com/story/69502.html%22.
[7] “Great Customer Relations Management Tools,” St. Germane, accessed June 1,
2012, http://www.stgermaine.ca/great-crm-customer-relationship-management-tools/.
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[8] Constance L. Hayes, The Real Thing: Truth and Power at the Coca-Cola Company(New York: Random
House, 2004), 211.
[9] “The Top 25 Biggest Product Flops of All Time,” Daily Finance, accessed December 2,
2011, www.dailyfinance.com/photos/top-25-biggest-product-flops-of-all-time.
[10] Scott MacStravic, “Questions of Value in Healthcare,” Marketing Health Services17, no. 4 (1997): 50.
[11] “An Analysis of the Competitiveness Strategies of Zoots,” Cebu Ecommerce Writing Consultancy,
accessed June 1, 2012, http://cebuecommerce.info/an-analysis -of-the-competitive-strategies-of-zoots-
the-cleaner-cleaner/.
[12] Companydatabase.org, accessed June 1, 2012, http://companydatabase.org/c/ recyclables-pick-up-
service/products-services/zoots-corporation.html.
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Chapter 3
Family Businesses
Westbrook Lobster
Source: Used with permission, Michael Larivere, manager, Westbrook Lobster, Wallingford,
CT.
In 1957, Westbrook Lobster opened in Westbrook, Connecticut, as a specialized lobster and fish
market. As time went on, the company expanded to offer a comprehensive range of fish, shrimp,
and prepared foods. In 1989, Larry Larivere, who grew up near the docks of New Bedford,
Massachusetts, bought the business and had a dream of expanding the business with a seafood
restaurant.
Fast forward to 2004. Larry and his two sons, Michael (an environmental science major) and
Matthew (a business major), opened up their second restaurant in Wallingford, Connecticut. It
overlooks the Quinnipiac River in the historic Yale Brother’s Mill built in the late 1670s.
Originally a grain mill, later converted to a German and Britannia silver spoon factory, and
finally converted into a restaurant, the building was rich with history.
Michael speaks easily about the value that Westbrook Lobster offers its customers: high quality
food, great service…and visiting the tables while people are dining. He sees these visits as an
important part of the relationships that he has built with his customers over the years.
Westbrook customers eagerly await the monthly postcards that are sent out that feature dining
specials, discounts, and coupons. He tries to get the postcards out early and actually receives
phone calls if they are not received early. Many people have come to depend on them. Michael
says that these postcards definitely give the restaurant its greatest return. The restaurant has a
presence on Facebook, but that is geared to the bar crowd—a younger crowd.
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Technology plays an important but mixed part in the restaurant’s operations. Michael says that
it is tough to run a restaurant these days without technology tools like POS (point of service)
systems. These systems include touch screens for placing orders and paying for food items.
Interestingly, however, most food vendors still do their business face to face (or telephone to
telephone), choosing to stick with personal relationships. Only a few suppliers, such as liquor
vendors, accept orders online.
The current Westbrook Lobster website was created by Michael and Matthew using services
from intuit.com. They built the site themselves and are proud to note that restaurant gift cards
can now be purchased directly from the site. This is a perfect example of Web 2.0 capabilities.
As far as running the business, currently fifty employees strong, Larry Larivere (Dad) is brought
in on the big decisions. Otherwise, Michael and Mathew run the restaurants on their own. There
are currently no other family members in the business.
Westbrook Lobster continues to provide the freshest seafood available at competitive prices. The
daily selection includes everything from locally harvested shellfish to fresh fish from waters up
and down the East Coast. They also offer several “healthy” options that are made without butter
or bread crumbs. These menu items are very popular and are especially attractive for people
with food allergies or people who just want to eat a bit lighter. All their efforts continue to pay
off. Westbrook Lobster was voted “Best Seafood Restaurant Statewide” in Connecticut
Magazine 2009 and “Best Seafood in New Haven County” in Connecticut Magazine 2009 and
2010.
Larry, Michael, and Matthew invite you to Westbrook Lobster when you are in the area. Once
you are there, you are family.
Source: “The Lobster
Tale,”http://www.westbrooklobster.com/Wallingford/pages/wally_home.html (accessed on
October 8, 2011) and interview with Michael Larivere, October 11, 2010.
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3.1 Family Business: An Overview
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain what a family business is.
2. Understand the role that family businesses play in the US
economy.
3. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses.
“Family businesses are different.” [1]
BDO 2009 Report: “Focusing on Business Families”
There is no agreed-on definition of a family business. The percentage of ownership, the strategic
control, the involvement of multiple generations, and the intention for the business to remain in
the family are among the many criteria that experts use to distinguish family businesses from
other types of businesses. [2] For the purposes of this chapter, however, afamily business is
defined as a business that is actively owned and/or managed by more than one member of the
same family. [3] A family business can also be defined as the result of someone’s dream:
The story of every successful family business starts with someone who has the
passion, confidence and courage to put his [or her] money where his [or her] mouth
is…[These entrepreneurs] work incredibly hard, make things happen, are positive
without being unrealistic and possess the resourcefulness to overcome all sorts of
hurdles. They are also socially adept, capable of communicating effectively and good
at inspiring others… [4]
Family business owners know that their roles are different from that of shareholders in
companies owned by many public investors. In addition, “employees in family businesses know
the difference that family control makes in their work lives, the company culture, and their
career. Marketers appreciate the advantage that the image of a family business presents to
customers. And families know that being in business together is a powerful part of their lives.” [5]
Market and Employment Presence
Because of the private nature of most family businesses, it is difficult to obtain accurate
information about them. [6] Complicating the situation is that most data sources do not
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distinguish between small family businesses, such as the local pizza parlor or deli, and large
family businesses, such as Walmart, Mars, and Ford. “The reality is that family-based operations
are represented across the full spectrum of American companies, from small businesses to large
corporations.” [7] Within this context, the following has been observed: [8]
• Family businesses account for a staggering 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
• Although it may seem that this GDP contribution comes from thousands of small operations, 35 percent
of the Fortune 500 companies are family companies.
• Family businesses account for 60 percent of US employment and 78 percent of the new jobs created.
• Family businesses represent one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy because their new job
requirements outpace their current employment rates when compared to other types of businesses.
What this means is that family businesses continue to be a powerful economic force, no matter
what their size and no matter how they are defined. “Family firms are the most common form of
business structure; they employ many millions of people; and they generate a considerable
amount of the world’s wealth.” [9]
The focus of this chapter is on the small family business.
Video Link 3.1
Mother and Daughter Partner in Family Business
A mother and daughter partner in a jewelry business.
video.answers.com/small-business-stories-mother-and-daughter-as-business-partner-
132888892
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Family Business
There are benefits to a family business, but there are disadvantages that must be considered as
well. Starting a family business is not for everyone.
Advantages
A family business offers the following advantages:
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• One of the popular misconceptions about family businesses is that they are unable to adapt easily to
increasing competitiveness and technological progress. The reality is that family businesses frequently
have the advantage of entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility, and opportunism. [10]
• It is believed by some that family firms are “too soft” and rarely reach their potential. The reality is that
family businesses actually outperform public companies. Oftentimes, the marketplace forces public
companies to make short-term decisions, whereas a family business has the advantage of having more
freedom to make its decisions. Family businesses can adapt to market fluctuations more easily because
they can afford to be patient. They have common goals, shared values, and a commitment to brand
building. [11]
• Family-owned businesses are often seen as ideal because family members form a “grounded and loyal
foundation” for the company, and family members tend to exhibit more dedication to their common goals.
“Having a certain level of intimacy among the owners of a business can help bring about familiarity with
the company and having family members around provides a built-in support system that should ensure
teamwork and solidarity.” [12]
• The culture of a family business is very different from that of a company you will find on Wall Street.
“Family businesses frequently take a very long-term point of view. They’ll make investments that they
don’t expect to pay off for 5 or 15 or 25 years…Culture in a family business is more frequently based on
very personal and emotional values. It’s stronger because there are deeper roots and closer connections to
the history of the company.” [13]
• Family businesses are becoming more and more attractive to undergraduate business students who face a
bleak job and salary outlook for new grads. These undergrads are choosing to return to their family
businesses directly after graduation instead of trying to find a job in corporate America or on Wall
Street. [14]
• There is a common misperception that family businesses are less professional and rigorous in their
behavior because of the relational nature of the businesses. [15] However, like all other businesses, family
businesses face global competition and rapidly changing markets. This creates more pressure on those
who join to make sure that they produce. “This emphasis on professionalism has made family businesses
both more daunting and more attractive—and has created new interest in them, from family members,
outsiders, and business school students.”[16]
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• Many family-owned businesses tend to be stable and optimistic, even when economic times are uncertain.
They seem to be better able to weather economic difficulties and stabilize the economy than their
nonfamily counterparts. [17] However, this is a function of the industry and the size of the business.
• In general, family businesses feel that they are stronger because family members are involved in their
activities. Family owners believe that their family members can be trusted, will work harder, and care
more.[18] This can help create competitive advantage in the marketplace.
• Family businesses may be more open to flexible or part-time schedules or choosing your hours. This
presents a very attractive work environment for people who need to tend to children, parents, or other
family members in need. [19]
• Family businesses tend to operate more ethically. In fact, many family businesses believe that their ethical
standards are more stringent than those of their competitors. In addition, family businesses are often
deeply embedded in their communities, and this proximity is seen as an important factor that increases
the likelihood of ethical decision making and moral behavior. [20] As members of the local community, any
ethical problems with a family business will be quickly visible.
• Family businesses also exhibit more social responsibility than their competitors. This has been attributed
to their concern about image and local reputation [21] as well as their closeness to the community.
• Family businesses may incur lower costs because of the greater willingness of family members to make
financial sacrifices for the sake of the business. Accepting lower pay than they would get elsewhere to help
the business in the longer term or deferring wages in a cash-flow crisis are examples of family altruistic
behavior. [22]
• Family businesses, in general, have greater independence of action because they have less (or no) pressure
from the stock market and less (or no) takeover risk. [23]
• Family businesses tend to be more resilient in hard times because they are willing to plow profits back
into the business. [24]
• Family businesses are less bureaucratic and less impersonal, which allows for greater flexibility and
quicker decision making. [25]
• Family businesses offer the possibility of great financial success. [26] This can manifest itself in interesting
ways. “As the family of a media conglomerate once mentioned, ‘The name I have has certainly helped me
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to get access to top executives of companies, persons who under other circumstances would have kept
their doors shut.’” [27]
• Family members have the chance to learn the business early. This extensive expertise can create an
important competitive advantage. [28]“One executive recalled how as a child he would take long walks with
his father, during which they would visit stores to look at competitor’s products. Afterwards, his father
would ask him which products he liked most, and this would lead to lengthy arguments about each
product’s quality. This man felt that the expertise he gained during those informal outings proved
invaluable later in life.” [29]
Video Link 3.2
Iron Horse Barbecue
A family-owned business that is helping other business fire up businesses of their own.
video.answers.com/small-business-stories-iron-horse-barbecue-124662002
Why Family Businesses Are So Special
“If family businesses are so common, how can they also be special? When Freud was asked what
he considered to be the secret of a full life, he gave a three-word answer: ‘Lieben und
arbeiten [to love and to work].’ For most people, the two most important things in their lives are
their families and their work. It is easy to understand the compelling power of organizations that
combine both. Being in a family firm affects all the participants. The role of chairman of the
board is different when the company was founded by your father and when your mother and
siblings sit around the table at board meetings, just as they sat around the dinner table. The job
of a CEO is different when the vice president in the next office is also a younger sister. The role
of partner is different when the other partner is a spouse or a child. The role of sales
representative is different when you cover the same territory that your parent did twenty-five
years earlier, and your grandparent twenty-five years before that. Even walking through the
door on your first day of work on an assembly line or in a billing office is different if the name
over the door is your own.” [30]
Disadvantages
As attractive as family businesses are on many fronts, they have the following disadvantages:
• Family businesses tend to be stable organizations. Although this is a good thing in many instances,
stability can also make it difficult to change. A new, younger family member coming into the business will
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find tradition and structure. Changing that is not simple. The key to changing a family business lies in
defining tradition in terms of the company’s core values, not in specific ways of doing things. [31]
• Family closeness can lead to sibling rivalry or problems when both the parent and the child want control.
By the third or fourth generation, with many cousins possibly sharing ownership, governance can become
very complicated. [32]
• There may be times when the interests of a family member conflict with the interests of the business. One
family member may want to expand the business, but other family members may not share this person’s
desire. The needs of the business are not in sync with the needs of the family.
• Family ties have a downside. Family members will frequently be expected to work harder, make more of a
commitment, and get paid less than other employees in the business. [33]
• Family business owners may automatically promote someone from the family or give family members a
job even if they do not have adequate skills for the job. A nonfamily employee may be better
qualified. [34]This can cause dissension and resentment among other employees.
• Relationships between parents and children or among siblings have a tendency to deteriorate due to
communication problems. “This dysfunctional behavior can result in judgments, criticism and lack of
support.” [35]
• The family business may be a breeding ground for jealousies, resentment, anger, and sabotage. Family
problems may spill over into the workplace. [36]
• The business may be plagued with managerial incompetence, the lack of exposure to other businesses,
and the inability to separate family and work. [37]
• Some family businesses may have difficulty attracting and keeping highly qualified managers. “Qualified
managers may avoid family firms due to the exclusive succession, limited potential for professional
growth, lack of perceived professionalism, and limitations on wealth transfer.” [38] Succession refers to
passing the business to the next generation.
• Family businesses have limited sources of external capital because they tend to avoid sharing equity with
nonfamily members. [39] Having less access to capital markets may curtail growth. [40]
• Not all children of owner-managers may want to join the business. According to one
study, [41] 80 percent of those who did not work in the family business did not intend to go into
the business. This reluctance comes from several directions, such as the following:
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o My parents would not want me to join.
o I could not work for my parents.
o There are already too many family members in the business.
o I am not interested in this particular business.
o The business is too small for me.
o The business would not allow me to use my talents.
o The business would not allow me to use my training.
o I can earn more elsewhere.
o I am not interested in a business career. [42]
In Their Own Words
Why Some Children of Owner-Managers Do Not Want to Join the Business [43]
I see the pressure my dad is under—this does put me off slightly. I want to enjoy my job as well
as enjoying life outside work.
A larger factor when working under a relative is the problem of self-worth. It is hard to feel like
you are worth something when your father is an MD.
A business relationship with your father makes your family relationship harder.
I do not look to go into the family business straight away, as I feel this is giving a commitment to
work there for the rest of my life.
I would join only because I am genuinely qualified, not because I am the owner’s daughter.
The difference in my father’s education and mine is a factor affecting why I have decided not to
go into the business. I have more choice over what I want to do as a career, and my personal
interests would not be met by my father’s company. I am sure it would not have been his choice
had he had the same educational choices as me.
As much as the route into the family business is seen by outsiders as an “easy route to wealth
and inheritance,” in my case it was also a liability. At 17, was I to be the fourth generation after
100 years that could not keep the company going?
• The “spoiled kid syndrome” often occurs in a family business. The business owner may feel guilty because
his devotion to the business takes away from the attention he should be giving to his children. Out of a
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sense of guilt, he or she starts to bribe the children, “a kind of pay-off for not being available emotionally
or otherwise.” [44]
• Financial strain emanating from “family members milking the business and a disequilibrium between
contribution and compensation” [45] can have a significant negative impact on the business.
• Nepotism that results in the “tolerance of inept family members as managers, inequitable reward systems,
[and] greater difficulties in attracting professional management” [46] can easily lead to low morale among
nonfamily members of the business, and it can ultimately result in business failure.
• Family businesses frequently have a confusing organization, with “messy structure and no clear division
of tasks.” Authority and responsibility lines are unclear; jobs may overlap; executives may hold a number
of different jobs; and the decision-making hierarchy may be completely ignored, existing only to be
bypassed. [47] This can create a dysfunctional working environment.
• Family businesses frequently have paternalistic or autocratic rule that is characterized by a resistance to
change, secrecy, and the attraction of dependent personalities. [48]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Family businesses account for 50 percent of the GDP, 60
percent of US employment, and 78 percent of the new jobs
that are created.
• A family business offers both advantages and disadvantages. It
is important to understand both.
EXERCISE
1. In Chapter 2 “Your Business Idea: The Quest for Value”, Robert
Rainsford was introduced in the Frank’s All-American
BarBeQue case. He has returned to the family business and is
very enthusiastic about expanding the business. He has
identified four options: (a) expanding the restaurant either at
its current site or elsewhere in Fairfield; (b) opening several
similar-sized restaurants in nearby towns; (c) using the Internet
to expand sales; and (d) expanding the sales of Frank’s sauces
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from a local store to a regional supermarket chain. Any one of
these ideas would represent a change from his father’s
business model. Given that he had not expressed any interest
in the management of the business, how should he go about
approaching his father with these ideas? If the company
expands, should Robert approach his sister and her husband
about taking a more active role in the business? What should
their roles be?
[1] “Focusing on Business Families,” BDO, November 2009, accessed October 8,
2011, static.staging.bdo.defacto-cms.com/assets/documents/2010/04/Focusing_on
_business_families .
[2] Joseph H. Astrachan and Melissa Carey Shanker, “Family business’s Contribution to the U.S.
Economy: A Closer Look,” Family Business Review 16, no. 3 (2003): 211–19.
[3] “Family Businesses,” Entrepreneur, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011,www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82060.html.
[4] “Making a Difference: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey
2007/08,” PriceWaterhouseCoopers, November 2007, accessed October 8,
2011,www.pwc.com/en_TH/th/publications/assets/pwc_fbs_survey .
[5] Kelin E. Gersick et al., Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business(Cambridge, MA:
Owner Managed Business Institute, Harvard Business School Press, 1997), 1.
[6] Joseph H. Astrachan and Shanker, “Family business’s Contribution to the U.S. Economy: A Closer
Look,” Family Business Review 16, no. 3 (2003): 211–19.
[7] “Family Business Statistics,” Gaebler.com: Resources for Entrepreneurs, October 10, 2010, accessed
October 8, 2011, www.gaebler.com/Family-Business-Statistics.htm.
[8] “Family Business Statistics,” Gaebler.com: Resources for Entrepreneurs, October 10, 2010, accessed
October 8, 2011, www.gaebler.com/Family-Business-Statistics.htm; and Stacy Perman, “Taking the Pulse
of Family Business,” February 13, 2006, accessed October 8,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2006/sb20060210_476491.htm.
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[9] “Making a Difference: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey
2007/08,” PriceWaterhouseCoopers, November 2007, accessed October 8,
2011,www.pwc.com/en_TH/th/publications/assets/pwc_fbs_survey .
