Ashworth2011 0000

Int Entrep Manag J (2012) 8:165–201
DOI 10.1007/s11365-011-0171-6
Marketing and organisational development

in e-SMEs: understanding survival and sustainability
in growth-oriented and comfort-zone pure-play
enterprises in the fashion retail industry
Catherine J. Ashworth
Published online: 10 March 2011

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Abstract Following calls to explore organisational development in a fashion retail

marketing context this paper conceptualises and explains how 14 fashion retailers
operating purely online have developed their enterprises via a six-stage approach,
through which they moved at various speeds, either in a linear sequence or
concurrently. Effective strategies to secure sustainability for comfort-zone and
growth-oriented enterprises are identified, including the development of online
portfolios which acknowledges the presence of habitual entrepreneurship in fashion
electronic retailing. This paper represents the first in-depth multiple case study into
independent, successful pure-players marketing clothing, footwear and accessories
categories online. A qualitative case approach is employed from a social
constructionist perspective. Rich data is generated via in-depth interviews with
owner-managers. Results are developed through thematic qualitative analysis and
theoretical contributions are based on data saturation across cases and fashion
categories, thus offering strong horizontal and vertical credibility. Findings stress the
role of developing internet-technology competencies, strategic marketing and service
capabilities in the quest for successful e-retailing in pure-play enterprises, alongside
overseas market development and demonstrate an emphasis on planning for the
small firm. The current findings therefore differentiate this group of enterprises from
the majority of small firms accused of poor technology utilisation/competency, lack
of planning and weak marketing. The paper provides strong understanding of the
complexities of organisational development in pure-play retailing. That these firms
have navigated the recent recession and that many have survived online for over
10 years emphasises the importance of the strategic directions explained in this paper
to the marketing/entrepreneurship interface.
Keywords Organisational development . Pure-play . e-SME . Fashion .

Retail marketing . e-retail
C. J. Ashworth (*)
Marketing and Retail Division, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School,
Aytoun Building, Aytoun Street, Manchester, UK M1 3GH
e-mail: C.J.Ashworth@mmu.ac.uk
166 Int Entrep Manag J (2012) 8:165–201
Introduction
Following calls to explore small business development in a fashion and online

retailing (e-retailing) context (e.g. Budnarowska and Marciniak 2008) this paper
represents the first in-depth study which explains and conceptualises how 14 small/
medium-sized (SME) fashion e-retail cases have developed their pure-play (online
only) organisations via a six-stage process. This is then evaluated in the light of
existing literature. The concept of a staged approach to pure-play e-retailing is
developed from the participating owner-managers’ explanations of their online
development. Sustainability strategies for growth-oriented and comfort-zone (i.e.
limited growth) pure-players are also identified since research emphasis is needed on
how to foster the growth and sustainability of new and small ventures in the context
of the strategic marketing/entrepreneurship interface.
A combination of early market entrants (pre-2000) and recent online enterprises
(post-2000) provide a comprehensive understanding of cases operating successfully
in the clothing, footwear and accessories sectors. All cases have navigated the recent
recession. Many of these have now survived online for over 10 years and thus
provide useful examples for learning (Eisenhardt 1989). A qualitative case approach
is applied from a social constructionist perspective (Carson et al. 2001). In-depth
interviews with key informants (owner-managers) are utilised to generate rich data.
Theoretical contributions are based on data saturation within and across sectors, with
findings developed through thematic qualitative analysis (King 1998; Gummesson
2000), thus offering strong horizontal and vertical credibility (Burr 2003).
The paper is structured as follows: firstly the literature is reviewed and knowledge
gaps relevant to this study summarised; the qualitative methodology is highlighted;
followed by the findings, discussion, limitations and implications resulting from the
study. The paper then concludes with an assessment of the potential for replication of
the study and highlights the opportunities for future research in the context of
strategic marketing management in SMEs.
Literature
Despite an increase in small business publications over the last few years,
considerable knowledge gaps remain regarding how small/medium-sized firms grow
and develop (Hill et al. 2002). The literature provides pre-internet (offline) and post-
internet (online) offerings. Key development models from the 1960’s to the 1980’s
can be found in the pre-internet literature. Here the focus is on growth models often
from a large enterprise perspective. The literature from the 1990s provides a more
fragmented array of contributions (Dobbs and Hamilton 2007). Latterly, the internet
era has allowed for a new research stream addressing online business (e-business)
development and has introduced the concept of an e-portfolio (cyber-entrepreneur-
ship) approach to enterprise sustainability.
Lewis (2004) identifies four core approaches to understanding enterprise
development in SMEs: business management; personality dominated (impact of
owner personality or capability); organisational development (characterises stages of
development); and sectoral approaches. Understanding organisational development
Int Entrep Manag J (2012) 8:165–201 167
and sustainability is important since owner-managers may draw lessons from

