{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T19:44:35Z","timestamp":1771011875466,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"1\/2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2009,2,13]],"date-time":"2009-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1234483200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2009,2,13]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>E\u2010business adoption among small and medium\u2010sized enterprises (SMEs) has been limited because of resource constraints and a failure to understand the strategic value of e\u2010business. To facilitate decision making concerning e\u2010business applications and their implementation, simple, low cost tools are needed to assist in analyzing and developing effective e\u2010business strategies. This paper aims to evaluate the use of e\u2010business applications among SMEs, to test the robustness of importance\u2010performance (IP) analysis models and to present IP mapping as a resource\/tool for decision making.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 19 e\u2010business motivations were identified from the literature and incorporated into a self\u2010administered survey questionnaire. Data were collected from 439 SMEs located throughout the US.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Most IP studies have assumed that importance and performance are independent; however, three recent studies have argued otherwise, identifying positive, negative and v\u2010shaped relationships. The study finds a fourth, N\u2010shaped relationship between importance and performance. This is an extension of the v\u2010shaped relationship and appears when the full range of performance scale values is displayed.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>The relationship between the \u201cimportance\u201d and \u201cperformance\u201d variables suggests a path of travel that can help show the e\u2010business adoption states and the possible undulations in e\u2010business strategies along the path. Firms can identify their location on an IP map relative to the N\u2010shaped path and then identify the path to the optimum location on the map.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper should be useful for academic researchers and business practitioners seeking guidance in terms of which e\u2010business applications to adopt and implement.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/17410390910932795","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,2,14]],"date-time":"2009-02-14T07:41:56Z","timestamp":1234597316000},"page":"137-151","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Using importance performance analysis to understand and guide e\u2010business decision making in SMEs"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Simha R.","family":"Magal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Parag","family":"Kosalge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nancy M.","family":"Levenburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022021020385456900_b1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Armstrong, J.S. and Overton, T.S. 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