[10] “Myths and Realities of Family Business,” 2002, accessed October 8,
2011,www.insead.edu/discover_insead/publications/docs/IQ03 .
[11] “Myths and Realities of Family Business,” 2002, accessed October 8,
2011,www.insead.edu/discover_insead/publications/docs/IQ03 .
[12] Alexis Writing, “Pros and Cons of Family Business,” Chron.com, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-family-business-409.html.
[13] Margaret Steen, “The Decision Tree of Family Business,” Stanford Graduate School of Business,
August 2006, accessed June 21, 2012, www-prd-
0.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0608/feature_familybiz.html.
[14] Alison Damast, “Family Inc.: The New B-School Job Choice,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 12,
2010, accessed October 8,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/print/bschools/content/apr2010/bs20100412_706043.htm.
[15] “American Family Business Survey,” Mass Mutual Financial Group, 2007, accessed October 8,
2011, www.massmutual.com/mmfg/pdf/afbs .
[16] Margaret Steen, “The Decision Tree of Family Business,” Stanford Graduate School of Business,
August 2006, accessed June 21, 2012, www-prd-
0.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0608/feature_familybiz.html.
[17] “American Family Business Survey,” Mass Mutual Financial Group, 2007, accessed October 8,
2011, www.massmutual.com/mmfg/pdf/afbs .
[18] “The Family Business Survey 2008/2009,” Praxity, 2009, accessed October 8,
2011,http://praxityprod.awecomm.com/News/2009/Pages/UKFamilyBusinessSurvey.aspx.
[19] Alexis Writing, “Pros and Cons of Family Business,” Chron.com, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-family-business-409.html.
[20] “American Family Business Survey,” Mass Mutual Financial Group, 2007, accessed October 8,
2011, www.massmutual.com/mmfg/pdf/afbs .
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[21] “American Family Business Survey,” Mass Mutual Financial Group, 2007, accessed October 8,
2011, www.massmutual.com/mmfg/pdf/afbs .
[22] “Advantages of Family Businesses,” Business Link, accessed October 8,
2011,www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073792650&type= RESOURCES.
[23] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[24] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[25] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[26] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[27] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[28] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[29] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[30] Kelin E. Gersick et al., Generation to Generation: Life Cycles of the Family Business(Cambridge, MA:
Owner Managed Business Institute, Harvard Business School Press, 1997), 2–3.
[31] Margaret Steen, “The Decision Tree of Family Business,” Stanford Graduate School of Business,
August 2006, accessed June 21, 2012, www-prd-
0.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0608/feature_familybiz.html.
[32] Margaret Steen, “The Decision Tree of Family Business,” Stanford Graduate School of Business,
August 2006, accessed June 21, 2012, www-prd-
0.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0608/feature_familybiz.html.
[33] “The Family Business Survey 2008/2009,” Praxity, 2009, accessed October 8,
2011,http://praxityprod.awecomm.com/News/2009/Pages/UKFamilyBusinessSurvey.aspx.
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[34] Alexis Writing, “Pros and Cons of Family Business,” Chron.com, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-family-business-409.html.
[35] Alexis Writing, “Pros and Cons of Family Business,” Chron.com, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-family-business-409.html.
[36] “Advantages and Disadvantages of a Family Business,” September 6, 2009, accessed October 8,
2011, pinoynegosyo.blogspot.com/2009/09/advantages-and -disadvantages-of-family.html.
[37] “Advantages and Disadvantages of a Family Business,” September 6, 2009, accessed October 8,
2011, pinoynegosyo.blogspot.com/2009/09/advantages-and -disadvantages-of-family.html.
[38] David G. Sirmon and Michael A. Hitt, “Managing Resources: Linking Unique Resources,
Management, and Wealth Creation in Family Firms,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Summer
2003, 339–58.
[39] David G. Sirmon and Michael A. Hitt, “Managing Resources: Linking Unique Resources,
Management, and Wealth Creation in Family Firms,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Summer
2003, 339–58.
[40] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[41] Sue Birley, “Attitudes of Owner-Managers’ Children towards Family and Business
Issues,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Spring 2002, 5–19.
[42] Sue Birley, “Attitudes of Owner-Managers’ Children towards Family and Business
Issues,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Spring 2002, 5–19.
[43] Sue Birley, “Attitudes of Owner-Managers’ Children towards Family and Business
Issues,” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Spring 2002, 5–19.
[44] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[45] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[46] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
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[47] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
[48] Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, “The Dynamics of Family Controlled Firms: The Good and the Bad
News,” Organizational Dynamics 21, no. 3 (1993): 59–71.
3.2 Family Business Issues
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
1. Explain why communication, employing family and nonfamily
members, professional management, employment
qualifications, salaries and compensation, succession, and
ethics are important issues for all family businesses.
Looking at the vision and hard work of the founders, family businesses “take on their unique
character as new members of the family enter the business. At best, the environment can be
inspiring and motivating. At worst, it can result in routine business decisions becoming clouded
by emotional issues.”[1]
The owners and managers of family businesses face many unique challenges. These challenges
stem from the overlap of family and business issues and include communication, employing
family and nonfamily members, professional management, employment qualifications, salaries
and compensation, and succession.
Communication
Communication is important in any business, but the complexities of communication in a family
business are particularly problematic. Experts say that communication is one of the most
difficult parts of running a family business. [2] The approach to communication needs to include
commitment, the avoidance of secrecy, and an understanding of the risks of bad
communication.
Commitment
In a family business, it is critical that there be a commitment to communicate effectively with
family and nonfamily members of the business. “Business leaders should be open about their
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awareness of the potential for communication issues to evolve and their willingness to accept
feedback and input from all employees about opportunities for improvement and areas of
concern.” [3]
One important issue is whether there should be a line drawn between family and business
discussions. Some suggest that setting up strict guidelines from the start that draw a clear line
between the different types of discussions is a good approach. [4] By contrast, the Praxity Family
Business Survey [5]found that it is considered OK to talk about the business anywhere and at any
time, whether at work or at home:
• Nineteen percent of the family businesses in the survey reported talking about business at home.
• Thirty-seven percent talk about it in the workplace.
• Forty-four percent talk about it when and wherever.
Secrecy
In family businesses, it is particularly important not to convey the impression that family
members are more in the know than other employees. “…Even when this is not the case, the
potential for the perception of exclusivity may exist. Steps should be taken to address any issues
that may arise openly, honestly, and without preference for family members.”[6]
Risks of Bad Communication
If good communication channels are not in place, the following can occur:
• “Family members assume they know what other family members feel or want.”
• “Personal ties inhibit honest opinions being expressed.”
• “The head of the family may automatically assume control of the business even if they don’t have the best
business skills.”
• “One family member ends up dominating the business.”
• “Family-member shareholders not active in the business fail to understand the objectives of those who are
active and vice versa.”
• “Personal resentments become business resentments and vice versa.” [7]
These difficulties can be overcome if the family business makes a concerted effort to create and
maintain an environment of open communication where people feel comfortable voicing
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opinions and concerns. It is important that family and nonfamily members have an equal
opportunity to express their views.
Employing Family and Nonfamily Members
It is natural for a family business to employ family members, especially in management
positions. Family members tend to be the first people hired when a small business gets started,
and as the business grows, so do their roles. [8] There are both pros and cons to hiring family
members. Both need to be considered carefully. Who to hire may well be the biggest
management challenge that a family business owner faces.
Pros
On the positive side of things, several advantages can be identified for hiring family members: [9]
• Improved customer relations through family contact
• Intergenerational continuity
• Long-term stability
• Shared values
• Loyalty and commitment
• Inherent trust
• Willingness to sacrifice for the business
• Emotional attachment to the business; more willing to contribute to its success
• Share the same culture
“A family whose members work well together can also give the business a welcoming and
friendly feel. It can encourage employees who aren’t in the immediate family to work harder to
gain acceptance by those employees who are.” [10]
Cons
There are also quite a few disadvantages to hiring family members: [11]
• Families are not perfect, so a dispute among family members can spill from home into the
workplace.
o There is always the possibility of managerial incompetence.
o It may not be possible to separate family and work.
o Patterns of conflict will be rooted in early family experiences.
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o Communication may break down.
o Sibling rivalry may create problems.
• Newly hired family members may feel that they do not have to earn their positions; their success
will be seen as linked to their name instead of their abilities.
o The company may be subject to charges of discriminatory hiring practices if job openings are not
published.
o Nonfamily members of the business may feel that family members get hiring preference.
o Nonfamily members may feel that they will be automatically outvoted in decision making.
o Hiring primarily family members for management positions may lead to hiring suboptimal people who
cannot easily be dismissed. This could lead to greater conflict because of promotion criteria that are not
based on merit.
Hiring Nonfamily Members
There will be times when the better decision may be to hire a nonfamily person for a particular
job. Experience has shown that a family business is less likely to be successful if it employs only
family members; bringing in the fresh thinking that comes with external expertise can be
valuable at all levels of a business. [12] In addition, nonfamily members can offer stability to a
family business by offering a fair and impartial perspective on business issues. The challenge is
in attracting and retaining nonfamily employees because these employees “may find it difficult
to deal with family conflicts on the job, limited opportunities for advancement, and the special
treatment sometimes accorded family members. In addition, some family members may resent
outsiders being brought into the firm and purposely make things unpleasant for nonfamily
employees.” [13] Because it is likely that a growing family business will need to hire people from
the outside, it is important that the business come to terms with that necessity. Policies and
procedures can help with the transition, but the most important thing is to prepare the family
culture of the business to accept a nonfamily member. Not surprisingly, this is much easier said
than done.
Professional Management
The decision to hire a professional manager is likely one of the most important and difficult
hiring decisions that a family business owner will have to make. The typical definition of
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professional managers equates them with external, nonfamily, nonowner managers, thus
declaring professional management and family management as mutually exclusive. [14] “A typical
argument…is that professional nonfamily managers should be brought in to provide ‘objectivity’
and ‘rationality’ to the family firm.” [15]
There are several problems with this way of thinking. First, it perpetuates the outdated notion
that family members are not professional, that the smartest thing for a family business to do is
to bring in professional management—as quickly as possible. [16]
Second, professional managers are not always prepared to deal with the special nature of family-
owned businesses. “The influence of families on businesses they own and manage is often
invisible to management theorists and business schools. The core topics of management
education—organizational behavior, strategy, finance, marketing, production, and accounting—
are taught without differentiating between family and nonfamily businesses.” [17] This does an
injustice to the unique workings of a family-owned business.
Third, a professional manager from the outside is not always prepared, perhaps not even most of
the time, to deal with the special nature of family companies. The dominant view on professional
management downplays the importance of the social and the cultural context. “This is a problem
in family firms where family relations, norms, and values are crucial to the workings and
development of the business.” [18] It is argued that the meaning business families attach to their
businesses is guided by family values and expectations—so much so that “anything or anyone
that interrupts this fragility could send the business into chaos.” [19]
The hiring of an outside manager, therefore, should include an assessment of
both formal competence and cultural competence. Formal competence refers to formal
education, training, and experience outside the family business. Although it is certainly helpful
and appropriate, formal competence is not sufficient for managerial effectiveness. It needs to be
supplemented with cultural competence, an understanding of the culture of a specific firm.
Interestingly, most family businesses look only to formal competence when selecting a CEO. [20]
Culture and Nonfamily CEOs
It is extremely important to understand the culture of the family firm. It means that
as a leader you have to be sensitive to the organization’s reactions on the things you
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say and do. I have a long-term employee on my management team, and she is my
guide in these issues. She can tell me how the organization will react and how things
are likely to be received. We have to build on the past even though we have to do a
lot of things in new and different ways. But because of the culture, this might be very
sensitive. (The words of a nonfamily CEO in a family business.)
As a nonfamily CEO, you have to have in-depth respect for the invisible forces
among the employees in the family firm. You cannot escape the fact that there will
always be special bonds between the family firm and the owner. Always. (The words
of a nonfamily CEO in a family business.) [21]
One concern of family businesses may be that the hiring of a nonfamily manager will result in
the loss of their “familiness.” However, one study found that, even with nonfamily managers
bringing nonfamily management activities, styles, and characteristics, “the special and unique
aspects and forces of the system of the family, its individual family members, and the business
itself provide a synergistic force that offsets the outside influences of the [nonfamily
managers].” [22] This same study acknowledged, however, that their research did not focus on
understanding at what point, or percentage of nonfamily members, the feeling of “familiness”
will begin to erode. [23]
Employment Qualifications
One of the more difficult challenges that a family business must face is determining employment
qualifications for employees, both family and nonfamily. The lack of a clear employment policy
and process can lead to major conflicts in the company. Unfortunately, it would appear that,
despite their benefit, most family businesses have a family employment policy. [24] As a result,
many family businesses may end up with more employees from the family than the company
needs, and some of these people may not even be qualified or suitable for the jobs they have
been given. “Some family businesses even find themselves acquiring businesses that have no
relationship with their original business or keeping some unprofitable business lines just to
make sure that everybody in the family gets a job within the company.” [25] This kind of situation
benefits no one.
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A written family-business employment policy can solve a myriad of problems because it spells
out the specific terms for family and nonfamily members with respect to recruiting, hiring,
promoting, compensating, and terminating. One recommendation is that an ideal family
employment policy should include the following: [26]
• “Explain the family employment policy’s purpose and philosophy.”
• “Describe how family members will apply and be considered for positions.”
• “Cover the general conditions of employment, including compensation and supervision.”
• “Outline the approach to be taken in developing and promoting family business members.”
• Make clear that family members will be completing the same applications that other candidates will
complete.
• Include an inspiring and upbeat reminder that the policy’s purpose is to help the family business succeed
and to support, develop, and motivate family members to lead successful and productive lives.
• Have all family business owners sign the policy, indicating they have read and agreed to it.
Others have recommended “that family members meet three qualifications before they are
allowed to join the family business on a permanent basis: an appropriate educational
background; three to five years’ outside work experience; and an open, existing position in the
firm that matches their background.” [27]
There are no rules that dictate the content of a family business employment policy, so
differences from one family business to another can be expected. However, it is very important
“to set employment conditions that do not discriminate against or favor family members. This
would help establish an atmosphere of fairness and motivation for all employees of the family
business.” [28]
The benefits of an employment policy notwithstanding, the idea may be met with resistance.
There may be the feeling that hiring decisions for family members should be separate from the
hiring decisions for nonfamily members because being a family member provides special
qualifications that cannot be matched by someone outside the family. How to proceed will
ultimately fall on the shoulders of the family business owner.
Salaries and Compensation
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As difficult as hiring decisions may be for the family business, decisions about salaries and
compensation are probably even worse. No matter how well intentioned and well designed the
company’s compensation plan may be, there will still be jealousies, hard feelings, severed sibling
relationships, and even lawsuits, particularly among those family members who feel they have
been treated unfairly. [29] This presents a daunting challenge: how to develop a compensation
plan that will be fair to family members and good for the business:
One of the greatest struggles of operating a family business is separating the family
from the business. Oh yes, there are many great benefits to having family in the
business and to being a family member in a family business, but the most difficult
problems result when “family values” and issues take over, leaving business values
and needs wanting. There is no greater source for family business problems—nor
more fertile ground for their cure—than the family business compensation
systems. [30]
Some of the Problems
Family businesses often make several common mistakes when developing their compensation
plans.
• They consider fair compensation to be equal compensation for all family members, sometimes even for
the owner. This creates a very sticky situation because all family members are not created equal. “It is
sometimes difficult to assess and compare the talents of family members who are also employees. Nor do
all family members contribute equally to the business. As a result of the stress that this causes, many
family business owners ignore the problem and let compensation become a breeding ground for
dissension in the family.” [31]
• They do not compensate wives for the work they do. The reason often given? It saves on taxes. Not
surprisingly, this approach leaves wives isolated from the business, invisible in the decision-making
process, and unappreciated. This problem extends to the compensation of sons and daughters as well. A
survey by Mass Mutual Insurance Company [32]reported a big discrepancy among the salaries of sons and
daughters in family businesses across America. The average salary of the typical son in a family business
was $115,000, while his sister earned only $19,000. This may be due to the tendency of sons being
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groomed for leadership, while daughters are groomed for the supportive roles that command lower
salaries.
• The compensation for family members is higher than that for nonfamily members, but the differential is
not tied to the actual job requirements or performance. This situation can lead to anger, reduced
motivation, resentment, and eventual departure of the nonfamily member from the firm.
• The business overpays family members—for a variety of reasons: [33]
o “Guilt, because mom & pop were so busy working when the kids were young.”
o “Fear of conflict, because someone’s wife threatens not to come to the family picnic.”
o “Resistance to change, because ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it.’”
o “Inability to confront family members who feel ‘entitled’ to inflated salaries.”
o “Determination to minimize estate taxes by transferring wealth through compensation.”
• Emotional pressures are allowed to determine compensation policies. What this means is that
compensation is not correctly determined by job requirements and performance in those jobs.
When this happens, small problems develop centrifugal force: [34]
o “Fighting between sibling/cousin partners increases.”
o “Hard-working family members and employees lose morale.”
o “Well-motivated competent employees leave the company.”
o “The company loses its competitive edge and growth potential.”
o “Family harmony decreases.”
o “The value of the company declines, or it is sold—for the wrong reasons.”
Some of the Solutions
Developing a fair compensation plan for the family business is not easy. It requires good faith,
trust, and good business sense. The dollar amounts offered to family members will be critical,
but the more pressing issue is fairness. [35] Unfortunately, fairness is often construed as equality.
This must be avoided.
There is no template for designing a compensation plan for family businesses, but there are
several recommendations: [36]
• Develop accurate job descriptions for each employee that include responsibilities, level of authority,
technical skills, level of experience and education required for the job, and goals for an annual
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performance review. In a performance-based company, the amount of stock owned by a family member
will not be related to his or her compensation.
• Develop a clear philosophy of compensation so that everyone understands the standards that are used to
pay people. The following is a sample of a written compensation plan philosophy that was developed by
one family.
Family members employed in the business will be paid according to the standards in
our region, as reported by our trade association, for a specific position, in
companies of our size. In order to retain good employees we will pay all employed
family members and other managers within the top quartile of our industry’s
standards. Additional compensation will be based on success in reaching specific
company goals, with bonuses shared among all members of the management team.
Individual incentives will be determined according to measurable goals for job
performance determined each year, and reviewed by the appropriate manager. [37]
• Gather information about the salaries of similar positions in the industry of the family business in the
applicable region of the country. Look at companies that are similar in the number of employees, revenue,
and product. If possible, obtain salary and benefit information.
• Have the base salary for each position be consistent with the salaries and wages paid for comparable
positions at similarly sized businesses. Paying at this market value will have an excellent effect on
nonfamily members because they will feel that they are on an even playing field. There will be a positive
effect on business morale.