survival and growth enterprises (Poutziouris et al. 1999). Consideration of
‘organisational development’ approaches, dominant in the small business literature,
is most relevant in the context of the findings of this study. The literature review
therefore focuses on three important aspects:
1. The process of organisational development offline
2. Online (e-business) organisational development
3. SME growth and sustainability, with an emphasis on understanding the concepts
of novice and habitual entrepreneurship in the context of sustaining the small
firm.
The concept of organisational development in the offline setting is discussed first,
followed by online developments, growth and sustainability. The section concludes
by outlining three important gaps in the knowledge base which have provided the
impetus for this paper and a summary highlighting the importance of the research
context to strategic management.
Organisational development offline
Key papers investigating offline organisational development focus on growth models

in the context of the business lifecycle (e.g. Greiner 1972; Adizes 1989). Scott and
Bruce (1987) suggest such papers, which emphasise crises, serve to hinder academic
understanding of organisational development. Crises focussed studies represent
‘negative (or pejorative) enquiry’ and this creates a new agenda for a fresh and
affirmative approach to research in the SME domain.
Stages models
Two studies are dominant. Firstly, Greiner’s (1972) model focussed on two
dimensions: size (full time employees/turnover); and organisational maturity (age).
Greiner implied enterprises progress through specific stages of organisational
development meaning transition for the firm. Secondly, Churchill and Lewis
(1983) extend Greiner’s work to provide a revised five-stage model linking growth
with key stages of development, enterprise complexity and dispersion. Stages
involve existence, survival, success, and resource maturity. In the final stage the firm
is perceived to be highly complex, widely dispersed and large.
Such models assume that closure is only an option in the early stages. However,
in the world of practice, firms may choose to fold or be forced to disengage/
consolidate at any point. Scott and Bruce (1987) provide a similar five-stage model
focussed on SMEs with two key exceptions. Firstly, closure is an option at each
stage of development; and secondly, contained development (i.e. comfort-zone) is
allowed for in the growth and expansion stages. This means that a business may
neither expand nor mature into a large, decentralised concern (see SME growth and
sustainability section for further explanation).
Additional authors have sought to condense multiple studies. For example, Quinn
and Cameron (1983) provide a summary framework based on the integration of nine
separate models from 1967 to 1979. Four major stages ensue: entrepreneurial;
collectivity; formalisation and control; followed by elaboration of structure which

highlights complexity and growth as key organisational development goals.
Dodge and Robbins (1992) also propose a four-stage approach and emphasise that
all enterprise development follows a predictable pattern characterised by sequential,
progressive stages and common problems in marketing, management and finance.
However, regeneration and decline are excluded and the emphasis remains on
growth. In contrast, Mount et al. (1993) offer a five-stage framework and propose
that whilst organisations may grow, some will not pursue greater organisational
complexity, thus presenting a more flexible framework for understanding organisa-
tional development than previous authors in the context of the small firm.
In the UK it remains difficult for SMEs to obtain venture capital for organisa-
tional development and growth purposes. This is in spite of the UK government
emphasising an ‘enterprise-culture’. SMEs are condemned for their lack of strategic
planning and for failing to develop and promote technology expertise diffusion
within the firm (O’Toole 2003). It is with this understanding that the online
organisational development literature must now be reviewed.
Online organisational development
Contrasting views exist as to whether e-business has the ability to provide a route to
organisational development and sustainability for bricks-and-mortar enterprises. The
case for pure-players is less optimistic as the majority are assumed to fail. Internet
technologies offer SMEs growth opportunities, however “competing using an
e-business model is still at a nascent state for the small firm” (O’Toole 2003:121;
Allinson et al. 2008).
Academe concurs that the organisational development of small internet-
businesses follows a process and is progressive in nature (Willcocks et al. 2000;
Taylor and Murphy 2004; Ashworth et al. 2006a). This accommodates the dynamic
nature of enterprise development and continues the concept of a staged, or
incremental, approach which assists in understanding the complexities of business
life. E-business development models are discussed next.
E-business development models
A limited selection of notable e-business development models exist. Willcocks et al.

