Abstract
Managers are heavily engaged in strategic decision-making for businesses,
particularly in a changing environment. One of the most important decisions for
online small businesses, as part of their strategic planning, is selecting
relevant features on their websites, both to attract and interact with
consumers. However, only a few Australian small businesses use strategic tools
for selecting their website features. As a result, businesses lose potential
domestic sales in the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector. The aim of this study
is to determine the relationship between factors that influence consumers'
online purchasing, and owner/manager strategic decisions in selecting relevant
features for websites. Results from employing qualitative case studies with
small business owner/managers, and a content analysis of website features,
inform the design of a Decision Support Systems (DSS) framework. This may
assist owner/managers' strategic decisions to implement competitive features on
B2C websites that ultimately attract more consumers.