• The family business owner might consider seeking outside help in determining compensation levels for
individual family members. However, this assistance must be seen as truly objective, with no reason to
favor one viewpoint over another.
Oh, Those Sleepless Nights!
A recent family business survey [38] reported that the following things keep family business
owners awake at night.
Rank The Nightmare
Percentage Citing as a Significant
Concern (%)
1 Family members can never get away from work. 18
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Rank The Nightmare
Percentage Citing as a Significant
Concern (%)
2 Business disagreements can put strain on family relationships. 17
3
Emotional aspects can get in the way of important business
decisions. 16
4
Transition to the next generation is more difficult than a third-
party sale. 10
5
There can often be conflicts regarding the fairness of reward
for effort. 9
6 The business rewards are not necessarily based on merit. 8
7
Family members find it difficult to be individuals in their own
right. 5
8 Difficulties arise in attracting professional management. 5
9 Children can be spoiled through inequitable rewards. 4
10
Outside shareholders do not contribute but take payouts from
the business. 3
11
The family is always put before the business and therefore can
be less efficient. 3
12
Past deeds are never forgotten and are brought up at
inappropriate times. 2
Other urgent issues identified by a different family business survey included, in order of
importance, the following: [39]
• Labor costs
• Health-care costs
• Finding qualified employees
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• Foreign competition
• Labor union demands
• Domestic competition
• Oil prices
• Availability of credit from lenders
• Estate taxes
Succession
Another important issue that is particularly difficult for family businesses issuccession. As
mentioned earlier in this chapter, succession is about passing the business to the next
generation. Decisions have to be made about who will take over the leadership and/or
ownership of the company when the current generation dies or retires. [40] Interestingly, “only a
third of all family businesses successfully make the transition to the second generation largely
because succeeding generations either aren’t interested in running the business or make drastic
changes when they take the helm.” [41] There are family businesses that manage the transition
across generations quite easily because the succession process chooses only the children willing
and able to join and work with the prevailing family, business values, and goals. Unfortunately,
there are also instances in which children have had to leave school as soon as legally allowed,
not equipped to manage either the business, their lives, or their family. These children spend
many resentful years in the business until it fails. [42]
Passing the family business to the next generation is a difficult thing to do, but succession is a
matter of some urgency because 40 percent of US businesses are facing the issue of succession
at any given point in time. [43]This urgency notwithstanding, there are several forces that act
against succession planning: [44]
1. Founder
o Fear of death
o Reluctance to let go of power and control
o Personal loss of identity
o Fear of losing work activity
o Feelings of jealousy and rivalry toward successor
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2. Family
o Founder’s spouse’s reluctance to let go of role in firm
o Norms against discussing family’s future beyond lifetime of parents
o Norms against favoring siblings
o Fear of parental death
3. Employees
o Reluctance to let go of personal relationship with founder
o Fears of differentiating among key managers
o Reluctance to establish formal controls
o Fear of change
4. Environmental
o Founder’s colleagues and friends continue to work
o Dependence of clients on founder
o Cultural values that discourage succession planning
These are powerful forces working against succession planning, but they need to be overcome
for the good of the founder, the family, and the business. It will be tricky to balance the needs of
all three and fold them into a good succession plan.
The Succession Plan
Voyageur Transportation, a company in London, calls its successful succession planning
program, “If you got hit by a beer truck, what would happen to your department?” [45] As a family
business owner, you should pose this question in terms of yourself and your business. Hopefully,
this will provide the impetus you need to develop a succession plan.
A good succession plan outlines how the succession will occur and what criteria will
be used to judge when the successor is ready to take on the task. It eases the
founder’s concerns about transferring the firm to someone else and provides time in
which to prepare for a major change in lifestyle. It encourages the heirs to work in
the business, rather than embarking on alternative careers, because they can see
what roles they will be able to play. And it endeavors to provide what is best for the
business; in other words, it recognizes that managerial ability is more important
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than birthright, and that appointing an outside candidate may be wiser than
entrusting the company to a relative who has no aptitude for the work. [46]
A good succession plan will recognize and accept people’s differences, not assume that the next
generation wants the business; determine if heirs even have enough experience to run the
business; consider fairness; and think and act like a business. The plan should also include a
timetable of the transition stages, from the identification of a successor to the staged and then
full transfer of responsibilities, and a contingency plan in case the unforeseen should happen,
such as the departure or death of the intended successor or the intended successor declining the
role. [47] It would also be helpful to get some good professional advice—from company advisors
who have expertise in the industry as well as other family-run businesses. [48]
Although each succession plan will be different, the following components should be seen as
necessary for a good succession plan: [49]
1. Establish goals and objectives. As the family business owner, you must establish your personal goals
and vision for the business and your future role in its operation. You should include your retirement goals,
family member goals, goals of other stakeholders (e.g., partners, shareholders, and employees), and goals
relating to what should happen in the case of your illness, death, or disability.
2. Family involvement in the decision-making process. If the family and stakeholders who are
involved in the decision-making process are kept informed of the decisions being made, many of the
problems related to inheritance, management, and ownership issues will be alleviated. Communication,
the process for handling family change and disputes, the family vision for the business, and the
relationship between the family and the business should be addressed. The surest path to family discord is
developing the succession plan on your own and then announcing it. [50]
3. Identify successor(s). This section of the plan will address the issue of who takes over ownership and
management of the business. Identification of the potential successor(s), training of the successor(s),
building support for the successor(s), and teaching the successor(s) to build vision for the business are
included here. Working with your successor(s) for a year or two before you hand over the business will
increase the chances for success. [51]
4. Estate planning. Estate planning is important if you are planning to retire or want to take
precautionary measures regarding the future of the business in the event you are unable to continue
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operation of the family business due to illness, disability, or death. You should consult a lawyer, an
accountant, a financial/estate planner, and a life insurance representative so that your benefits will be
maximized. You will need to consider taxation, retirement income, provisions for other family members,
and active/nonactive family members.
5. Contingency planning. Contingency planning is about unforeseen circumstances. It is about
strategizing for the most likely “what if” scenarios (e.g., your death or disability). By thinking in terms of
the unforeseen, you will be taking a proactive rather than reactive approach.
6. Company structure and transfer methods. This section of the succession plan involves the review
and updating of the organizational and structural plan for the organization taking into account the
strengths and weaknesses of the successor. The following needs to be identified: the roles and the
responsibilities of the successor, the filling of key positions, structuring of the business to fit the successor,
the potential roles for the retiring owner, any legal complications, and financial issues.
7. Business valuation. This section is relevant only if the business is being sold. Passing the business to a
family member would not involve a business valuation.
8. Exit strategy. With any succession, ownership will be transferred, and you will remove yourself from the
day-to-day operations of the business. Alternatives will be compared, and a framework for making your
final choices will be developed. The transfer method and the timelines are decided. The exit plan should
then be published and distributed to everyone who is involved in the succession process.
9. Implementation and follow-up. The succession plan should be reviewed regularly and revised as
situations change. It should be a dynamic and a flexible document.
As difficult as the planning process can be, the goal should be a succession plan that will be in
the best interests of all—or most—of the parties involved. Business interests should be put ahead
of family interests, and merit should be emphasized over family position. [52]
The Family Business and Technology
In 2008, when R. Michael Johnson—Mikee to everyone who knows him—took over the
pressure-treated lumber company his grandfather founded in 1952, he had a great idea: laptops
for all managers and sales staff.
“‘You would have thought the world was coming apart,” says Johnson, CEO and president of Cox
Industries in Orangeburg, South Carolina. One salesman—convinced that the computer would
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be used to track his movements outside the office—up and quit. A buyer who had been with the
company for thirty-five years said he would like a fax machine but could not see why he needed
a computer when he had managed just fine without one for so long.
And that was just the beginning. In an industry where some businesses still write delivery tickets
by hand and tote them up on calculators, Johnson recently led the company through an ERP
(enterprise resource planning) software conversion and distributed iPhones to the sales team so
they can use the company’s new customer relationship management (CRM) system.
“‘Let’s just say I have spent quite a few Sunday lunches after church explaining technology
acronyms to Granddad and Grandmom,” Johnson says.
The resistance to new technology quieted, however, after Johnson was able to point to market
share growth of 35 percent at the $200 million business in the past year. “The numbers are
starting to resonate,” he says. “Five years ago, I couldn’t even say what our market share was
because we didn’t have the technology to figure it.” [53]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Important family issues include communication, employing
family and nonfamily members, professional management,
employment qualifications, salaries and compensation, and
success. Each issue can create conflict.
• It is very important to understand the culture of the family
business, especially by nonfamily CEOs.
• Succession planning is critical to the success of passing a
business to family members.
EXERCISES
1. Select a family business in your area. Make arrangements to
speak with three members of the family who work in the
business. Develop a list of ten questions that cover a broad
range of issues, such as the approach to compensation (but do
not ask for specific salary or wage numbers), the process for
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hiring family and nonfamily members, and the plans for
passing the business to the next generation. Ask each member
of the business the same questions. Pull the answers together
and compare them. Where did you find similarities? Where did
you find differences? Did everyone know the answer to each
question? Where were people reluctant to answer? Prepare a
three- to five-page report on your findings.
2. The family business is looking to expand, and some members
of the family, but not all, feel that it might be worth bringing in
someone from the outside to fill one of the new management
positions because the family talent has been pretty much
exhausted. Design a process for hiring an external manager.
What things should be considered? How might you get buy-in
from all family members?
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2011,www.sbaonline.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sbp _exit .
[44] Ivan Lansberg, “The Succession Conspiracy,” Family Business Review 1 (1981): 119–44, as cited in
Nancy Bowman-Upton, “Transferring Management in the Family-Owned Business,” Small Business
Administration, 1991, accessed October 8,
2011,www.sbaonline.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sbp _exit .
[45] “Sample Succession Planning Policy,” accessed October 8,
2011,www.experienceworks.ca/pdf/successionpolicy .
[46] “Making a Difference: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey
2007/08,” PriceWaterhouseCoopers, November 2007, accessed October 8,
2011,www.pwc.com/en_TH/th/publications/assets/pwc_fbs_survey .
[47] “Family-Run Businesses: Succession Planning in Family Businesses,”Business Link, accessed October
8, 2011,www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type =RESOURCES&itemId=1074446767.
[48] “Avoid Feuds When Handing Down the Family Business,” 2010,AllBusiness.com, 2010, accessed
October 8, 2011, www.allbusiness.com/buying-exiting-businesses/exiting-a-business/2975479-1.html.
[49] “Components of a Good Business Succession Plan,” April 18, 2011, accessed October 8,
2011, www.entrepreneurshipsecret.com/components-of-a-good-business -succession-plan.
[50] Susan Ward, “Six Business Succession Planning Tips,” About.com, 2011, accessed October 8,
2011,sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/buysellabiz/a/succession1_2.htm.
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[51] Susan Ward, “Six Business Succession Planning Tips,” About.com, 2011, accessed October 8,
2011,sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/buysellabiz/a/succession1_2.htm.
[52] “Family Succession Plan First Then the Succession Plan for the Family’s Business,” Family Business
Experts, 2011, accessed October 8, 2011, www.family-business-experts.com/family-succession-
plan.html.
[53] Karen E. Klein, “When the Third Generation Runs the Family Biz,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 9,
2010, accessed October 8,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb2010049_806426.htm.
3.3 Conflict
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain what conflict is.
2. Explain why positive or constructive conflict can be helpful to a
family business.
3. Explain why negative or destructive conflict can damage a
family business.
4. Identify sources of negative conflict in a family business.
5. Identify some ways in which negative conflict can be avoided.
All businesses have conflict. It can be a good thing or it can be a bad
thing.Positive or constructive conflict can be beneficial to a family business when it increases
opportunity recognition, produces high-quality decisions, encourages growth, strengthens
groups and individuals, increases the learning necessary for entrepreneurial behavior, and
increases the levels of commitment to the decisions being made. [1] An example of positive
conflict is a disagreement between family members on the strategic direction of the family
business, the result being a much-needed rethinking of the business plan and a new agreed-on
vision for the company. [2]
By contrast, negative or destructive conflict can hurt a business by damaging the harmony and
relationships of family members in the family business, discouraging learning, causing ongoing
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harm to groups and individuals in the business, frustrating adequate planning and rational
decision making, and resulting in poor quality decisions. [3] “The absence of good conflict makes
it that much harder to accurately evaluate business ideas and make important decisions…But
conflict does not mean browbeating.” [4] An example of a negative conflict would be arguments
over the successor to the business. Ultimately, the failure to adequately control negative conflict
may contribute to the high mortality rate of family-owned businesses. [5]
Because of the clash between business and emotional concerns in a family business, the
potential for negative conflict can be greater than for other businesses. [6] The tension that exists
among the personal lives and career pursuits of family members creates
an interrole conflict (occurring when a family member has simultaneous roles with conflicting
expectations) in which the role pressures from work and home are incompatible. [7] This conflict
is difficult—if not impossible in some instances—to resolve. “Due to the interconnection and
frequent contact among family members working in the business with those who are not but
may still have an ownership stake, recurring conflict is highly probable in family firms.” [8]
Sources of Conflict
The specific causes of conflict in a family business are many. Because the typical understanding
of conflict in family businesses is that conflict refers to negative conflict that is unhealthy and
disruptive, negative conflict is the focus of this section.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey [9] identified a core group of issues that are
likely to cause tension.
Issue Causing Tension
Causes Some
Tension (%)
Causes a Lot of
Tension (%)
Discussion about the future strategy of the business 25 9
Performance of family members actively involved in the business 19 8
Decisions about who can and cannot work in the business 19 7
Failure of family members actively involved in the business to
consult the wider family on key issues 16 7
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Issue Causing Tension
Causes Some
Tension (%)
Causes a Lot of
Tension (%)
Decisions about the reinvestment of profits in the business versus
the payment of dividends 15 7
The setting of remuneration levels for family members actively
involved in the business 14 7
The role in-laws should or should not play in the business 14 7
Decisions about who can and cannot hold shares in the business 13 6
Discussions about the basis on which shares in the business should
be valued 12 5
Rejection of chosen successor by other family members 10 5
Add to this the fact that “family firms are prone to psychodynamic effects like sibling rivalry,
children’s desire to differentiate themselves from their parents, marital discord, identity conflict,
and succession and inheritance problems that nonfamily businesses do not suffer from,” [10] and
it’s easy to see how the family business is a fertile field for negative conflict. [11]
Several other sources of conflict can occur in a family-owned business. A sampling of those
sources is discussed here. All have the potential to adversely impact family relationships,
business operations, and business results.
• Rivalry. Harry Levinson from the Harvard Business School maintains that, “the fundamental
psychological conflict in family businesses is rivalry, compounded by feelings of guilt, when more than
one family member is involved.” [12] This rivalry can occur between father and son, siblings, husband and
wife, father and daughter, and in-laws with members of the family that own the business.
• Differing vision. Family members will often disagree with the founder and with each other about the
vision and strategy for the business. These differences “can create fear, anger, and destructive attempts to
control decisions that are divisive and counter-productive to making and implementing sound
decisions.” [13] Rivalries that spill into the workplace can get nasty, leading to destructive behaviors.
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• Jealousy. There is always the potential for jealousy in the family business. It can arise from feelings of
unfairness in such things as compensation, job responsibilities, promotions, “having the ear” of the
business founder, and stock distributions. It can also arise with respect to the planned successor when
there is a difference of opinion about who it should be. If it is not resolved, jealousy has the potential to
divide the family and destroy the business. [14]
• Succession. Succession is always a big obstacle for a family business. In some cases, the founder may
feel that his or her children are not capable of running the business. This will cause obvious tension
between the parent and the child/children, such that the child or children may leave the business in
frustration. [15] This, in turn, becomes problematic for succession. “Who gets what type of equity, benefit,
title, or role can be major sources of explicit conflict or implicit but destructive behaviors.” [16] It is also
true that while the founder of the business wants to continue family ownership and leadership of the
business, this may not be true of his or her immediate family or later-generation family members. [17] This
can create substantive conflict during succession planning.
• Playing by different rules. This cause of negative conflict “often presents itself as a form of elitism or
entitlement that exists simply by virtue of being in a family that owns a business. Examples show up in
allowing one or more family members to exhibit deficient standards of conduct or performance that
violate sound business practices or important requirements that all other employees are expected to
follow. Such behaviors can be divisive and demoralizing to all employees and customers as well as
harmful to the reputation of the business.” [18]
• Decision making. If roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined, conflict will arise over who can
make decisions and how decisions should be made. This will lead to confusion, uncertainty, and
haphazard decisions that will put the company at risk.
• Compensation and benefits. “This is one of the most frequent sources of conflict, especially among
members of the younger generation.” A person’s compensation is inextricably linked to his or her feelings
of importance and self-worth. Compound that with the emotions associated with being a member of the
family that owns the business, and you have the potential for explosive negative conflict. Clearly, this is
not in the best interests of the business. [19]
Avoiding Conflict
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Some measure of family squabbling is expected in a family business. Some of the arguments will
be logical and necessary. However, “it’s important that they remain professional and not
personal, because squabbling among family members in a work environment can make the
employees and customers feel extremely uncomfortable, and can give them grounds for legal
claims against the business.” [20] The negative effects of family squabbling are as follows: [21]
• Unprofessional image. Family squabbling conjures up images of children—immaturity and pettiness.
This sends a signal to customers and other employees that they are not in a professional environment that
focuses on the right things.
• Uncomfortable environment. It is embarrassing to witness squabbling. No one likes to be in an
awkward atmosphere; squabbling can cost you customers and employees, and it may result in expensive
and unpleasant lawsuits. This can affect your bottom line very quickly.
• Discrimination. Nepotism is one of the biggest dangers of working in a family business. Arguing with
relatives will only reinforce to other employees that they are in a family business. This can quickly lead to
feelings of disparate treatment which, in turn, can lead to discrimination charges.
• Legal troubles. In the worst cases of family squabbling, disagreements over business can lead to
lawsuits. If one family member’s role is minimized and his or her authority is restricted, this is violating
the person’s rights as a shareholder. This can lead to an oppressed minority shareholder suit against the
family business. This would be expensive, it would be ugly, and it could lead to the demise of the company.
Avoiding conflict is no easy feat. However, there are several things that a family business should
consider. First, there are consultants who engage in conflict resolution for a living. The
possibilities should be checked out. If the budget can handle the costs of a consultant, it could be
the best choice. A consultant, having no reason to take one side or the other, will bring the
necessary objectivity to resolution of the conflict.
Second, emotional reactions should be differentiated from problem-solving reactions. Family
members need to take a professional perspective rather than that of an irritated sibling, parent,
son, or daughter. [22] It will probably be difficult to do this, but it is important that it be done.