(2000) suggest a four-stage model which highlights how a firm passes through three
vital gaps (anxiety, organisational capabilities and value transformation) to achieve
business-value which suggests a normative approach. Similarly, a four-stage
framework (Van Doren et al. 2000) demonstrates that firms navigate a process
through enquiry to transactions and then extensive integration of systems. This
assumes a strategic route to e-business development with embedded rewards.
However, both models only adopt a clicks-and-mortar approach and neither provides
empirical evidence to support the stages identified.
In response, Ashworth et al. (2006a) highlight a five-stage approach to e-retail
development based on a comparative study exploring two small enterprises. They
identify the process of development for two firms marketing lingerie: a pure-player,
and small high street retailer. Their five-stage perspective suggests a greater focus on
marketing and developing customer relationships than traditional organisational

development and alternative e-business models. It also considers the need for
flexibility. This differs from the offline organisational development literature which
focuses more on structure and complexity.
Poon and Swatman (1997), in contrast, advocate the internet entry point for
traditional SMEs is at an inter-organisational level only. They note, highlighting a
technology perspective, that implementation occurs in three stages: minimum/
limited/full internet application. This suggests that in order to develop online,
‘internet literacy’ must be built by developing greater application of internet-
technology within the SME (from a minimal to highly integrated level). As the
technology becomes more intensively activated within business processes, the firm
is perceived to achieve greater benefit (e.g. seamless operation, ability to offer
remote services). Empirical findings, however, did not support stage-three (full
internet application) of their model. Poon and Swatman concluded, based on
evidence from 23 bricks-and-mortar SMEs that their sample had neither reached
stage-three (integration), nor reaped any significant short term benefits. Bickerton et
al. (2001), similarly, suggest a comparable intranet, extranet, internet framework but
do not provide empirical evidence to support their stages.
Existing e-business papers typically assume that sophisticated and complex
technology is required to achieve sustainability. SMEs are thus criticised (Taylor and
Murphy 2004:285) for “lacking the necessary IT skill-base to engage with the digital
economy”. Yet, this assumed need for technological intensity (i.e. complexity) may not
apply to smaller-sized e-retailers nor meet customer needs since consumer research
does not support the need for complexity in e-shopping sites (e.g. Yun and Good 2007).
Rather, simplicity and functionality (e.g. ease of search, quick e-shopping basket and
rapid download times) are preferred over intricate, laborious and slow-to-load websites.
The literature review has identified that none of the models to date focus on the
development of pure-play enterprises and this represents a major gap in the
literature. Moreover, e-business organisational development models typically follow
a staged approach closely corresponding to the offline literature and thus are subject
to similar criticisms and benefits which are outlined next.
Critique of stages models
Organisational development models typically lack empirical data to support

