Determinants of website development: a study of electronic commerce in Singapore

The website is the portal through which most of the electronic transactions are conducted today. The site’s development provides a glimpse of the firm’s electronic commerce (E-commerce) strategic objectives. Yet, few studies on E-commerce have related the firm’s website to its strategy. This paper examined the relationships between the strategic variables of competitive intensity, existing competencies of the firm, firm size, and strategic commitment on the one hand, and the development of the firm’s website, on the other. We developed a model based on existing literature in E-commerce and strategy. The study was conducted with 135 firms from the travel, financial and information technology (IT) sectors in Singapore. Results show that competitive intensity, firm size and existing competencies positively influence the firm’s strategic commitment to E-commerce. The commitment in turn affects the website development. We also show that websites can be classified according to their developmental level.