Third, focus on the professional role instead of the family role. “Make sure it’s clear what the
expectations and attitudes of all your employees are…Because you’re a small business, you
might not have as strict a policy as a large corporation, but it would still be helpful to put it in
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writing, such as in an employee handbook, which carries legal responsibilities to both family and
outside employees.” [23]
Fourth, encourage honesty from the beginning. When first starting to work together, it is
important that family members sit down together to talk about potential conflicts that might
arise. Acknowledging that it will be more difficult to work together because of being family is a
good beginning. Treating family members and the professional environment with respect and
expecting honesty when someone steps over the line should make for a smoother process. [24]
Last, the founder should try to keep the conflict constructive. This means stimulating task-
oriented disagreement and debate while trying to minimize interpersonal conflicts. [25] This will
require a fair decision-making process. For people to believe that a process is fair, it means that
they must [26]
• “Have ample opportunity to express their views and to discuss how and why they disagree with other
[family] members”;
• “Feel that the decision-making process has been transparent, i.e., deliberations have been relatively free of
secretive, behind-the-scenes maneuvering”;
• “Believe that the leader listened carefully to them and considered their views thoughtfully and seriously
before making a decision”;
• “Perceive that they had a genuine opportunity to influence the leader’s final decision”; and
• “Have a clear understanding of the rationale for the final decision.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Conflict can be either positive or negative. Negative conflict
can potentially harm the business.
• There are many sources of negative conflict in a family
business. The fundamental psychological conflict in family
businesses is rivalry.
• It is important to avoid negative conflict. In particular, family
squabbling that is witnessed by others can cause damage to
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the firm. Employees and customers will feel uncomfortable,
and there may ultimately be grounds for a lawsuit.
EXERCISE
1. The founder of XYZ company has decided to retire. He wants
one of three children to take over leadership of the business—
and he knows exactly who it should be. Other members of the
family have their ideas as well. One segment of the family
wants the oldest son, Michael, to take over, but the founder
thinks Michael is a melon head. The second son, Christopher, is
a well-meaning and hard-working part of the business, but he
just does not have what it takes to be a leader. Nonetheless,
he is favored by another group of family members. Samantha,
the youngest child, is as sharp as a tack, with solid experience
and accomplishments under her belt. On an objective basis,
Samantha would be the best choice for the business. She is the
founder’s choice to take over the company and has other
family supporters as well, although not as many as for Michael
or Christopher. This is a situation tailor-made for conflict. How
does the founder finesse the selection of Samantha and
minimize the conflict that is bound to occur? Can he win?
[1] George Ambler, “Constructive Conflict Is Essential for Creating Commitment to Decisions,” May 15,
2007, accessed October 8, 2011; Kimberly A. Eddleston, Robert F. Otondo, and Franz Willi Kellermanns,
“Conflict, Participative Decision-Making, and Generational Ownership Dispersion: A Multilevel
Analysis,” Journal of Small Business Management 46, no. 3 (2008): 456–84; and Suzi Quixley,
“Understanding Constructive & Destructive Conflict,” May 2008, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.suziqconsulting.com.au/free_articles_files /CON%20-
%20Constructive%20&%20Destructive%20-%20May08 .
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[2] “Managing Conflict in Family Businesses,” Business Link, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId= 1073792653.
[3] Kimberly A. Eddleston, Robert F. Otondo, and Franz Willi Kellermanns, “Conflict, Participative
Decision-Making, and Generational Ownership Dispersion: A Multilevel Analysis,” Journal of Small
Business Management 46, no. 3 (2008): 456–84; and Suzi Quixley, “Understanding Constructive &
Destructive Conflict,” May 2008, accessed June 1,
2012,http://www.suziqconsulting.com.au/free_articles_files /CON%20-
%20Constructive%20&%20Destructive%20-%20May08 .
[4] Professor Michael Roberto from Harvard Business School, quoted in George Ambler, “Constructive
Conflict Is Essential for Creating Commitment to Decisions,” May 15, 2007, accessed October 8, 2011.
[5] Nigel Finch, “Identifying and Addressing the Causes of Conflict in Family Business,” Working Paper
Series: University of Sydney, May 2005, accessed October 8,
2011, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=717262.
[6] “Managing Conflict in Family Businesses,” Business Link, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId= 1073792653.
[7] Nigel Finch, “Identifying and Addressing the Causes of Conflict in Family Business,” Working Paper
Series: University of Sydney, May 2005, accessed October 8,
2011, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=717262.
[8] Kimberly A. Eddleston, Robert F. Otondo, and Franz Willi Kellermanns, “Conflict, Participative
Decision-Making, and Generational Ownership Dispersion: A Multilevel Analysis,” Journal of Small
Business Management 46, no. 3 (2008): 456–84.
[9] “Making a Difference: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Family Business Survey
2007/08,” PriceWaterhouseCoopers, November 2007, accessed October 8,
2011,www.pwc.com/en_TH/th/publications/assets/pwc_fbs_survey .
[10] Kimberly A. Eddleston, Robert F. Otondo, and Franz Willi Kellermanns, “Conflict, Participative
Decision-Making, and Generational Ownership Dispersion: A Multilevel Analysis,” Journal of Small
Business Management 46, no. 3 (2008): 456–84.
[11] Michael Harvey and Rodney E. Evans, “Family Business and Multiple Levels of Conflict,” Family
Business Review 7, no. 4 (1994): 331–48, as cited in Kimberly A. Eddleston, Robert F. Otondo, and Franz
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Willi Kellermanns, “Conflict, Participative Decision-Making, and Generational Ownership Dispersion: A
Multilevel Analysis,” Journal of Small Business Management 46, no. 3 (2008): 456–84.
[12] Harry Levinson, “Conflicts That Plague Family Businesses,” Harvard Business Review 71 (1971): 90–
98.
[13] “Common Sources of Dysfunctional Conflict in Family Businesses,” RJW Consulting, accessed
October 8, 2011,www.rjweissconsulting.com/businessDevelopmentNewsDetail.asp?ID=2.
[14] Nigel Finch, “Identifying and Addressing the Causes of Conflict in Family Business,” Working Paper
Series: University of Sydney, May 2005, accessed October 8,
2011, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=717262.
[15] Nigel Finch, “Identifying and Addressing the Causes of Conflict in Family Business,” Working Paper
Series: University of Sydney, May 2005, accessed October 8,
2011, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=717262.
[16] “Common Sources of Dysfunctional Conflict in Family Businesses,” RJW Consulting, accessed
October 8, 2011,www.rjweissconsulting.com/businessDevelopmentNewsDetail.asp?ID=2.
[17] Peter S. Davis and Paula D. Harveston, “The Phenomenon of Substantive Conflict in the Family Firm:
A Cross-Generational Study,” Journal of Small Business Management 39, no. 1 (2001): 14–30.
[18] “Common Sources of Dysfunctional Conflict in Family Businesses,” RJW Consulting, accessed
October 8, 2011,www.rjweissconsulting.com/businessDevelopmentNewsDetail.asp?ID=2.
[19] Wayne Rivers, “Top 15 Sources of Conflict in Family Businesses,” Family Business Institute, 2009,
accessed October 8, 2011,www.familybusinessinstitute.com/index.php/volume-6-articles/top-15-
sources-of-conflict-in-family-businesses.html.
[20] “How Family Squabbling Affects Other Employees—and Customers,” National Federation of
Independent Business, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-
resources-item?cmsid=52150.
[21] “How Family Squabbling Affects Other Employees—and Customers,” National Federation of
Independent Business, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-
resources-item?cmsid=52150.
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[22] “How Family Squabbling Affects Other Employees—and Customers,” National Federation of
Independent Business, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-
resources-item?cmsid=52150.
[23] “How Family Squabbling Affects Other Employees—and Customers,” National Federation of
Independent Business, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-
resources-item?cmsid=52150.
[24] “How Family Squabbling Affects Other Employees—and Customers,” National Federation of
Independent Business, 2010, accessed October 8, 2011,www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-
resources-item?cmsid=52150.
[25] George Ambler, “Constructive Conflict Is Essential for Creating Commitment to Decisions,” May 15,
2007, accessed October 8, 2011.
[26] George Ambler, “Constructive Conflict Is Essential for Creating Commitment to Decisions,” May 15,
2007, accessed October 8, 2011.
3.4 The Three Threads
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain how a family business adds to customer value.
2. Explain how being a family business can positively and
negatively impact cash flow.
3. Explain how technology and the e-environment are impacting
family businesses.
Customer Value Implications
When people think about family businesses, they usually think friendly, “quality, wholesome,
and continuity.” Customers feel that they have a connection to the business because they also
have a family. It is something customers feel they can trust. [1] Customers are reminded that
there is a family behind the business, not a faceless corporate entity. [2] These are important
sources of customer value.
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The high priority that family businesses place on community involvement and the “reputational
capital attributed to the family name” also translate into a perception of greater value by the
customer. [3] “Family business’s identification with the family name motivates a greater
emphasis on serving customers and consumers effectively, such as through providing quality
products and customer services.” [4] The emphasis of the family business on its family identity
may, in fact, contribute to its competitive advantage. “It is conceivable that family businesses
who promote their familiness build a reputation in the market place related to customers’
positive perception of the family.” [5] The long-term source of value for the customers of family
businesses may rest with the belief that the businesses are customer-focused.
Cash-Flow Implications
A family business can help or hurt its cash flow depending on whether it compensates family
members at market value. If a family member’s compensation is based on “family values,” such
that the parents’ compensation is excessive and the children’s compensation is much less than
their fair market value, this would give an inflated picture of the company’s
profitability. [6] However, it will help the company’s cash flow because they will have more
money to spend on the business. If, however, the children’s compensation is excessive, often
based on housing and family needs of the family members as opposed to their worth to the
business, this would give an unrealistically low portrayal of the profitability of the
business. [7] This will hurt the company’s cash flow because the amount of money available to
spend on the business will be reduced.
Digital Technology and E-Environment Implications
It is estimated that about 40 percent of US family-owned businesses survive into second
generation businesses, but only about 13 percent are passed down successfully to a third
generation. One of the main reasons for this is that technological change moves so swiftly that it
bypasses the older generation. “Unless the next generation is poised to update, and can get buy-
in from longtime employees wedded to ‘the way we always did it,’ a business can quickly become
obsolete.” [8] It is understood that family businesses will have different technology needs
depending on their size, industry, and growth objectives. For many family businesses, however,
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the move to greater technology integration should be seen as a natural part of business
evolution.
With respect to e-business and e-commerce, the commitment of a family business to digital
technology will be a necessary precursor to the integration of e-business solutions. E-business is
discussed in more detail inChapter 4 “E-Business and E-Commerce”. The commitment to e-
commerce should also be seen as a natural part of business evolution and a necessary response
to the ubiquitous nature of the Internet. E-commerce for the small business is also discussed in
greater detail in Chapter 4 “E-Business and E-Commerce”.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Family businesses offer increased customer value because they
are associated with families instead of impersonal corporate
entities.
• Not all family businesses may choose to integrate digital
technology, e-business, and e-commerce into their planning
and operations. The level of integration will occur on a
continuum. Given the extent to which digital technology
pervades business, however, it will be difficult to ignore it. The
same is true for e-business and e-commerce.
• Overpaying or underpaying family members has an effect on
cash flow.
EXERCISES
1. Select two family businesses in your area. Interview each
business owner about how he or she currently uses technology
in the business and what the plans are for future technology
integration. Prepare a three- to five-page report on your
findings.
2. Select three family businesses that you patronize. Think about
what you see as the source(s) of customer value for each
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business. Interview the owner(s) of each business and ask
them to describe the customer value that they offer. Compare
your thoughts with what the owners said. Are they different?
How? If they are different, what might account for the
differences?
Disaster Watch
What Happens Now?
“From the day he opened his jewelry store in 1980, Michael Genovese, 57, expected his son
Joseph, now 32, to come into and eventually take over the business. Joe started working there
part time while still in junior high, engraving and polishing. ‘Dad offered me a job, and I jumped
at it,’ he recalls. He did repairs, made jewelry, and worked in sales. ‘He worked hard and did the
dirtiest jobs’ as he learned the business from the bottom up, says Mike.”
“After graduating from college, Joe returned to the store, although Mike had urged him to first
‘get some different experience working in another job.’”
“Back in the store, Joe was soon out-selling the other salespeople. Mike also began gradually
training him in management duties—i.e., buying, working with vendors, personnel duties (like
hiring and firing), financial matters, and managing sales staff—as he groomed him to lead the
business. ‘I never had a written [transition] plan, says Mike, ‘but in my mind I planned this from
the time he was a kid working here.’”
Then disaster struck. Mike had a serious heart attack. He was incapacitated by bypass surgery
and months of recovery. Everything started going haywire. Joe’s older brother, who never before
had any interest, has now expressed an interest in the business. He has had several years of
experience in another job and feels that it would be appropriate to come into the business at a
high salary. In the meantime, the other salespeople are beginning to express dissatisfaction with
their compensation and benefit plans, feeling that Joe has always received special treatment.
There is a lot of dissension at the jewelry store. Joe is ready to tear his hair out. What should he
do? [9]
[1] “Promoting Family Brand Linked to Companies’ Financial Success,” Austin Family Business Program,
September 15, 2008, accessed October 8,
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2011,www.familybusinessonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view+article&id =38:promoting-
family-brand-linked-to-companies-financial-success-&catid=13:latest -news&Itemid=39.
[2] Sahil Nagpal, “Family Businesses Perceived of Greater Value by Customers,”Top News, August 15,
2008, accessed June 1, 2012, http://topnews.in/family-businesses -perceived-greater-value-customers-
259364.
[3] Sahil Nagpal, “Family Businesses Perceived of Greater Value by Customers,”Top News, August 15,
2008, accessed October 8, 2011, topnews.in/family-businesses -perceived-greater-value-customers-
259364.
[4] Justin B. Craig, Clay Dibrell, and Peter S. Davis, “Leveraging Family-Based Identity to Enhance Firm
Competitiveness and Performance in Family Businesses,” Journal of Small Business Management 46, no.
3 (2008): 351–71.
[5] Justin B. Craig, Clay Dibrell, and Peter S. Davis, “Leveraging Family-Based Identity to Enhance Firm
Competitiveness and Performance in Family Businesses,” Journal of Small Business Management 46, no.
3 (2008): 351–71.
[6] Bernard J. D’Avella Jr. and Hannoch Weisman, “Why Compensation for Family Members Should Be at
Market Value,” Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2344.
[7] Bernard J. D’Avella Jr. and Hannoch Weisman, “Why Compensation for Family Members Should Be at
Market Value,” Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2010, accessed October 8,
2011, view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2344.
[8] Karen E. Klein, “When the Third Generation Runs the Family Biz,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, April 9,
2010, accessed October 8,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb2010049_806426.htm.
[9] William George Shuster, “Family Business in Crisis: Letting Go,” JCK Magazine, March 2003, accessed
October 8, 2011, www.jckonline.com/article/282706-Family
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Chapter 4
E-Business and E-Commerce
Vermont Teddy Bear Company
Source: Used with permission from Vermont Teddy Bear.
In 1980, John Sortino got the idea for making teddy bears. He was playing with his young son,
Graham, and noticed that none of Graham’s 38 stuffed animals was made in the United States.
This inspired John to make a teddy bear for Graham—named Bearcho. John then went on to
make others, falling in love with the idea of making them by hand. Bearcho was soon followed by
Buffy, Bearazar, and Fuzzy Wuzzy, all made in his wife’s sewing room. By 1983, John was selling
his bears from a gift cart at an open-air market in Burlington, Vermont. The sale of his first bear
took 4 days, and it took 1 year to sell 200 bears. [1]Today, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company
produces about 300,000 bears a year.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company has tapped into America’s long-standing love affair with
teddy bears by creating a wide variety of customized teddy bears and shipping them to
customers via the well-recognized Bear-Gram, “…a customized bear placed in a colorful box with
an air hole and game printed on the inside, and enclosed with a personalized greeting and candy
treat.” [2] The company has experienced many changes, including John’s departure in 1995 to
pursue other interests and the addition of Pajamagram and Calyx Flowers as additional unique
brands, but the Vermont Teddy Bear Company remains a household name and a Vermont icon.
Jay Bruns, vice president of branding, talks about the importance of knowing how to present the
product so the company can grow further. Right now, a Vermont Teddy Bear is a unique gift
item that promises quality for life, but the dynamics of gifting have changed. Same day or
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overnight delivery is not special anymore, so a Vermont Teddy Bear must offer something more
than convenience. It needs to be a “go-to” gift of choice rather than an emergency or “last-
minute” gift. This requires presenting the product as fresh and special. [3] E-commerce is an
integral part of Vermont Teddy Bear’s marketing strategy, with online sales accounting for more
than one-half of its total sales. The company saw the growth in online buying and launched its
website in October 1996 in an effort to reach the online consumer base. Elisabeth Robert, the
CEO at the time, saw the potential synergy between radio and the Internet and used the power
of the company’s radio advertising “…to direct customers to the company’s website where they
could actually see the bears they were ordering.” [4]
Victor Castro, director of e-commerce, describes the company’s e-commerce strategy as direct
marketing with a focus on easy ordering and the customer being able to interact with the brand.
Convenience has become even more convenient, and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company makes
things simple. As the consumer becomes more proficient online, it will be necessary to
communicate properly what the Vermont Teddy Bear gift is all about (i.e., the experience of
owning the bear). Castro says that the company has been very successful at that. However, the
company’s e-commerce strategy must evolve with changes in the online customer. [5]
To learn more about the Bear-Gram, go towww.vermontteddybear.com/Static/Bear-
Grams.aspx. To take the online factory tour, go to www.vermontteddybear.com/Static/tour-
welcomestation.aspx.
[1] “The Vermont Teddy Bear Story,” Vermont Teddy Bear Company, accessed March 24,
2012, www.vermontteddybear.com/Static/Our-Story.aspx; “Vermont Teddy Bear Company,” Score.org,
accessed March 24, 2012, www.score.org/success-stories/vermont-teddy-bear-company.
[2] “The Vermont Teddy Bear Story,” Vermont Teddy Bear Company, accessed March 24,
2012, www.vermontteddybear.com/Static/Our-Story.aspx.
[3] Telephone interview with Jay Bruns, vice president of branding, Vermont Teddy Bear Company,
March 9, 2012.
[4] Portland Helmich, “Not Your Average Bear,” Business People Vermont, 2002, accessed March 24,
2012, www.vermontguides.com/2002/2-feb/teddybear.htm.
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[5] Telephone interview with Victor Castro, director of e-commerce, Vermont Teddy Bear Company,
March 9, 2012.