assumptions and conclusions drawn (Lewis 2004). They concentrate on ‘high
growth’ typologies and little focus is placed on enterprises with ‘limited’ or
‘moderate’ development intentions across most industry sectors.
Previously, stages models have been descriptive offerings with the majority
lacking empirical evidence to support claims made (e.g. Willcocks et al. 2000).
Overall, six further criticisms of stages models prevail: adopt a large enterprise
perspective; focus on (rapid) growth enterprises; assume successful organisations all
progress through stages sequentially; assume firms not achieving high growth and
multi-million (£) asset base are failures; and typically assume organisational
development (growth) is constant and desired. Moreover, there is also a lack of
knowledge regarding how pure-play enterprises in particular develop their
organisations as e-business models focus on the clicks-and-mortar perspective.
Based on these points the level of fit of existing stages models for both SMEs and
more specifically pure-play SME e-businesses (e-SMEs) can be questioned.
Conversely, a major strength of stages models is that they add understanding to
the complex phenomenon of organisational development (Kazanjian 1988). Stages
models are also useful for enabling individual enterprises to identify their own
development stage and this enables a linking of past events to the future orientation
of the firm (Massey et al. 2004) and thus offers strategic utility.
A number of studies, supported by empirical data, have assisted in validating
stages models and have emphasised their appropriacy for improving academic
understanding of the complexity of organisational development. For example, Miller
and Friesen (1984) provide a longitudinal perspective which supports generic stages
(birth, growth, maturity, revival and decline) but report that the sequence or time
spent in each of the stages may vary, adding greater flexibility to the stages concept.
In contrast to the offline literature, the e-business models view stages more as
‘opportunities for improvement’ rather than potentially destructive ‘crises’ (which
drive the business into turmoil) as offered by the offline literature and thus offer a
new and more positive (affirmative) perspective to organisational development.
The chief benefit of a staged-approach in developing transactional e-business is
derived from an enhanced understanding that it helps an organisation “to position its
thinking in relation to e-business” (Willcocks et al. 2000:9). This highlights a need
for further strategic development and understanding in the context of e-business.
In summary, knowledge of organisational development must now be developed
for pure-play enterprises via the application of empirical research grounded in the
practices of e-SMEs. The next section addresses the third aspect of the literature
review: growth and sustainability.
SME growth & sustainability
This section addresses the important aspect of organisational development

typologies relating to the sustainability of both limited and more growth-oriented
enterprises and includes the recent addition of portfolio and cyber-entrepreneurship
in the small business domain.
It is important to consider the growth typology of a small firm since this may affect the
degree of organisational development and subsequent sustainability of the firm (Reijonen
and Komppula 2007). However, little research has been conducted to understand
current modes of operation from an e-business perspective in the context of small firms.
Growth organisations have been categorised as having sales growth of over 15%
(Miller and Friesen 1984), yet many smaller firms may not adhere to this definition.
Growth firms are also deemed to have a functionally organised structure, which
again may not necessarily be the case for all SMEs who operate sustainable
enterprises. As such this does not account for the ‘comfort-zone’ configurations
operating within the e-SME population (Ashworth 2010a), since not all not all small
businesses are growth-oriented (Smallbone et al. 1995).
Lifestyle or comfort-zone businesses (i.e. ‘contained development’) share common
characteristics in terms of operating either to achieve personal objectives or a satisfactory
level of income (Lewis 2004). Following research into Australian manufacturing
organisations, McMahon (2001) describes these enterprises as ‘arrested-development’
configurations (which include both ‘lifestyle’ enterprises and businesses deliberately

electing for ‘restricted growth’) and suggests they are commonplace in many SMEs.
Important in entrepreneurial enterprises are the requirements of good management
practices in particular in relation to marketing functions, communications,
technology and perception of opportunities—since these aspects can influence the
rate of entrepreneurial firm development (Valliere 2010). The need for creativity and
flexibility of small firms is also acknowledged in the context of sustainability (e.g.
Fillis 2004; Javalgi et al. 2005). However, it is not yet understood how these
concepts may operate in the online context of pure-play enterprises.
Research over the last 20 years, however, has concentrated on better defining the
growth typologies of SMEs. In attempts to gain an understanding of how growth/
sustainability is manifested in SMEs a number of researchers have developed descriptive
labels from empirical analysis in order to illuminate enterprise development. A selection
of growth typologies identified have been allocated to one of three categories (strong,
moderate and limited) by the author (Table 1) to assist in locating comparable
organisational development/sustainability labels across academic works. However,
e-retail enterprise studies are largely excluded from this important body of work.
Table 1 SME development typologies
Researcher(s) Typology
Strong Moderate Limited
O’Farrell and Fast growers Satisfiers Failures (those attempting

