Designing a dynamic model for electronic business development of small and medium enterprises in Yazd Province: A case study of the ceramic tile industry

Nowadays, in most countries of the world, small and medium industries play various roles in social, industrial and service arenas. An e-business is a system that is created with the aim of satisfying customers and facilitating the fulfillment of their orders using the Internet. Advances in technology offer countless opportunities for rapid market access nationally and internationally to small and medium-sized enterprises. Accordingly, infrastructures should be provided by the government to make it easier to use the facilities, and the relevant agencies should work together to create a safe and comfortable environment, away from strict regulations. In this way, the ground will be prepared for the development of the economy, the training of specialized man power and the employment of experts in organizations. The aim of this research is to develop the electronic businesses of small and medium enterprises in Yazd Province in the field of ceramic tiles using the fuzzy cognition mapping approach. Based on the nature of the research, responses are found to the questions ‘What factors are effective in the development of e-businesses of small and medium enterprises in the Iranian ceramic tile industry?’ and ‘What is the degree of effectiveness, influence and centrality of the factors?’

This study is descriptive in type. From a methodological point of view, it is based on the mixed research method, which was done in four stages. In the first stage, based on the results of a library study on the theoretical foundations and research background, the basic conceptual framework of electronic business in the ceramic tile industry was extracted. For this purpose, two statistical populations were sampled the first of which consisted of eight experts in the field of business management in Yazd Province. They were randomly selected and interviewed. At this stage, 18 factors were obtained by reviewing the literature and the research background, as a result of which a number of factors were removed, merged or added from the prepared list. Finally, 15 factors were approved by the experts. The second sample included 35 online sellers of ceramic tiles in Yazd Province who were selected to participate in the construction of the model. In the second stage of the qualitative modeling process, the causal map of the experts was extracted and analyzed. Then, fuzzy cognitive mapping was drawn by the Ucinet6 software. In the fourth stage, the degree of centrality, the effectiveness of specific factors, and the scenarios for the development of e-business in small and medium enterprises in Yazd Province were simulated in a case study of the ceramic tile industry, and the results were checked with the soft FCMapper1 software. The data and the scenarios were analyzed using the fuzzy cognitive mapping technique, and the research model was designed through social network analysis.

According to the research findings, the factors affecting the development of e-business in small and medium enterprises in Yazd Province (with a focus on the ceramic tile industry) include leadership and management factors, technical requirements, financial infrastructure, organizational image, product and service, supply chain, customer satisfaction, competitors and partners, suppliers, political and legal infrastructures, marketing and advertising, after-sales service, customer trust, investment, and organizational culture. Based on the degree of centrality, what tops the list is leadership and management factors as well as products and services. Also, the results of the analysis of the second scenario indicate that, since the managers of the ceramic tile industry try to have better leadership and management and do not take legal, political and legal infrastructures into account, they cannot hope for the progress and development of their business. In other words, management and leadership along with legal, political and legal infrastructures can lead to the development of businesses in the ceramic tile industry. According to the results of the third scenario, if we develop the product and service factor but do not pay attention to the value chain, the majority of the factors change in a negative direction, but the rate of change is less than that in the second scenario.

Finally, based on the results of this study, there are suggestions made for the development of electronic businesses in the ceramic tile industry, including the attendance of managers in various courses of management and leadership skills and market study. The accurate knowledge of customer needs is also pointed out in order to provide the products and services that are more tailored to the tastes of customers and, as a result, their satisfaction is guaranteed as much as possible.