4.1 E-Business and E-Commerce: The Difference
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define e-business and e-commerce and explain the difference
between them.
2. Understand that there are several different types of e-
commerce and that a business can be engaged in more than
one type at the same time.
3. Explain what a business model is and why the model that is
selected is so important.
As stated in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, e-business and e-commerce are terms
that are often used interchangeably. But e-business and e-commerce are not the same. This
section will elaborate on the differences between the two and some of the foundational
knowledge that is critical to understanding and using e-commerce in particular.
E-Business
Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business” talked about e-business in terms of using the
Internet and online technologies to create operational efficiencies, thereby increasing customer
value. [1] It is important that small businesses understand the nature of e-business and how it
can facilitate operations as well as growth—if growth is desired. It has been said on other
occasions, and it will continue to be said, that not all small businesses look for growth, choosing
instead to happily remain small. For the small businesses that do want to grow, however, e-
business can help them do it.
E-Business Components
E-business involves several major components: [2] business intelligence (BI), customer
relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), enterprise resource
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planning (ERP), e-commerce, conducting electronic transactions within the firm, collaboration,
and online activities among businesses.
Figure 4.1 Components of E-Business
Business intelligence is about the activities that a small business may undertake to collect, store,
access, and analyze information about its market or competition to help with decision making.
When conducted online, BI is efficient and quick, helping companies to identify noteworthy
trends and make better decisions faster. BI has been described as “the crystal ball of the 21st
century.” [3]
As defined in Chapter 2 “Your Business Idea: The Quest for
Value”,customer relationship management (CRM) refers to “…a customer service approach that
focuses on building long-term and sustainable customer relationships that add value for the
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customer and the company.”[4] It is a company-wide strategy that brings together information
from all data sources within an organization (and sometimes from external data sources) to give
one holistic view of each customer in real time. The goal is to reduce costs and increase
profitability while providing customer satisfaction. [5] CRM applications are available for even
the smallest businesses.
Every small business has a supply chain, the network of vendors that provide the raw
components that are needed to make a product or deliver a service. The management of this
network is known assupply chain management (SCM). SCM is about efficiently and effectively
improving the way that a company finds those raw components and then delivers the product or
the service to the customer. [6] SCM applications are now available for small businesses. More
details about SCM are presented in Chapter 12 “People and Organization”.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP), as mentioned in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small
Business”, is about integrating all departments and functions across a company (sales,
marketing, human resources, finance, accounting, production, engineering, etc.) into a single
computer system that can serve the particular needs of each department. The objective is to
provide information quickly and efficiently to those who need it. Small businesses have many
vendor choices for ERP systems. There are more than thirty vendors in the field, and they are
looking to small and midsize businesses as their primary growth market. [7] More details about
ERP are provided inChapter 12 “People and Organization”.
E-commerce, as defined in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, is the marketing,
selling, and buying of goods and services online. It generates revenue, which e-business does
not. E-commerce is typically associated with e-marketing, discussed in Chapter 8 “The
Marketing Plan”, but most of this chapter is dedicated to the operational, nonmarketing
dimensions of e-commerce.
Conducting electronic transactions within a firm can occur through anintranet, e-mail, and
instant messaging. An intranet is a private network within a business that is used for
information sharing, processing, and communication. The goal is to “streamline the workplace
and allow easy information exchange within an organization.” [8]
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Collaboration can occur internally or externally, and it often involves business partners. The
goal is to help teams or business partners communicate with each other more effectively and
efficiently, manage projects and shared materials, save companies the costs of travel, and reduce
travel-related productivity losses. [9] E-mail, instant messaging, newsgroups, bulletin boards,
discussion boards, virtual team rooms, online meetings, and wikis are common means of
collaboration. A wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a web
browser and access to the Internet unless it is password protected. [10] The most well-known wiki
is Wikipedia.
Online activities between businesses focus on information sharing and communication via e-
mail, online meetings, instant messaging, andextranets. An extranet is the part of an intranet
that is made available to business partners, vendors, or others outside a company. It allows a
business “to share documents, calendars, and project information with distributed employees,
partners, and customers” and “it enables 24/7 private, secure access to collaborative tools with
just an Internet connection.” [11] They make communication easier, eliminate redundant
processes, reduce paperwork, increase productivity, provide immediate updates and
information, and provide quick response times to problems and questions.[12] The result is
money and time saved for employees, the company, vendors, and your customers. Commercial
transactions typically do not take place on extranets.
As integral as e-business may be to many small businesses, however, there will be small
businesses that choose not to go the e-business route. Small businesses that are nonemployers
and/or are very small operations that choose to stay that way—for example, local delis, gift
shops, restaurants, dry cleaners, and ice cream shops can be and are successful without having
to make a commitment to e-business. Therefore, a small business can choose to incorporate all,
some, or none of the e-business components. Given the ways in which the Internet continues to
transform small businesses, however, it would be virtually impossible for a small business to
operate totally outside the realm of e-business.
E-Commerce
The moment that an exchange of value occurs, e-business becomes e-commerce. [13] E-commerce
is the revenue generator for businesses that choose to use the Internet to sell their goods and
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services. Some small businesses rely on the Internet to grow and survive. As stated in Chapter 1
“Foundations for Small Business”, many small businesses also look to e-commerce for their own
business needs, such as computers and office technology, capital equipment and supplies, office
furnishings, inventory for online sale, or other business-related goods. [14] This is not surprising
considering the pervasiveness of the Internet for business transactions of all shapes and sizes.
Types of E-Commerce
Every Internet business is either pure-play or brick-and-click. A pure-play business, such as
Amazon and Zappos, has an online presence only and uses the capabilities of the Internet to
create a new business. Brick-and-click businesses, such as Barnes and Noble and Vermont
Country Store, combine a physical presence with an online presence. These businesses use the
Internet to supplement their existing businesses. [15]
There are several different types of e-commerce. A common classification system is with respect
to the nature of transactions or the relationships among participants. [16] There are seven major
types of e-commerce:
1. Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, where businesses focus on selling to other businesses or
organizations, is the largest form of e-commerce. [17] Cisco, Staples, and Spiceworks (information
technology [IT] and IT networks for the small- and medium-sized business) are all B2B companies.
2. Business-to-consumer (B2C) is the earliest form of e-commerce, but it is second in size to B2B. It refers to
retail sales between businesses and individual consumers. Consumers gather information; purchase
physical goods, such as books and clothing; purchase information goods, such as electronic material or
digitized content, such as software; and, for information goods, receive products over an electronic
network. [18]
3. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce is where consumers sell products and personal services to
each other with the help of anonline market maker to provide catalog, search engine, and transaction-
clearing capabilities so that products can be easily displayed, discovered, and paid for. The most well-
known C2C business is eBay, but there are many other online market makers as well. Craigslistis an
extremely popular small e-commerce business for placing classified ads.
4. Business-to-government (B2G) e-commerce can generally be defined as transactions with the government.
The Internet is used for procurement, filing taxes, licensing procedures, business registrations, and other
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government-related operations. This is an insignificant segment of e-commerce in terms of volume, but it
is growing.
5. Consumer-to-business (C2B) e-commerce is between private individuals who use the Internet to sell
products or services to organizations and individuals who seek sellers to bid on products or
services. [19]Elance is an example of C2B where a consumer posts a project with a set budget deadline and
within hours companies and/or individuals review the consumer’s requirements and bid on the project.
The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company or individual that will complete the project.
Elance empowers consumers around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such
transactions. [20] Priceline.com is a well-known example of C2B e-commerce.
6. Mobile commerce (m-commerce) refers to the purchase of goods and services through wireless technology,
such as cell phones, and handheld devices, such as Blackberries and iPhones. Japan has the lead in m-
commerce, but it is expected to grow rapidly in the United States over the next several years. eMarketer
predicts mobile content revenues will grow to more than $3.53 billion in 2014, a compound annual
growth rate of nearly 20 percent for the period 2009–2014, with the fastest growth coming from mobile
music. [21]
7. Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology makes it possible for Internet users to share files and computer resources
directly without having to go through a central web server. P2P began with Napster offering free music
downloads via a file-sharing system. [22]Tamago launched the world’s first P2P commerce system in 2005,
which allowed people to sell every type of digital media directly from their computers to customers all
over the world. People who publish videos, photos, music, e-books, and so forth can earn royalties, while
buyers earn commissions for distributing media to others. [23]
Figure 4.2 How P2P E-Commerce Works at Tamago.com
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Source: “Peer to Peer Profit,” http://www.tamago.us (accessed October 10, 2011).
Although these types of e-commerce have been discussed individually, there are many instances
in which one company engages in multiple types. Office Depot and Staples are brick-and-click
businesses that engage in B2B, B2C, and perhaps B2G e-commerce. Carbonite and Gourmet Gift
Baskets are both pure-play small businesses that engage in B2C and B2B e-commerce.
E-Commerce Business Models
The decision to engage in e-commerce is an important one. The advantages are clear: lower
business costs; 24/7 accessibility anywhere; the potential for stronger customer service; the
ability to introduce a niche product; the ability to reach global markets on a more equalized
basis with larger firms, making mass customization possible; and greater customer loyalty. But
the risks are there as well. Internet problems, website problems, security and privacy breaches,
intellectual property theft, legal liability, product and/or service failure, customer deceit, and
customer dissatisfaction are but a few of the risks. Therefore, the choice of an e-commerce
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business model must be made carefully. Each model will have different implications in terms of
business planning and strategy.
An e-commerce business model is the method that a business uses to generate revenue online.
“The business model spells out how a company makes money by specifying where it is
positioned in the value chain. Some models are quite simple. A company produces a good or
service and sells it to customers. If all goes well, the revenues from sales exceed the cost of
operation and the company realizes a profit. Other models can be more intricately
woven.” [24] Another way to look at a business model is that it “reflects management’s hypothesis
about what customers want, how they want it, and how the enterprise can organize to best meet
those needs, get paid for doing so, and make a profit.” [25] There are many models to choose
from, and new models will continue to emerge as technology evolves and businesses look for
new and creative ways to generate revenue. Some of the many e-commerce business models are
as follows: [26]
• The virtual merchant model is used by online retailers that operate over the Internet only. FreshDirect is a
small business that offers fresh food and brand-name groceries for home delivery in New York. Amazon is
another example of a virtual merchant.
• The brokerage model brings buyers and sellers together and facilitates transactions. Supply Chain
Connect is a small business that helps “companies optimize their purchasing and sales purchasing and
sales processes through the use of e-commerce across a broad range of products including chemicals,
plastics, wire and cable, and manufactured goods.” [27]
• The incentive marketing model is a “customer loyalty program that provides incentives to customers such
as redeemable points or coupons for making purchases from associated retailers.” [28] Cool Savings, a
small business that uses this model, wants to be its customers’ free resource for valuable coupons,
discounts, and special offers from their favorite brands and stores.
Because the business model will be at the center of the business plan, the model must be
designed carefully. If a successful model is to be built, the model should effectively address the
eight key elements listed in Table 4.1 “Key Elements of a Business Model”. Although value
proposition and the revenue model may be the most important and easily identifiable aspects of
a company’s business model, the other six elements are equally important.[29]
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Table 4.1 Key Elements of a Business Model
Components Key Questions
Value proposition Why should the customer buy from you?
Revenue model How will you earn your money?
Market opportunity What market space do you intend to serve, and what is its size?
Competitive environment Who else occupies your intended market space?
Competitive advantage What special advantages does your firm bring to the market space?
Market strategy How do you plan to promote your products or services to attract your target audience?
Organizational
development
What types of organizational structures within the firm are necessary to carry out the
business plan?
Management team
What kinds of experiences and background are important for the company’s leaders to
have?
Source: Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol G. Traver, E-commerce: Business, Technology,
Society (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007), 59.
E-Commerce Trends
For businesses already engaged in e-commerce and for those that are thinking about it, being
aware of the latest e-commerce trends is important because they could have a long-term
influence on the future of a company’s market. This influence, in turn, could mean life or death
for your e-commerce operations. Several general e-commerce trends can be identified, and they
are relevant to all e-commerce operations.
• E-commerce will continue to grab more market share. [30]
• It is expected that, in some way, the web will influence 53 percent of all purchases made in 2014. [31]
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• The lines between online and offline commerce will become less defined. If somebody buys from a mobile
device in your store, is that a web sale or a store sale? Retailers need to think of some new ways that they
can take the web’s influence into account. [32]
• B2B e-commerce will continue to significantly outpace B2C e-commerce, representing more than 85
percent of all e-commerce.
• M-commerce is the fastest growing segment of visitors to e-commerce websites. If a business does not
allow customers to both browse its catalog and conduct transactions on a mobile device, customers will
seek out other brands that offer such experience. [33]
• Many businesses have increased their social marketing initiatives through a combination of Facebook
pages, Twitter tweets, YouTube fan videos, and blogs. Any business that sells its products or services
online without having a social strategy will suffer. [34]
The following e-commerce trends specifically apply to small businesses:
• The Internet will continue to create opportunities for small businesses. It is now possible to buy a wide
range of specialized products and services that are not available elsewhere. The Internet has provided a
lifeline for many small producers and has allowed entrepreneurs to enter retailing without having to
invest heavily in physical outlets. [35] Small businesses can easily enter the e-commerce arena as pure-play
businesses. Take Socrata, an online service that makes it easy to share data—anything from crime
statistics to football schedules. This small start-up business discovered that federal agencies were the
site’s biggest users. “It became clear that a really good place for our technology was helping government
organizations share data in the interest of transparency.” [36]
• Broadband and wireless networks will be everywhere. Small businesses will need to factor in the effect of
the broadband revolution on their businesses. [37] Consider the case of the small, ten-person shop in
Seattle that engraves plaques and trophies. Today, 60 percent of its business is conducted online, with
customers who live outside the Seattle area. [38]
• The Internet will continue to be a platform that provides small businesses with a wide range of new tools,
services, and capabilities. Small businesses will find new ways to use the Internet, contributing to the
blurred distinctions between the physical and the virtual worlds.[39]
• Small business relationships will become increasingly virtual as online social networks expand. [40] Many
small businesses are promoting their presence on Facebook and Twitter. Westbrook Lobster and Arisco
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Farms are both small businesses in Connecticut that have an online social presence. Naked Pizza in New
Orleans has a presence on Twitter that has proven to be a boon to its business. [41]
Video Clip 4.2
Naked Pizza on Twitter
Naked Pizza can now be followed on Twitter.
Is E-Commerce for All Small Businesses?
Despite the popularity and pervasiveness of e-commerce, not all small businesses may be
interested in pursuing e-commerce as a part of their businesses. Many small businesses survive
without an online presence. However, business analysts have agreed for a long time “that for any
company larger than a local mom and pop store, e-commerce is now a business requirement.” [42]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• E-business and e-commerce are not synonymous terms. E-
commerce generates revenue. E-business does not.
• E-business and/or e-commerce may not be of interest to all
small businesses. However, using technology well is proving to
be one of the most prominent drivers of business success.
• E-business consists of several major components, one of which
is e-commerce.
• Every Internet business is either pure-play (an Internet
presence only) or brick-and-click (having both a physical and an
online presence).
• The seven major types of e-commerce are B2B, B2C, C2C, B2G,
C2B, m-commerce, and P2P.
• An e-commerce business model is the method that a business
uses to generate revenue online. Some models are very simple;
others are more complicated. New business models are being
introduced all the time.
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• E-commerce will continue to grab more market share, and the
line between online and offline commerce will become less
defined.
EXERCISES
1. In the Frank’s All-American BarBeQue case in Chapter 2 “Your
Business Idea: The Quest for Value”, the son, Robert Rainsford,
wants to bring his expertise to improving the operations of the
business. What other elements of digital technology, e-
business, and e-commerce could be used to improve
operations?
2. Joan Watson is the owner of Joan’s Gourmet Baskets,
a small brick-and-mortar business that specializes in
gourmet gift and picnic baskets. Joan has been
keeping up with the fancy food and gourmet food
trends (being a great fan of the Fancy Food Show that
is held several times a year), and she thinks she should
tap into this sector by creating an online business that
will complement her physical business. This would
make her baskets available to a wider market. She is
proud of the quality of her products and the customer
loyalty that she has earned through her hard work and
hopes she will be able to be just as successful in the e-
commerce environment.
Joan knows that she needs more information before
proceeding further. She has asked you to prepare a
report that answers the following questions: How will
her physical business compare to her online business;
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that is, where will things be the same, and where will
they be different? What business model should she
use? What are the special challenges and obstacles
she will face as she moves from traditional commerce
to e-commerce? What is Web 2.0 all about and does
she need to be concerned about it? She expects that
you will do additional gourmet foods research to
support your ideas.
[1] Kelly Wright, “E-Commerce vs. E-Business,” Poole College of Management, November 27, 2002,
accessed October 10, 2011, scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/e-commerce-vs.-e-business.
[2] Terri C. Albert and William B. Sanders, e-Business Marketing (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
2003), 2–4; and Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 4.
[3] Lena L. West, “Business Intelligence: The Crystal Ball of Champions,” Small Business Computing.com,
April 11, 2006, accessed October 10,
2011,www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.php/3598131/Business -Intelligence-The-
Crystal-Ball-of-Champions.htm.
[4] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 759.
[5] “What Is CRM?,” cestinationCRM.com, February 19, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/CRM-News/Daily-News/What-Is-CRM-46033.aspx.
[6] Thomas Wailgum and Ben Worthen, “Supply Chain Management Definition and Solutions,” CIO,
November 20, 2008, accessed October 10,
2011,www.cio.com/article/40940/Supply_Chain_Management_Definition_and_Solutions.
[7] Mary O. Foley, “ERP for Small Business: The Time is Ripe,” Inc., October 1, 2007, accessed October
10, 2011, technology.inc.com/2007/10/01/erp-for-small-business -the-time-is-ripe.
[8] Dachary Carey, “What Is Intranet Technology Used For?,” Life123, accessed October 10,
2011, www.life123.com/technology/internet/intranet/what-is-intranet.shtml.
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[9] Gerry Blackwell, “Altogether Now: Comparing Collaboration Software,” Small Business
Computing.com, January 28, 2008, accessed October 10,
2011,www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/buyersguide/article.php/10729_3724501_/Altogether-Now-
Comparing-Collaboration-Software.htm.
[10] “7 Things You Should Know about Wikis,” Educause Learning Initiative, July 2005, accessed October
10, 2011, net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004 .
[11] “Communicate Quickly and Efficiently Through Intranets, Extranets and Portals,” Gozapit
Interactive, 2009, accessed October 10, 2011,www.gozapit.com/intranet-extranet.htm.