Hitchens fast growth but which fail)
(1988)
Baines et al. a. Growth enthusiastic Growth ambivalent Growth rejecting
(1997) b. Non-employment
growth (sub-group
of growth enthusiastic)
Storey (1998) Flyers/Growers’ (add to Trundlers (survive but do Failures
employment creation) not add to job creation)
McMahon Entrepreneurial (follow Capped-growth Traditional or ‘Lifestyle’
(2001) high growth (moderate growth (few, if any, growth
development) and development aspirations)
pathway)
Case (2001) Gazelles (sustained Mice (companies that start small and stay small – i.e. limited
growth enterprises) growth objectives)
Bridge et al. Growth (add to Lifestyle/Comfort-zone (provide owner with returns to meet the
(2003) employment creation) level of comfort or preferred lifestyle they want in life)
Sims and Gazelles (high growth Baby gazelles (growth intent) Slow or No-growth (firms not
O’Regan enterprises) achieving gazelle status)
(2006)
Ashworth Growth-oriented (aim to follow growth opportunities, Comfort-zone (owner-managers
(2010a) generate some level of employment; and may engage develop to support their
in habitual entrepreneurship) family lifestyle in order to
meet and sustain a desired
level of comfort)
Source: Compiled & summarised from extant literature

It is interesting to note in Table 1 that many sub-fast development categories are

treated and labelled pejoratively by academe. This may be indicative of the negative
nature of enquiry followed by realist and positivist research agendas (Gergen 1999)
in the small business domain. This understanding creates a new agenda for research
to approach the issue of organisational development from a new angle: that of
affirmative enquiry (Gergen 1999)—a strategy consistent with social constructionist
research.
The next two sections address the portfolio concept from an offline and online
perspective in relation to the sustainability of the small firm.
Portfolio approach (offline)
Multiple-business-ownership has been proposed for offline (i.e. bricks-and-mortar)

SMEs as a useful strategy for achieving sustainability and stability. Here the firm
develops a portfolio of interests whereby enhanced experience of start-up leads to a
reduction of risk in later ventures (MacMillan and Katz 1992; Scott and Rosa 1996;
Carter 1999). Rosa et al. (1996) found 20% of male and 9% of female owners with
at least one additional business; and, circa half the portfolio enterprises operated two
or more firms, with (unspecified) higher levels of portfolio owners among business
services firms.
A relationship between habitual entrepreneurship (i.e. multiple start-ups devel-
oped concurrently or sequentially) and growth/sustainability has also been proposed
(Westhead and Wright 1996).
The activity of habitual ownership is thus identified as an issue which should be taken
into account when discussing SME development since the challenge of succession
planning is suggested as an important factor in development and sustainability (Devins
et al. 2008). Figure 1 identifies multiple-business ownership types.
In Fig. 1, ‘novice ownership’ fits with the concept of a ‘comfort-zone’ business
highlighted previously, whilst the concept of ‘habitual entrepreneurship’ (serial and
portfolio) aligns with more growth-oriented enterprises, adopting the terminology of
Serial Ownership
Start more than one firm
consecutively
Habitual
Entrepreneurs
(Initiate >1 firm)
Portfolio Ownership
Established Offline Start more than one firm
Entrepreneurial concurrently
Ownership
Typologies
Novice Only ever secure
single enterprise
Ownership ownership
Source: Conceptualised from text in Hall (1995).

Fig. 1 Offline enterprise ownership typologies
Ashworth (2010a). The notion of multiple-business-ownership is now discussed in

the online context.
Online portfolio (e-portfolio)
The importance of portfolio ownership for small enterprises is a recent development

