Digital channels diminish SME barriers: the case of the UK

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of informants’ firms.

Characteristics	Number in sample	Percentage
Industry
Marketing agencies	19	28.79
ICT/Online services/Consulting	9	13.64
Construction	5	7.58
Restaurants/Catering	8	12.12
Retail	4	6.06
Other industries	21	31.82
Years of trading
<1	9	13.64
1–5	15	22.73
6–10	16	24.24
>10	26	39.39
Online presence
No domain name or website	5	7.58
Registered business domain name	7	10.61
Website built and maintained in house	25	37.88
Website built by third party, but maintained in House	17	25.76
Website built and maintained by third party	12	18.18
Annual marketing budget
No budget	16	24.24
<1 K	18	27.27
1 K–2 K	8	12.12
2 K–5 K	9	13.64
>5 K	15	22.73

Source: Authors.

Figure 1. Online methods usage. Source: Authors.

Figure 2. Social media usage. Source: Authors.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics and correlations of influential factors for buying decisions (n = 66).

Variables	Median	SD	SME	Marketing	Marketing
			size	budget	department
1. Strong brand	6	1.992	0.109	0.300*	0.133
2. Cheapest product	4	2.052	0.201	-0.003	0.075
3. F2F interaction	5	1.817	0.058	0.070	-0.061
4. WOM	6	1.797	-0.241	0.122	-0.209
5. No long-term contract	6	2.271	0.063	0.233	-0.174
6. Monthly payment	5	2.176	-0.059	0.172	-0.188
7. Payment per result/click	5	2.157	-0.043	0.169	-0.018
8. Free web profile	5	2.581	-0.018	0.115	-0.169
9. Free support and advices	5.5	2.408	0.009	-0.046	-0.164
10. Good client reviews	6	2.013	0.099	0.275*	-0.032

^* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.

Source: Authors.

Table 3. Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix (n = 66).

	Median	SD	SME Size	Marketing budget	Marketing department
Number of online channels	4	1.867	-0.030	0.366**	0.124
Number of SM channels	3	1.750	0.125	0.203	0.272*

Correlation is significant at:

^* 0.05 level,

^** 0.01 level.

Source: Authors.

Figure 1A. Annotated notched box plot. Source: SAS Institute Inc, 1999, p. 1766.

SAS Institute Inc. (1999). SAS onlinedoc(TM), Version 7-1 Cary, NC, USA: SAS Institute Inc. Retrieved from http://www.okstate.edu/sas/v7/sashtml/books/qc/pdfidx.htm

 Google Scholar