[12] “Communicate Quickly and Efficiently Through Intranets, Extranets and Portals,” Gozapit
Interactive, 2009, accessed October 10, 2011,www.gozapit.com/intranet-extranet.htm.
[13] Elias M Awad, Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, 2005), 4.
[14] “E-commerce: Small Businesses Become Virtual Giants on the Internet,” accessed October 10,
2011,www.score.org/system/files/become_a_virtual_giant .
[15] Sandeep Krishnamurthy, E-Commerce Management: Text and Cases (Mason, OH: South-Western,
2003), 73.
[16] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 8.
[17] Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol G. Traver, E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007), 58; Turban et al., 2008, 8.
[18] Zorayda Ruth Andam, “e-Commerce and e-Business,” Asia and Pacific Training Centre for
Information and Communication Technology for Development, May 2003, accessed June 21,
2012, http://www.unapcict.org/ecohub/resources/e-commerce-and-e-
business/at_download/attachment1.
[19] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 8.
[20] “Ecommerce Definition and Types of Ecommerce,” DigitSmith, accessed October 10,
2011, www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html.
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[21] “Mobile Content Soars Thanks to Device and Network Advances,” eMarketer, August 31, 2010,
accessed October 10, 2011,www.emarketer.com/Articles/Print.aspx?1007899.
[22] Free Encyclopedia of Ecommerce, “Peer-to-Peer Technology (P(2P),” accessed June 1,
2012, http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/840/Peer-Peer-Technology-P2P.html.
[23] “Tamago Launches First Peer-to-Peer eCommerce System,” PR Leap, October 15, 2006, accessed
October 10, 2011, www.prleap.com/pr/51931.
[24] Michael Rappa, “Business Models on the Web,” DigitalEnterprise.org, January 17, 2010, accessed
October 10, 2011, digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html.
[25] David J. Teece, “Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation,” Long Range Planning 43, no.
2–3 (2010): 172–94.
[26] For additional discussions of business models, see Michael Rappa, “Business Models on the
Web,” DigitalEnterprise.org, January 17, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html; and Robert D. Atkinson et al., “The Internet Economy
25 Years After .Com: Transforming Commerce & Life,” Information Technology & Innovation Foundation,
March 2010, accessed October 10, 2011, www.itif.org/files/2010-25-years .
[27] “About Supply Chain Connect,” Supply Chain Connect, accessed October 10,
2011,www.supplychainconnect.com.
[28] Michael Rappa, “Business Models on the Web,” DigitalEnterprise.org, January 17, 2010, accessed
October 10, 2011, digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html.
[29] Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol G. Traver, E-Commerce: Business, Technology, Society (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007), 58; Efraim Turban et al.,Electronic Commerce: A Managerial
Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 8.
[30] Heather Green, “US Ecommerce Growth to Pick Up in 2010, But Hit Mature Stride,” Bloomberg
BusinessWeek, February 2, 2009, accessed October 10,
2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2009/02/us _ecommerce_gr.html.
[31] Geoffrey A. Fowler, “E-Commerce Growth Slows, But Still Out-Paces Retail,”Wall Street Journal,
March 8, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/03/08/e-commerce-growth-
slows-but-still-out-paces-retail.
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[32] Geoffrey A. Fowler, “E-Commerce Growth Slows, But Still Out-Paces Retail,”Wall Street Journal,
March 8, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/03/08/e-commerce-growth-
slows-but-still-out-paces-retail.
[33] Frank Gruber, “Exploring the Latest E-Commerce Industry Trends,” Tech Cocktail, June 3, 2010,
accessed October 10, 2011, techcocktail.com/exploring-the-latest-e -commerce-industry-trends-2010-
06.
[34] “Recap of Ecommerce Trends from the Internet Retailer 2010 Conference,”Tealeaf, June 22, 2010,
accessed October 10, 2011,tealeaf.typepad.com/blog/2010/06/recap-of-ecommerce-trends.html.
[35] “E-Commerce Industry,” QFinance, accessed October 10, 2011,www.qfinance.com/sector-
profiles/e-commerce.
[36] John Tozzi, “Gov 2.0: The Next Internet Boom,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, May 27, 2010, accessed
October 10, 2011,www.BusinessWeek.com/smallbiz/content/may2010/sb20100526_721134.htm.
[37] Steve King et al., “INTUIT Future of Small Business Report: Technology Trends and Small
Business,” Intuit, June 2007, accessed October 10, 2011, http-
download.intuit.com/http.intuit/CMO/intuit/futureofsmallbusiness/SR-1037B _intuit_tech_trends .
[38] Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, “Remarks at Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) Conference,” December 9, 2009, accessed October 10,
2011, www.commerce.gov/news/secretary-speeches/2009/12/09/remarks -organization-economic-
cooperation-and-development-oecd-conference.html.
[39] Steve King et al., “INTUIT Future of Small Business Report: Technology Trends and Small
Business,” Intuit, June 2007, accessed October 10, 2011, http-
download.intuit.com/http.intuit/CMO/intuit/futureofsmallbusiness/SR-1037B _intuit _tech_trends .
[40] Steve King et al., “INTUIT Future of Small Business Report: Technology Trends and Small
Business,” Intuit, June 2007, accessed October 10, 2011, http-
download.intuit.com/http.intuit/CMO/intuit/futureofsmallbusiness/SR-1037B _intuit_tech_trends .
[41] Abbey Klaasen, “Twitter Proves Its Worth as a Killer App for Local Businesses,” Advertising Age, May
18, 2009, accessed October 10, 2011,adage.com/article/digital/twitter-proves-worth-a-killer-app-local-
businesses/136662.
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[42] Beverly Kracher and Cynthia L. Corritore, “Is There a Special E-Commerce Ethics?,” Business Ethics
Quarterly 14, no. 1 (2004): 71–94.
4.2 E-Commerce Operations
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the issues associated with whether a small business
should buy or build its website.
2. Explain some of the legal issues that are relevant to e-
commerce.
3. Discuss the need for an ethical website, particularly in terms of
security, privacy, and trust.
4. Explain why order fulfillment is such an important part of
successful e-commerce.
There are multiple parts to the creation of an e-commerce website: the infrastructure (the nuts
and bolts building of the site), the e-marketing side (the design and creation of a web presence,
which is discussed in Chapter 7 “Marketing Strategy”), and the operational side. The operational
side is the focus of this section.
The Website: Buy or Build?
Unless a small business owner is technologically savvy or employs someone who is, building the
company’s website in-house from the ground up is not a particularly good idea. An effective
website presence requires a good looking, professionally designed website. There are several
approaches to having someone else build that website. Two are described here.
• Full-service web developers provide design, programming, support, hosting, search engine optimization,
and more. Any combination of the services can be selected. Having the developer perform all the services
would be the most expensive alternative. Hosting is the housing, serving, and maintaining of the files for
one or more websites.[1]Search engine optimization refers to the strategies intended to position a website
at the top of search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. [2]
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• A much lower-priced option is to select one of the many companies online that can help you to design
your website. Typically these sites provide a choice of website design templates that can be easily edited;
design services that are available if none of the templates meet your needs;
hosting; domain name selection (your business address or name on the Internet) and
domain name registration (registering your domain name with a domain name registrar and paying a fee
that must be renewed annually); [3] and search engine placement (submitting your website to specific
search engines of your choice). Intuit.com andWebs.com are two companies that offer these and other
services. The lowest level of services are often free.
A humorous look at getting a URL for your website at a rock bottom price.
The ultimate cost for a website will be a function of its size, complexity, and the level of design.
No two projects will cost the same. Part of the process of building a website, however, should be
conducting some research and talking with website designers. The Internet offers a variety of
sources on how to determine how much a website should cost. WebpageFX.com offers a
historical perspective on website costs, a cost calculator to find out how much a web project
would cost, and examples of specific web design and website development projects with cost
figures. [4]
Consider the following two scenarios:
• “A small business needs a website for their business so they have a presence on the Internet. The site is
simple—about 5 pages with information about the business, the services they provide, and a form that can
be submitted and the information received via email. The budget isn’t available for creating a graphic
‘look,’ and existing images will be used. A smaller, less experienced designer may take on a project like
this for a few hundred dollars. A medium sized firm might quote $3000 to $4000 depending on variables.
A larger firm would probably not take a project this small.” [5]
• “A mail order company wants to get into online sales. They currently have no website. They have a narrow
mix of about 200 products with a broad target market; it’s also time to update their image. Depending on
a wide range of variables, a project like this could start at about $7000 and go into six figures.” [6]
There is no easy answer to the question of how much a website will cost. “A simple answer is
that it will cost whatever a business is willing to spend—anywhere from free to millions of
dollars.” [7] A better way to address cost is to answer the following questions: [8]
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• What are your needs, goals, and expectations?
• What are the needs and expectations of your visitors, customers, and clients?
• Is your business already established with its unique brand or identity?
• What is required in terms of the skills, experiences, and level of design?
• Do you want to hire a high-profile design shop, a medium-sized design studio, a small company, or a
student?
• What can you afford to budget for your project?
Legal
There is nothing easy about the law. It is complex under the best of circumstances, but it is
necessary to protect the rights and privileges of people and businesses. Companies that choose
to engage in e-commerce must be aware of the legal environment because “a lack of
awareness…can lead to missteps as well as missed opportunities….” [9] A summary of important
legal issues for e-commerce is in Table 4.2 “Important Legal Issues for E-Commerce”. However,
the focus here is on three areas: electronic transactions, intellectual property, and jurisdiction.
Table 4.2 Important Legal Issues for E-Commerce
Issue Description
Jurisdiction The ability to sue in other states or countries.
Electronic
transactions All transactions that take place online.
Liability
The use of multiple networks and trading partners makes documenting responsibility difficult.
How can liability for errors, malfunctions, or fraudulent use of data be determined?
Identity fraud
The Identity, Theft, and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 makes identity fraud a federal
felony carrying a three- to twenty-five-year prison sentence.
Defamation
Is the Internet service provider liable for material published on the Internet because of services
it provides or supports? (Usually not.) Who else is liable for defamation? What if the publisher
is in another country?
Intellectual
property law Protects creations of the human mind.
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Issue Description
Digital
signatures
Digital signatures are recognized as legal in the United States and some but not all other
countries.
Regulation of
consumer
The United States allows the compilation and sale of customer databases. The European Union
does not.
Time and place
An electronic document signed in Japan on January 5 may have the date January 4 in Los
Angeles. Which date is considered legal if a dispute arises?
Electronic
contracts
If all the elements to establish a contract are present, an electronic contract is valid and
enforceable.
Taxation
Taxation of sales transactions by states is on hold in the United States and some but not all other
countries. Expect this issue to be revived because the potential for increased revenue to the
states is significant.
Source: Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective(Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 795.
Electronic transactions are the many kinds of transactions that take place online, including
contractual dealings, buying and selling of goods and services, information exchange, financial
transactions (credit card payments; payor services, such as PayPal; and money transfers), and
communications. When developing a website, the small business owner must ensure that all
online business transactions will be secure, particularly those involving money. This discussion
must take place with whomever is developing your website.
Intellectual property is “a creation of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works,
and symbols, names, images, and designs, used in commerce.” [10] Music, photos, videos, digital
news, and artwork are forms of intellectual property that can be transmitted over the Internet.
All small business owners need to be concerned about the theft of intellectual property. They are
afforded multiple protections, which are summarized inTable 4.3 “Intellectual Property
Protections”.
Table 4.3 Intellectual Property Protections
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Law Protection Provided by the Law
Intellectual property law Protects creations of the human mind
Patent law Protects inventions and discoveries
Copyright law
Protects original works of authorship, such as music and literary works
and computer programs
Trademark law
Protects brand names and other symbols that indicate source of goods
and services
Trade secret law Protects confidential business information
Law of licensing
Enables owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets to
share them with others on a mutually agreed-on basis
Law of unfair competition dealing with
counterfeiting and piracy
Protects against those who try to take a free ride on the efforts and
achievements of creative people
Source: Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective(Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 779.
It is important to protect intellectual property because businesses will not realize the full
benefits of their inventions and would be inclined to focus less on research and development.
Additionally, without intellectual property protections, “exporters face unfair competition
abroad, non-exporters face counterfeit imports at home, and all businesses face legal, health and
safety risks from the threat of counterfeit goods entering their supply chains.” [11]Unfortunately,
US small businesses are at a disadvantage because [12]
• They may lack the knowledge, expertise, or resources necessary to prevent the theft of their ideas and
products.
• Many small businesses do not have personnel and operators overseas, so they do not have the necessary
eyes and ears needed to be vigilant. The theft of their ideas and products often goes undetected.
• Small businesses generally do not have the kinds of access and resources that are likely available to larger
companies (e.g., specialized legal counsel).
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Because of the complexities of intellectual property protections, this area requires the services of
an attorney, preferably one experienced and knowledgeable in cyberlaw.
Jurisdiction refers to the right and power that a court has to interpret and apply the law in a
particular geographic location. [13] “A court must have jurisdiction over the litigants and the
claims before it entertains a lawsuit. In the context of Internet commerce, this issue erupts when
a dispute arises between businesses from different states [or countries].” [14] Many small
businesses will be selling products online in other states and in other countries, so it is
important to understand the jurisdictions that might be applicable to any online transaction. “In
many cases, laws from the customer’s state are the ones that will apply in the event a problem
arises. This is equally true regarding the laws of other countries.” [15] From the perspective of any
business, but particularly a small business, it would be much easier from both a time and a
money perspective to have an issue litigated in the home state of a business. Although there are
no guarantees, these steps can be taken to increase the chances of a dispute being settled in the
home state of a business: [16]
1. If using a contract with another party, make sure the contract says that any dispute must be filed in your
home state and that both parties to the contract agree to jurisdiction in that state.
2. When a customer is purchasing an item on the website of a business, one of the terms and conditions of
the transaction should be that the customer agree to jurisdiction in the home state of that business. This
can be done with a check box next to the statement. Make the customer check it off before completing the
purchase.
3. A less effective way is to include a disclaimer on the website that any transaction will convey jurisdiction
to the home state of a business, and any dispute must be heard by a court of competent jurisdiction in the
home state of the business.
All these steps should also be considered when selling to other countries. However, the laws in
other countries will undoubtedly introduce complications into protecting the US-based
business. Take the example of Yahoo! and the sale of Nazi memorabilia on one of its auction
websites. A French court ruled that such sales breached French law against the display of Nazi
items. Yahoo! took steps to remove and ban all such hate paraphernalia from its auction sites,
but it continued to fight jurisdiction of the French ruling in American courts. [17] It would be very
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easy for a small business to inadvertently find itself in a similar situation. That is why a business
needs to be careful when selling outside its home country. Be familiar with foreign laws. This is
not an easy task because the minute a business website goes live, the business goes global. The
laws of the world suddenly become relevant.
Ethical Issues
It is known that “ethical factors do play a significant role in e-consumers’ purchasing
decisions.” [18] Therefore, ethical factors should be of major concern in e-commerce and,
accordingly, in the information and protections offered by an e-commerce website.
It has been observed that the “Internet represents a new environment for unethical behavior,”
and “ethical transgressions are more likely to happen in e-transactions as compared to face-to-
face transactions.” [19] To a large extent, this is due to the absence of physical and interpersonal
cues that are present in traditional retailing or business settings. The implication is that e-
commerce operations should focus more specifically and explicitly on the ethics messages that
are being conveyed by the website. Thus the focus of this ethics discussion is on three major
components of e-commerce ethics: security, privacy, and trust.
Security and Privacy
Website security (the protection of a company, its suppliers, its customers, and its employees
from criminal activity) is a critical consideration for any small business engaged in e-commerce.
The Internet is a global playground for criminals. It is less risky to steal online because “the
potential for anonymity on the Internet cloaks many criminals in legitimate-looking identities,
allowing them to place fraudulent orders with online merchants, steal information by
intercepting e-mail,…shut down e-commerce sites by using software viruses,” [20] and steal
financial information and money. This new type of crime is referred to as cybercrime, and it is a
serious threat to e-commerce.
Cybercrime refers to any criminal activity that is done using computers and the Internet, [21] and
it includes a wide range of offenses. Downloading illegal music, stealing from online bank
accounts, stealing credit card numbers and personal information, stealing identities, posting
confidential business information on the Internet, and creating and distributing viruses on other
computers are only some of the thousands of crimes that are considered
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cybercrimes. [22] Cybercrimes can take place anytime and anyplace. It has cost American
companies a median loss of $3.8 million a year, and data protection and information technology
(IT) practitioners from 45 US organizations from various sectors reported that, across their
companies, 50 successful attacks were experienced over a four-week period.[23]
Cybercrime is more profitable than the illegal drug trade (more than $100 billion globally per
year). Every three seconds an identity is stolen, and without security, an unprotected PC can
become infected within four minutes of connecting to the Internet. [24] A Microsoft security
intelligence report maintains that cybercrime is fast maturing as a profession, with
cybercriminals becoming more sophisticated and packaging online threats that can be sold to
others. [25]
Examples of Cybercrimes [26]
The Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section of the US Department of Justice keeps a
running list of press releases related to cybercrimes. Here are three examples.
1. A Miami man pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in and possess unauthorized credit card
numbers with intent to defraud, and one count of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers.
2. A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty to Internet sales of unregistered, unlabeled pesticides for cats and
dogs while infringing on the trademark of two well-known national brand names, “Frontline” and
“Frontline Plus.” The man made more than 3,500 sales through eBay.
3. A Canadian man was sentenced to 33 years in prison for selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the
Internet.
Cybercrime hurts the bottom line of any business, but small and medium-sized businesses are
the new cybercrime target. “Hackers and computer criminals…are taking a new aim—directly at
small and midsize businesses…Smaller businesses offer a much more attractive target than
larger enterprises that have steeled themselves with years of security spending and compliance
efforts.” [27] Small businesses are potentially very lucrative targets for several reasons:
• Nearly one fifth of small businesses do not use antivirus software.
• Two thirds of small businesses do not have a security plan in place.
• Sixty percent of small businesses do not use encryption on their wireless links.
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• Only about 60 percent of mom-and-pop shops have met the credit card industry’s data security standards
for protecting credit card data. Compliance at the smallest businesses is even worse.
• Two thirds of small and medium-sized businesses believe that large companies are the main target for
cybercrime,…yet 85 percent of the fraud seen in business occurs in small and medium-sized
businesses. [28]
The cybercriminal is looking to steal and disrupt. Securing a website should be a top priority for
any company—small, medium, or large—that uses the Internet to conduct its business.
Given the state of cybercrime, assuring the security and the privacy of e-consumers (the
protection of the personal information of customers on the Internet) are necessary to build and
maintain confidence in the e-market, particularly because the risk of privacy invasion and
security flaws is significant. [29] Further, such assurances have been found to have a significant
impact on the willingness to purchase. [30]
E-customers voice their privacy concerns in different ways. Here are some examples: [31]
• “I don’t like websites that ask you for personal information that is not necessary for the purchase to be
made.”