in the literature. Business sustainability may be assisted by multiple enterprise
ownership offline. Equally, online firms may also secure sustainability as a result of
establishing multiple enterprises.
Carrier et al. (2004) suggest that ‘cyber-entrepreneurship’ may provide an
organisational development opportunity for smaller firms. Further to this, Ashworth
et al. (2006b), citing evidence from a single case, propose that similarities can be
drawn between employing offline-portfolios as a route to enterprise sustainability
and the construction of an ‘e-portfolio’ (i.e. multiple-cyberstore development) as a
useful strategy for SME retailer sustainability. More recently, Ashworth (2010b) has
suggested that strategic management and development of an e-portfolio forms one of
eight key drivers of online success for small retail enterprises.
Management researchers exploring large firms have previously identified three
approaches to diversification: horizontal; vertical; and conglomerate (Westhead and
Wright 1996). Obviously, diversification into new markets remains a high-risk
strategy for large and small firms. Robson et al. (1993:37) disclosed findings from
large organisations were unlikely to apply to “the very different circumstances and
environments of small businesses”. Beyond the financial risks, the firm is open to
the possibilities of diluting efficiencies, alongside confusion of both customers and
corporate focus. In order for diversification to succeed, the enterprise is required to
build on core competencies.
Despite a growing body of research in this area, retailing perspectives in general
and SME e-retail research in particular have largely been absent from existing
works. This lack of knowledge is exacerbated in the context of pure-play retailers.
Consequently, the practice of novice and habitual ownership in the e-SME context
remains a rich avenue for further study (Devins et al. 2008).
Exploratory case research is required in order to understand the process by which
new e-businesses and smaller firms initiate, develop and sustain their enterprises
(Carrier et al. 2004). Existing models may now benefit from wider empirical
evidence and acknowledgement of a distinctly pure-play perspective. Furthermore,
evidence from multiple cases will likely assist in development of a richer
understanding of effective strategies for smaller-sized firms operating purely in the
online business environment.
Summary of key knowledge gaps relevant to this study
Whilst a number of research gaps have been identified in the literature review (see
above)—the three aspects critical to the need for and development of this study include:
1. Need for understanding the e-business development process

Contrary to the SME and general business literature, few papers exist which
examine e-business organisational development. Existing models emphasise a
bricks-and-mortar perspective. The literature gives little focus to the strategic

marketing initiatives of small firms and thus there is much scope for adding to
the knowledge base with depth studies in relation to the organisational
development of pure-players. This need for knowledge is emphasised in the
e-SME retail arena particularly in a fashion context.
2. Understanding of operational e-business typologies in relation to sustainability
strategy lacking
Whilst there is a growing body of literature identifying growth/non-growth
enterprises there has been little attention paid to linking this framework to
sustainability strategies in the e-SME domain. In particular the growth
typologies and practices of SMEs have yet to be established from a pure-play
retailing perspective.
3. Lack of knowledge of where habitual & novice e-SMEs develop/sustain business
interests
Interestingly, existing research has yet to provide an explanation of where
habitual entrepreneurs develop their business interests: for example, either
within or beyond the initial start-up sector. How novice/habitual entrepre-
neurship relate to pure-players in the SME retail and fashion arenas in the
context of organisational development and sustainability has yet to be
explored.
Importance of the research context for strategic management
The SME retail marketing sector is a very interesting area for study given the
volatility of the current market in the face of sustained global recession. More than
one in 60 UK retail enterprises ceased trading between January and October 2009
(Herrod 2009a). Unemployment and lower wage growth mean that retail is set to
suffer even after the economy returns to growth—resulting in additional business
failures well beyond 2010. The financial crisis is of particular concern to SMEs and
niche players in particular as turbulence is greatest for smaller-sized firms and for
those on industry fringes (Ala-Mutka et al. 2009). Consequently, understanding how
successful SMEs develop and sustain their operations is critical to the study of
strategic management (Nikolaeva 2006) in the small business marketing and
entrepreneurship context.
In contrast to the high street where retailing is forecast to decline (Herrod 2009b),
the fashion and footwear sectors are identified as dominant areas for online market
growth in the next 5 years (Herrod 2010). The survival chances of start-ups’
increases with age. However, in the current economic climate, organisational
development and sustainability remain key issues for nascent and small firms despite
the sustained growth in online fashion retailing. This situation is exacerbated in the
context of pure-play retail marketers who typically have not possessed the additional
channels to market, multiple revenue streams or local market presence of clicks-and-
mortar enterprises. It is now vital to understand how such organisations develop and
sustain their enterprises online and to appreciate the strategic marketing practices at
play in order to avoid the risk of failure in the face of global competition as
increasing numbers of retailers develop online.
Since the study of organisational development and sustainability, in the context of

