Small firm entry to e-marketplace for market expansion and internationalization: A theoretical perspective

Over the past decades, e-marketplaces have been playing significant roles in the global economic development. The mounting trend of the world’s Internet population offers incredible opportunities for the firms, both large and small, to use the Internet-based e-marketplace applications in view of managing the firm-consumer interactions effectively. Firms’ entry to e-marketplace is resulted in market expansion, internationalization, and resource maximization. This study attempts to construct a theoretical framework to look at the factors affecting small firms’ entry to e-marketplace. Following an interpretive research paradigm, this study first explores various barriers and benefits that small firms face while participating in e-marketplace and validate those factors by analyzing 23 interviews conducted through a semi-structured interview guide. By applying both, inductive and deductive methods, the interpretive analyses build a theoretical framework comprising a range of variables classified as technological, organizational, and environmental factors. The theoretical framework is the guideline and also provides grounding for a quantitative research to the study of small firms’ e-marketplace entry behavior in a wider population. The study concludes with the implications for small firms’ market expansion and internationalization through e-marketplace participation.