• “All privacy notices contain the same information, and besides, how do I know that the website actually
follows the privacy policy.”
• “I’m not comfortable at all with the idea of the online retailer having my personal information and selling
it to other companies for marketing purposes.”
The scope of failure in protecting customers’ personal information can be potentially devastating
because of the global reach of the Internet; the effect can easily reach millions of
people. [32] Heartland is a payment processor responsible for handling about 100 million credit
card transactions every month. They disclosed in June 2009 that thieves had used malicious
software in its network in 2008 to steal an unknown number of credit card numbers. [33]
Fortunately, the theft of credit card and other personal information originating from websites
accounted for only about 11 percent of the identity theft or fraud that affected 11 million
Americans in 2009. [34] This is why the act of providing credit card information on a website for a
purchase is still considered by some people to be so risky that they refuse to conduct any
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Internet transactions. This has obvious implications for any small company that hopes to do
business online.
Fortunately, there is a very straightforward way to provide the security and privacy that online
customers seek: the use ofSecure Sockets Layer (SSL), a security protocol that is used by web
browsers and web servers to help users protect their data during transfer.[35] Companies
like VeriSign offer SSL protection certificates, and the placement of its icon on a website can
offer security and privacy assurances to online customers. The inclusion of SSL protection
should be discussed with your website designer.
Trust
Trust is about believing—believing that someone will do what they say and that they will not
intentionally do something to hurt you. Trust is an important part of all business relationships.
Without trust, all e-commerce would come to a halt. “Trust is central to establishing successful
e-commerce ventures and to ensure the continued success of this business paradigm into the
future.” [36] Trust will improve competitiveness, reduce the costs of doing business, build loyalty,
and increase the effectiveness of websites. In short, trust can be an important source of
competitive advantage. Trust is essential.
In the physical world, trust is much easier to develop. Physical cues from spaces and buildings,
face-to-face voice and body language, and salesperson effectiveness can translate easily into
trust relationships. In the online world, however, trust develops as a result of the complex
interaction of multiple factors that have design implications for the website. Here are some
examples of trust: [37]
• The customer observes the seller to be honest, fair, responsible, and benevolent.
• The customer expects that the company behind the website will not engage in opportunistic behavior.
• The customer is confident about the site’s security and privacy protection (security and privacy having
been shown to be an important determinant of a customer’s willingness to buy online).
• The customer perceives the company’s website as appealing (linked to layout, typography, font size, and
color choices)—the belief being that an appealing website reflects a company has the capabilities and
resources to fulfill its promises.
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• The customer experiences a site that is easy to use (i.e., easy to navigate, easy to search, easy to gather
information) and has relevant content, interactivity, site consistency, and site reliability.
• The customer perceives presentation flaws (e.g., poor style, incompleteness, language errors, conflicting
colors, delay, and confusing terminology) as indicators of a low-quality, untrustworthy website.
Another element of trust is order fulfillment. Order fulfillment is all about meeting expectations,
and some argue that this is the most important element of trust. [38] Delays in the delivery of a
product, the delivery of the wrong product, and the hassles of returning merchandise are
stresses that can contribute to a less-than-satisfactory Internet buying experience. Such
experiences contribute to a lack of trust. In contrast, satisfied consumers express themselves
this way: [39]
• “Products at this site are a bit pricey, but it is worth purchasing from this site since you get what you order
and within the promised delivery time.”
• “I keep purchasing from this site because they always have the items I want in stock.”
Buying some products online, such as clothing, furniture, and toys, does not offer buyers the
opportunity to touch and feel the product before buying. As a result, order fulfillment becomes
even more important to customer satisfaction.
Linked closely to order fulfillment is product reliability. Product reliability refers to “the
accurate display and description of a product so that what customers receive is what they
thought they ordered.” [40] Online retailers should provide a complete and realistic description of
the product and its benefits—with high-quality pictures and perhaps even demonstration videos
if possible, appropriate, and affordable—along with product availability and likely ship dates.
Customers should be notified by e-mail of order acceptance, and the anticipated delivery date
with phone and e-mail contacts for any needed assistance.
Video Link 4.1
Inflatable Fruitcake
Inflatable fruitcake with demonstration.
www.inflatablefruitcake.com/
What all this says is that website owners must proceed carefully to create their online presence
in a way that will inspire trust. “If consumers trust online merchants and have confidence in the
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reliability and integrity of merchants, they will likely feel more at ease making purchases and
disclosing sensitive information online. Therefore, the success of online merchants and the
future of e-commerce may depend heavily on online trust.” [41]
Payment Options
Nowhere are security, privacy, and trust more necessary than at the point of payment. Without
this transaction, there is no e-commerce, so it is imperative that small businesses selling online
take the necessary steps to reduce customer concerns about shopping online. A recent survey
found that retailers operating online may have lost more than $44 billion dollars over a one-year
period as a result of transaction problems on their websites; in addition, 27 percent of online
shoppers would turn to an offline or online competitor if they encountered an online transaction
issue. [42] More specifically, online shoppers who encountered a transaction problem would react
as follows: [43]
• Sixty-six percent would contact customer service, including
o Fifty-three percent calling customer service; and
o Thirty-six percent e-mailing or logging a web complaint with customer service.
• Thirty-two percent would abandon the transaction entirely, including
o Twenty-seven percent turning to an online or offline competitor.
To make matters even worse, the potential for lost revenue when customers have a negative
online shopping experience is amplified by the rising use of social media like Facebook and
Twitter; the voicing of displeasure on social networks can significantly damage a company’s
reputation. [44] The message is clear. Online transactions must run smoothly.
But there is another important issue: the number of payment options that are offered to the
customer. Research shows that the more payment options customers have, the more likely they
will complete their purchase. [45]
• Merchants offering multiple payment methods have lower cart abandonment rates.
• If you can afford it and maintain your profit margin, offering multiple payment options is a means to
increase your sales by increasing customer confidence and convenience.
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• North American online businesses with four or more options for payment see an
average sales conversion rate of 72 percent. The sales conversion rate is the percentage of site visitors that
make a purchase.
• Each new payment option added at the point of checkout results in a sales increase of 5–20 percent.
Customers shopping online expect convenience and a variety of payment options. Credit cards
are by far the most popular means for making an online payment, with one survey indicating
that 70 percent of online consumers used this payment method. [46] Any small business that does
not have its website set up to accept credit cards will lose 60–80 percent of its potential orders.
Further, offering a credit card option will increase the number of orders, and those orders will
be substantially larger because credit cards enable impulse buying, reassure customers of your
legitimacy, and simplify your billing. [47]
Consistent with credit cards being the online payment method of choice, it has been reported
that 99 percent of online businesses offer a general purpose credit card, which include Visa,
MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. [48] However, debit cards are growing in
popularity ahead of other payment alternatives.
Table 4.4 Payment Options Consumers Used to Make Online Purchases in 2009
Payment Option % Used
Major credit card usable anywhere 70
Major debit card usable anywhere 55
Online payment service, such as PayPal or Google Checkout 51
Gift card good only at a specific merchant 41
Store-branded credit card good only at the merchant that issued the card 27
Prepaid card or payroll card usable anywhere 17
Online credit service such as BillMeLater 17
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Payment Option % Used
Store-branded debit card good only at merchant that issued the card 16
The implications of this for small business are that credit cards should be the first payment
method that should be set up for online sales. Additional payment methods should be added as
quickly as the budget allows because it is clear that more payment options translate into a
greater likelihood of purchase. However, the choice of alternative payment methods should be in
keeping with the growth strategy of the business. It may be that offering one method of payment
provides a satisfactory level of sales, thereby eliminating the need for additional methods for
sales growth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• It is important to protect intellectual property.
• Ethics influence consumer purchases.
• Small businesses are the new target for cybercrime. As a result,
small businesses must pay attention to their website security
because it will protect the business and influence customer
trust.
EXERCISES
1. Find three small business websites. Analyze each website in
terms of its trustworthiness. Discuss why you would or would
not trust each site. Be specific.
2. Discuss whether you think an unintelligible privacy policy is
ethical. Be specific in your arguments.
[1] “What Is Hosting (Web Site Hosting, Web Hosting, and Webhosting)?,” accessed October 21,
2011, searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/hosting.
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[2] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 758.
[3] Christopher Heng, “How to Register Your Own Domain Name,”Thesitewizard.com, 2010, accessed
October 10, 2011,www.thesitewizard.com/archive/registerdomain.shtml.
[4] “How Much Should a Web Site Cost?,” 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.webpagefx.com/How-
much-should-web-site-cost.html.
[5] “How Much Does a Website Cost?,” Planetlink.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.planetlink.com/articles/how_much_does_website_cost.html.
[6] “How Much Does a Website Cost?,” Planetlink.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.planetlink.com/articles/how_much_does_website_cost.html.
[7] “How Much Does a Website Cost?,” Planetlink.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.planetlink.com/articles/how_much_does_website_cost.html.
[8] “How Much Does a Website Cost?,” Planetlink.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.planetlink.com/articles/how_much_does_website_cost.html.
[9] Kathleen Mykytn and Peter P. Mykytn, “The Importance of the Law for E-Commerce
Strategies,” Information Systems Management 22, no. 2 (2005): 50–56.
[10] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 774.
[11] “Why Protect Intellectual Property?,” StopFakes.gov, accessed June 1,
2012,http://origin.www.stopfakes.gov/learn-about-ip/ip/why-should-i-protect-my-ip.
[12] “Why Protect Intellectual Property?,” StopFakes.gov, accessed June 1,
2012,http://origin.www.stopfakes.gov/learn-about-ip/ip/why-should-i-protect-my-ip.
[13] Peter LaSorsa, “Selling Products Online: What Legal Jurisdiction,” Practical eCommerce, November
5, 2008, accessed October 10, 2011,www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/860-Selling-Products-
Online-What-Legal -Jurisdiction-Applies-.
[14] Elias M. Awad, Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-
Hall, 2005), 387.
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[15] Peter LaSorsa, “Selling Products Online: What Legal Jurisdiction,” Practical eCommerce, November
5, 2008, accessed October 10, 2011,www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/860-Selling-Products-
Online-What-Legal -Jurisdiction-Applies-.
[16] Peter LaSorsa, “Selling Products Online: What Legal Jurisdiction,” Practical eCommerce, November
5, 2008, accessed October 10, 2011,www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/860-Selling-Products-
Online-What-Legal -Jurisdiction-Applies-.
[17] Kathleen Mykytn and Peter Mykytn, “The Importance of the Law For E-Commerce
Strategies,” Information Systems Management 22, no. 2 (2005): 50–56.
[18] Avshalom M. Adam, Avshalom Aderet, and Arik Sadeh, “Do Ethics Matter to E-Consumers?,” Journal
of Internet Commerce 6, no. 2 (2007): 19–34.
[19] Sergio Roman, “The Ethics of Online Retailing: A Scale Development and Validation from the
Consumer’s Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics, 72 (2007): 131–48.
[20] Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol G. Traver, E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007), 248.
[21] “Cybercrime,” TechTerms.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime.
[22] “Cybercrime,” TechTerms.com, accessed October 10,
2011,www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime.
[23] Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera, “Cybercrime Costs Firms $3.8 Million Yearly,”Computer Crime
Research Center, August 3, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.crime-
research.org/news/03.08.2010/3807.
[24] “What Is Cybercrime?,” Symantec, accessed October 10,
2011,us.norton.com/cybercrime/definition.jsp; and “Cyber Crime ‘More Profitable Than Drugs’,” 9News,
June 9, 2009, accessed October 10, 2011,news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/cyber-crime-more-
profitable-than-drugs-20090609-c1qm.html.
[25] Rudolph Muller, “Cybercrime Getting More Sophisticated,” Mybroadband, June 24, 2010, accessed
October 10, 2011, mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/13279-Cybercrime-getting-more-
sophisticated.html.
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[26] “Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section,” US Department of Justice, accessed October 10,
2011, www.cybercrime.gov.
[27] Tim Wilson, “Small Business: The New Black in Cybercrime Targets,” Dark Reading, March 19, 2009,
accessed October 10, 2011,www.darkreading.com/security/perimeter-security/215901301/small-
business-the-new-black-in-cybercrime -targets.html.
[28] Tim Wilson, “Small Business: The New Black in Cybercrime Targets,” Dark Reading, March 19, 2009,
accessed October 10, 2011,www.darkreading.com/security/perimeter-security/215901301/small-
business-the-new-black-in-cybercrime -targets.html.
[29] Avshalom M. Adam, Avshalom Aderet, and Arik Sadeh, “Do Ethics Matter to E-Consumers?,” Journal
of Internet Commerce 6, no.2 (2007): 19–34.
[30] Naresh K. Malhotra, Sung S. Kim, and James Agarwal, “Internet Users’ Information Privacy Concerns
(IUIPC): The Construct, the Scale and a Causal Model,” Information Systems Research 15, no. 4 (2004):
289–304, as cited in Avshalom M. Adam, Avshalom Aderet, and Arik Sadeh, “Do Ethics Matter to E-
Consumers?,” Journal of Internet Commerce 6, no.2 (2007): 19–34.
[31] Sergio Roman, “The Ethics of Online Retailing: A Scale Development and Validation from the
Consumer’s Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics, 72 (2007): 131–48.
[32] Beverly Kracher and Cynthia L. Corritore, “Is There a Special E-Commerce Ethics?,” Business Ethics
Quarterly 14, no. 1 (2004): 71–94.
[33] Eric Larkin, “Massive Theft of Credit Card Numbers Reported,” PCWorld, January 20, 2009, accessed
October 10, 2011,www.pcworld.com/article/158003/massive
_theft_of_credit_card_numbers_reported.html.
[34] “Javelin Study Finds Identity Fraud Reached New High in 2008, but Consumers Are Fighting
Back,” Javelin Strategy and Research, February 10, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.javelinstrategy.com/news/831/92/Javelin-Study-Finds-Identity-Fraud -Reached-New-High-
but-Consumers-are-Fighting-Back/d,pressRoomDetail.
[35] “FAQ: SSL Basics,” VeriSign Authentication Services, 2011, accessed October 10,
2011, www.verisign.com/ssl/ssl-information-center/ssl-basics.
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[36] Albert J. Marcella, Establishing Trust in Virtual Markets (Altamonte Springs, FL: The Institute of
Internal Auditors, 1999), as cited in Beverly Kracher and Corritore, “Is There A Special E-Commerce
Ethics?,” Business Ethics Quarterly 14, no. 1 (2004): 71–94.
[37] Avshalom Adam, Avshalom Aderet, and Arik Sadeh, “Do Ethics Matter to E-Consumers?,” Journal of
Internet Commerce 6, no. 2 (2007): 19–34; Andrea Everard and Dennis F. Galletta, “How Presentation
Flaws Affect Perceived Site Quality, Trust, and Intention to Purchase from an Online Store,” Journal of
Management Information Systems 22, no. 3 (2005–6): 55–95; William Hampton-Sosa and Marios
Koufaris, “The Effect of Web Site Perceptions on Initial Trust in the Owner Company,” International
Journal of Electronic Commerce 10, no. 1 (2005): 55–81; Beverly Kracher and Cynthia L. Corritore, “Is
There a Special E-Commerce Ethics?,”Business Ethics Quarterly 14, no. 1 (2004): 71–94; and Sergio
Roman, “The Ethics of Online Retailing: A Scale Development and Validation from the Consumers’
Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics 72 (2007): 131–48.
[38] Terry Newholm et al., “Multi-Story Trust and Online Retailer Strategies,”International Review of
Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 14, no. 4 (2004): 437–56.
[39] Sergio Roman, “The Ethics of Online Retailing: A Scale Development and Validation from the
Consumers’ Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics 72 (2007): 131–48.
[40] Sergio Roman, “The Ethics of Online Retailing: A Scale Development and Validation from the
Consumers’ Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics 72 (2007): 131–48.
[41] Ye Diana Wang and Henry H. Emurian, “Trust in E-Commerce: Consideration of Interface Design
Factors,” Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations 3, no. 4 (2005): 42–60.
[42] “Tealeaf Survey Reveals That Online Retailers Potentially Lost More Than $44 Billion Due to
Transaction Problems on Their Sites,” Tealeaf, September 27, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.tealeaf.com/news/news-releases/2010/Tealeaf-Survey -Reveals-Online-Retailers-
Potentially-Lost.php.
[43] “Tealeaf Survey Reveals That Online Retailers Potentially Lost More Than $44 Billion Due to
Transaction Problems on Their Sites,” Tealeaf, September 27, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.tealeaf.com/news/news-releases/2010/Tealeaf-Survey -Reveals-Online-Retailers-
Potentially-Lost.php.
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[44] “Tealeaf Survey Reveals That Online Retailers Potentially Lost More Than $44 Billion Due to
Transaction Problems on Their Sites,” Tealeaf, September 27, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.tealeaf.com/news/news-releases/2010/Tealeaf-Survey -Reveals-Online-Retailers-
Potentially-Lost.php.
[45] Delilah Obie, “Choosing a Vendor to Process Your Online Transactions,”SCORE, accessed October
10, 2011, www.score.org/resources/online-transactions-vendor; “How to Increase Sales with Online
Payment Options,” March 22, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011, www.openforum.com/idea-
hub/topics/money/article/how-to -increase-sales-with-online-payment-options-thursday-bram; “More
Payment Options Can Mean More Business,” MivaCentral, 2009, accessed October 10,
2011, mivacentral.com/articles/payment.mv; T. Brandon, “Multiple Payment Processing Options
Increase Sales,” eZine Articles, October 21, 2007, accessed October 10,
2011, ezinearticles.com/?Multiple-Payment-Processing-Options-Increase-Sales&id= 793303; and Efraim
Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice
Hall, 2008).
[46] “Online Retail Payments Forecast 2010–2014: Alternative Payments Growth Strong but Credit Card
Projected for Comeback,” Javelin Strategy and Research, February 2010, accessed October 10,
2011,www.javelinstrategy.com/research/Brochure-171.
[47] Delilah Obie, “Choosing a Vendor to Process Your Online Transactions,”SCORE, accessed October
10, 2011, www.score.org/resources/online-transactions-vendor.
[48] “More Payment Options Can Mean More Business,” MivaCentral, 2009, accessed October 10,
2011, mivacentral.com/articles/payment.mv.
4.3 E-Commerce Technology
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain what an e-commerce platform is.
2. Discuss the importance of a CRM solution to a small business.
3. Explain m-commerce and why small businesses should
consider incorporating it into their e-commerce strategy.
4. Explain the significance of Web 2.0 to a small business.
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As discussed in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”, digital technology has put small
business on a more equal footing with its larger competitors. Although it is certainly true that a
commitment to technology is not for every small business, it is also true that technology is
transforming small business in important ways: (1) businesses are easier to find online than ever
before; (2) communicating with customers is shifting to e-mail marketing and social media; (3)
e-mail and mobile phones are improving productivity; (4) collaboration among employees who
are working in multiple venues is easier; (5) outsourcing is easier; and (6) more companies are
shifting their attention to how they can sell products and services online. Using technology well
is proving to be one of the most prominent drivers of business success. [1]
Technology specifically related to e-commerce is a large umbrella. E-commerce platforms,
customer relationship management (CRM), going mobile, and Web 2.0 will be discussed in this
section.
E-Commerce Platforms
An e-commerce platform is the software that makes it possible for a business to sell online. In
general, the core e-commerce platform should support basic requirements such as custom
styling, search engine optimization, credit card processing, promotions, catalog
management, analytics, product browsing, checkout, and order management. Additionally, e-
commerce platforms should provide self-service content management systems (CMS), support
multiple languages, and support multiple stores. [2] These requirements may vary slightly
depending on which type of e-commerce is being conducted. Analytics refer to the tools that can
track the different ways people use your website and then make sense of the data. [3] Analytics
will be discussed in further detail in Chapter 8 “The Marketing Plan”.
The all-in-one e-commerce platform solution has become more popular with online merchants.
This solution provides everything: the core e-commerce platform plus hosting, accounting,
analytics, and marketing tools such as e-mail management. Because all the tools are integrated,
they work together. [4] It has also been reported that e-commerce platforms are now enabling
online retailers to better reach consumers through mobile devices and social media sites. [5] This
is great news for the small business that wants to tap into these growing markets.
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The list of e-commerce software providers is always growing, but there are many products that
are tailored specifically for small to medium-sized businesses. Some of the names that come up
frequently for small business are BigCommerce, Magento, Affinity Internet, ProStores (for the
smaller merchant), and Miva Merchant. However, this list is not exhaustive, and new products
enter the marketplace all the time.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management, as mentioned in Chapter 2 “Your Business Idea: The
Quest for Value”, refers to “a customer service approach that focuses on building long-term and
sustainable customer relationships that add value for the customer and the company.” [6] Some
small businesses may wonder whether they really need the added complexity of a small business
CRM solution. The answer will depend to a large extent on the size of the business and its
growth objectives. However, it has been observed that there is no small business out there that,
“sometimes in spite of themselves, didn’t benefit from implementing a…CRM or its watered
down equivalent—a simpler Contact Management software solution.” [7] Recent studies have
revealed that CRM applications account for the following: [8]
• Revenue increases of up to 41 percent per salesperson
• Decreased sales cycles of over 24 percent
• Lead conversion rate improvements of over 300 percent
• Customer retention improvements of 27 percent
• Decreased sales and marketing costs of 23 percent
• Improved profit margins of over 2 percent
It has also been noted that companies can boost their profits by almost 100 percent by retaining
just 5 percent of their customers. [9] What does this mean for the small business that chooses to
go with a CRM solution? As long as the solution is well implemented and actually used, there
should be an immediate payoff and productivity improvement throughout the company.
Additionally, choosing to engage in e-commerce makes the selection of a CRM solution even
more important because the quality of customer relationships is so important to online success.
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Although there was a time when CRM solutions were not feasible for small business, they are
available today for even the smallest businesses. These CRM solutions are priced and designed
with the small business in mind.
Going Mobile
As defined earlier in this chapter, mobile e-commerce (m-commerce)refers to the
purchase of goods and services through wireless technology, such as cell phones and handheld
devices. It consists of two primary components: “…the ability to use a wireless phone or other
mobile device to conduct financial transactions and exchange payments over the Internet…and
the ability to deliver information that can facilitate a transaction—from making it easy for your
business to be ‘found’ via a mobile Web browser to creating mobile marketing campaigns such
as text promotions and loyalty programs.” [10] It is predicted that in 2015 m-commerce revenues
will make up 8.5 percent of all US e-commerce revenue and 20 percent of global e-commerce
revenue. In the United States, that will represent only one half of 1 percent of all retail
revenues. [11] However, even though m-commerce is lagging behind other mobile uses, wireless
devices and m-commerce are expected to create another revolution in e-commerce. The most
important thing that online retailers can do is to “…take action soon because the mobile
environment is adapting much more quickly than the web.” [12]
Small businesses need to sort out the hype from what’s real. What’s real are the facts and the
trends. [13]
1. From the second quarter 2009 through the second quarter 2010, Amazon’s customers around the world
used mobile devices to buy more than $1 billion in products. This is a trend that any small business with
an e-commerce website should watch closely.
2. Mobile devices connected to the Internet are reshaping the way people are going about their personal and
professional lives.
3. One of the fastest growth areas in e-commerce will be using mobile devices to make online purchases.
4. Close to 80 percent of organizations plan to have mobile websites by the end of 2011. Online retailers
without an m-commerce strategy will be in the minority.
5. Handheld devices are increasingly being used to research products, compare prices, and buy online while
shopping.
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6. A central driver to m-commerce growth is smartphone ownership and the corresponding mobile
Internet use.
7. Nearly 58 percent of Americans have researched a product or a service online.
8. Among cell phone owners, 11 percent purchased a product or a service using their phones.
Video Clip 4.8
Mobile E-Commerce Capabilities
Gene Alvarez, Gartner Group, discusses m-commerce.
Major retailers have been able to easily offer remote access to customers who want to make
purchases using mobile devices (e.g., Target and Nordstrom). Software is now available for
small businesses to offer some of the same bells and whistles, giving their online customers the
ability to shop via smartphones. [14]
Mobile e-commerce may not be for all small businesses, but a small business owner who is
already in e-commerce or has plans to do so should give it consideration. Multichannel shoppers
tend to purchase more, so small companies need to think of ways to “effectively engage
customers by delivering consistent, rich experiences across all channels, including mobile, to
maintain and fuel double-digit ecommerce industry growth rates.” [15]Online customers are
ready and increasingly interested in using mobile devices to make purchases.
Web 2.0
There is no agreement about an exact definition of Web 2.0 but, in general, it refers to websites
that are more interactive, engaging, and interesting than before. A Web 2.0 site is one where
visitors can engage with you, your business, and your site by doing things like the following: [16]
• Posting comments on your blog or your articles or chatting in a forum
• Retweeting your content, sharing it on Facebook, or Digging it
• Watching a video, listening to a podcast, or participating in a webinar
• Taking a quiz or responding to a poll
Web 2.0 is about having a conversation with your customers. This is very different
from Web 1.0, where websites were static and all you could do was read. Web 2.0 sites are
collaborative and interactive. The small business that creates a site that engages and interacts
with people, that makes people want to stick around, will be giving people more of a chance to
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create a connection with the business. [17] These closer ties will increase customer awareness and
consideration of the company’s products and services, improve customer satisfaction, increase
the chances of loyalty, increase the chances for sales, and add to the bottom line. There will also
be significant benefits realized between the small business and its suppliers and partners:
lowering the costs of communication and doing business.
A much smaller percentage of small businesses have adopted elements of Web 2.0 as compared
to large enterprises and midsize companies. [18]However, many small businesses are using Web
2.0 in a variety of positive ways. [19]
• One business owner operated a Facebook group, attracted interest in the business, and developed loyalty
through the group.
• Another business routinely put press releases online and attested to their value at getting the company’s
website found in search engines.
• The owner of a product company reported good results with videos that were loaded on YouTube and on
the company’s website. The video attracted people to the site and also engaged existing visitors on the site.
• A small real-estate company has a Facebook page, a blog, and a property value calculator that allows
homeowners to calculate an approximation of their home’s value without having to speak with a realtor.
The information is then sent via e-mail.
As Web 2.0 keeps evolving, the value and opportunities it will bring to small businesses will
continue to grow. “The increased flow of two-way information between business and customer,
the increase in information distribution through blogs and wikis, and the increased participation
of customers in product improvement and even design will continue. By adopting Web 2.0
technologies and tools, small businesses can improve market share, profit, and reputation, now
and in the future.” [20]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• E-commerce platforms make it possible for businesses to sell
online. The all-in-one platform solution has become more
popular with online merchants. There are many platforms that
are tailored specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
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• Small businesses should think about CRM. CRM solutions are
now available for even the smallest of businesses.
• Even though m-commerce is lagging behind other mobile uses,
wireless devices and m-commerce are expected to create
another revolution in e-commerce.
• Web 2.0 is important. It is about having a conversation with
your customers. Small businesses need to learn about it and
strongly consider incorporating it into their e-commerce
strategies.
• Web 2.0 keeps evolving, so the value and opportunities it will
bring to small businesses will continue to grow.
EXERCISES
1. Select three small business websites. Identify the features that
are examples of Web 2.0.
2. Find three CRM solutions (software products) online that are
geared to small businesses. Compare the features. If you
owned a small business, which one would you choose? Why?
[1] Ross Dawson, “Six Ways Technology Is Transforming Small Business,” Ross Dawson Blog, November
18, 2009, accessed October 10,
2011,rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2009/11/six_ways_techno.html.
[2] “Ecommerce Integration,” Treehouse Logic, May 20, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, blog.treehouselogic.com/2010/05/20/ecommerce-integration.
[3] Justin Whitney, “What Is Web Analytics?,” AllBusiness.com, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-advertising/11382028 -1.html.
[4] James Macguire, “Starting Your Own E-Business, Pt 2: Choosing a Platform,”ecommerce-guide.com,
September 26, 2005, accessed October 10, 2011,www.ecommerce-
guide.com/solutions/building/article.php/3551461.
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[5] “E-commerce Platforms Offer Retailers New Social and Mobile Features,Internet Retailer, April 22,
2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.internetretailer.com/ECTR/article.asp?id=34549.
[6] Efraim Turban et al., Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008), 75.
[7] Perry Norgarb, “Does Your Small Business Even Need a CRM Software Solution?,” SmallBizCRM,
accessed October 10, 2011, www.smallbizcrm.com/does-your -small-business-need-a-software-
solution.html.
[8] Peter Norgarb, “So Where Do You Start? How Do You Start?,” 2010,www.smallbizcrm.com.
[9] Peter Norgarb, “So Where Do You Start? How Do You Start?,” 2010,www.smallbizcrm.com.
[10] Laurie McCabe, “Mobile Commerce: Coming to Ecommerce Sites Near You,”ecommerce-guide.com,
September 14, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.ecommerce-
guide.com/news/trends/article.php/3903526/Mobile-Commerce -Coming-to-Ecommerce-Sites-Near-
You.htm.
[11] Ian Mansfield, “US Mobile Ecommerce Revenues Set to Rise to $23.8bn in 2015, Cellular-News, April
14, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011, www.cellular-news.com/story/42841.php.
[12] Brendan Gibbons, “To Tap Mobile Buyers, First Determine Their Needs,”Practical eCommerce,
March 16, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1732-To-Tap-
Mobile-Buyers-First-Determine -Their-Needs.
[13] Jim Jansen, “Online Product Research: 58% of Americans Have Researched a Product or Service
Online,” September 29, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-
Product-Research.aspx; “Majority of Online Retailers Plan to Have Mobile Ecommerce Websites by
2011,” Deluxe for Business, August 20, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011,http://deluxesmallbizblog.com/web-design/search-marketing/majority-of-online-retailers-plan-to-
have-mobile-ecommerce-websites-by-2011; Laurie McCabe, “Mobile Commerce: Coming to Ecommerce
Sites Near You,” ecommerce-guide.com, September 14, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011, www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/trends/article.php/3903526/Mobile-Commerce -Coming-to-
Ecommerce-Sites-Near-You.htm; Ian Mansfield, “Mobile Internet Devices Expected to Surpass One
Billion by 2013,” Cellular-News, December 9, 2009, accessed October 10, 2011, www.cellular-
news.com/story/40997.php; John Lawson, “75% of Online Retailers Are Ramping Up Mobile
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Strategies,” ColderICE, accessed June 1, 2012, http://colderice.com/75-of-online-retailers-are-ramping-
up-mobile-strategies/; Aaron Smith, “Mobile Access 2010,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 7,
2010, accessed October 10, 2011,www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx; and
Ian Mansfield, “US Mobile Ecommerce Revenues Set to Rise to $23.8bn in 2015,Cellular-News, April 14,
2010, accessed October 10, 2011, www.cellular-news.com/story/42841.php.
[14] Stuart J. Johnston, “Small Business Ecommerce Trends: Shop by Smartphone,”Small Business
Computing.com, September 7, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011,www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3902136/Small-Business -Ecommerce-
Trends-Shop-by-Smartphone.html.
[15] “Majority of Online Retailers Plan to Have Mobile Ecommerce Websites by 2011,” Deluxe for
Business, August 20, 2010, accessed October 10, 2011,deluxesmallbizblog.com/web-design/search-
marketing/majority-of-online-retailers -plan-to-have-mobile-ecommerce-websites-by-2011.
[16] Steve Strauss, “Maximizing Your Web Presence Is Key to Building Your Small Business,” USA Today,
April 11, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011,www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2010-04-11-building-web-
presence_N.htm.
[17] Steve Strauss, “Maximizing Your Web Presence Is Key to Building Your Small Business,” USA Today,
April 11, 2010, accessed October 10,
2011,www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2010-04-11-building-web-
presence_N.htm.
[18] Heather Claney, “Small Businesses Apparently Slow to Adopt Web 2.0 Philosophies,” IT Knowledge
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marker/small-businesses-apparently -slow-to-adopt-web-20-philosophies.
[19] Anita Campbell, “Real Life Examples of Business Owners Using Social Media,” Small Business Trends,
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[20] Sang-Heui Lee, David DeWester, and So Ra Park, “Web 2.0 and Opportunities for Small
Businesses,” Service Business 2, no. 4 (2008): 335–45.
4.4 The Three Threads
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain how e-business and e-commerce contribute to
customer value.
2. Explain how e-business and e-commerce can benefit a
company’s cash flow.
3. Explain why e-business and e-commerce are becoming
increasingly necessary for small business survival.
Customer Value Implications
E-business in general and e-commerce in particular can both contribute to increased customer
value. In the case of e-business, moving operations to digital technology can improve
productivity, reduce or eliminate duplicative processes, streamline supply chain management
and enterprise resource planning, improve customer and vendor relationships, improve
business intelligence, increase and improve internal collaboration while doing the same with
external business partners. In all instances, the customer, the vendor, and the business partner
should realize increased value from doing business with the company in terms of greater
efficiency, speed of information flows and transactions, and overall satisfaction.
In the case of e-commerce, customer value is provided via convenience, a greater selection of
products, the ability to easily compare prices and services, 24/7 availability, privacy protection,
multiple payment options, and reliable order fulfillment processes. Web 2.0, in particular,
presents “consumers with a whole array of options in searching for value products and services
and finding exactly what they need and want with minimum efforts, in line with the current
customer desire for personalization, individual approach and empowerment.” [1]
Cash-Flow Implications
The cash flow of a small business should benefit from all the sources of value just mentioned
because they should result in lower operating costs, improved customer relationships, and
higher sales. In particular, cash flow should increase as a result of the following:
• Prepaid purchases by business-to-business (B2B) customers. This may apply to other e-commerce
customers as well.
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• Multiple payment options. The greater the number of options, the higher the number of sales and the
higher the average order size.
• Lower costs of sales as a result of the reduced need for telephone, travel expenses, and live salespeople.
• Eliminating many steps in business processes and cutting out the middlemen. [2]
• Saving money on employees and salaries because ofcustomer outsourcing (i.e., anything that the customer
does individually, things like searching for product or service information, entering his or her billing
information, and signing up for an e-mail confirmation. These are things that customer service
representatives do not have to do. [3]
• Increased sales as a result of selling niche products. “It turns out that most small businesses (and start-
ups) have relatively niche-y products…The Internet disproportionately favors small businesses since it
enables them to position their niche goods to people shopping for that particular niche good.” [4]
This is not an exhaustive list. However, it is illustrative of the many ways in which e-business
and e-commerce can impact the cash flow of a small business in a favorable way.
Digital Technology and E-Environment Implications
Although not all small businesses may choose to go the route of digital technology and the e-
environment (e-business and e-commerce), it has been advised on many fronts that small
businesses seriously consider creative ways in which to incorporate them all into their
operations. Digital technology is difficult to avoid, whether it be computers, smartphones, or
iPads (see the story of Lloyd’s Construction in Chapter 1 “Foundations for Small Business”).
Even on a small scale, digital technology can help improve business processes and keep costs
down.
The importance of e-business and e-commerce to small business has been the focus of this
chapter. Realistically, neither can be avoided by small businesses that want to grow. E-
commerce in particular has opened up the world to small business. Websites have “created a
flattening effect in the sense that small businesses and large businesses [are] suddenly on a level
playing field…The web [allows] small companies to have the same reach as a large firm. A small
company’s web site [can] be viewed a million times just as easily as a large firm’s web site, and
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that information [is] available worldwide, 24 hours a day. Small businesses [can] now have
some of the same abilities as large companies to reach customers with rich content of
information about their products nationally or internationally.” [5] The small business that wants
to grow will ignore e-business and e-commerce at its peril.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• E-business and e-commerce both contribute to increased
customer value.
• The cash flow of a small business should benefit from the
customer value offered by e-business and e-commerce.
• Even though some small businesses may choose not to go the
route of digital technology, e-business, or e-commerce, it has
been suggested that small businesses seriously consider
creative ways in which to incorporate them into all operations.
EXERCISES
1. Select three small businesses that engage in e-commerce.
Interview the owners and ask them to describe (1) how e-
commerce has added customer value and (2) the positive and
negative impacts on cash flow.
2. Locate at least one small business that is a nonemployer (i.e.,
consists of only the owner). Interview the owner about the role
that digital technology plays in the business and what his or
her plans are, if any, to increase its incorporation. Find out if
the business has a website. If it does, are there plans to engage
in e-commerce? If the business does not have a website, find
out why not and whether there are any plans to create one.
Disaster Watch
I’ve Been Hacked!
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Not discouraged by the bad economy, Marnie McCormick opened “The Country Store” in the
local shopping center. McCormick had done her homework. She originally leased the store front
for a temporary stint, selling a line of unique handcrafted products and locally made foods while
asking people what sort of products they wished were available in the area. In this way, she was
able to build the kind of store that was needed, using the existing demand to decide what kinds
of products she would offer.
McCormick had a myriad of concerns at start-up—inventory, suppliers, marketing, outfitting the
store, and administrative systems. What she did not know was that someone had hacked into