pure-play fashion e-retailing, is very much at a nascent stage the next section
explains the qualitative methodology adopted in this paper.
Methodology
This section explains the research methodology, including the research aims and
approach, design, data collection and analysis methods adopted in this study.
Research approach and aims
This study involves a multiple case design, utilising key informant (native speaker)
in-depth interviews with high-interest stakeholders (owner-managers) on the
philosophical basis that reality is socially constructed. Thematic analysis is
employed in order to comprehend: how pure-play enterprises develop; and what
strategies are in place to assist in securing the sustainability of retailers marketing
adult fashions online. The fashion websites in this study typically incorporate both
women’s and menswear thus providing a broader e-retail perspective.
A qualitative research approach is needed in dynamic business environments to
identify meaningful insights into aspects facilitating enterprise survival (Gummesson
2005). “Understanding requires case research” (Gummesson 2006:168) and this need
may be emphasised in an SME context in order to understand complexity (Carson et
al. 2001). Understanding the organisational development process is a complex
endeavour. This paper consequently adopts a qualitative methodology and employs a
guided interview approach, since in-depth methods provide the deepest and richest
insight and are applicable in under-researched areas (Bryman and Bell 2007).
The fashion sector is selected for marketspace research since it represents one of
the areas of e-business least developed in the literature, yet the fashion sector in
general and adult fashion in particular are the most rapidly developing areas in the
e-retail domain and are thus worthy of further study.
Following a comprehensive review of the literature this study addresses the
following aims:
1. Exploration, evaluation and conceptualisation of the process involved in e-retail
organisational development for pure-play enterprises operating in the clothing,
footwear and accessories sector;
2. Assessment of the strategies SME fashion e-retailers develop in order to build
sustainable pure-play enterprises.
3. To briefly contextualise findings in relation to existing literature.
Research design and data collection
Altogether 14 pure-players participated to enable an examination of the organisa-

tional development process and dynamics of sustainability for independent SME
fashion e-retail enterprises operating 19 websites in the clothing, footwear and
accessories (handbags and jewellery) sectors.
Purposive and snowball sampling (Marshall and Rossman 1995) were employed
to identify successful e-retail cases. Enterprises likely to be the most informative or
‘theoretically useful’ to meet the research objectives (Eisenhardt 1989) were thus
selected. Professional networks were utilised to identify suitable cases in conjunction
with extensive online searches. This strategy was necessary as no formal database of
e-retail fashion enterprises exists at an SME level in general and pure-play in
particular.
Small firm research is concerned with the study of the perceptions and
experiences of owner-managers (Shaw 1999). The selection of owner-managers of
successful e-retail operations as participants ensured a sample of credible ‘native
speakers’ correspondent with Johnson and Weller (2002). Most cyberstores did not
offer named personnel online thus companies had to be telephoned to establish key
contacts.
The sampling strategy employed in this study followed a three step process.
Firstly, cases were located according to selection criteria (i.e. owner-managers of
successful pure-play operations); secondly; access was negotiated with owner-
managers; and finally sampling was extended via snowballing which was assisted by
accessing professional networks. Participating owner-managers defined their success
via 15 commercial parameters (Ashworth et al. 2009) across marketing, financial and
service elements of the business.
E-retail outlets appear widely dispersed in both urban and rural areas since online
retailers are not bound by location in the same way as traditional high street stores.
Cases were therefore identified which were dispersed both geographically and by
fashion category. The selection included: lingerie, gothic-fashions, urban-streetwear,
footwear, contemporary and fine jewellery, plus handbags (established and nascent
designers) in order to provide a more holistic perspective of the UK market.
Researching both first-movers online (pre-2000) and recent entrants (post-2000) into
the marketspace enabled a broader business and more longitudinal perspective.
Website profiles are provided in Table 2.
On average websites had been online around 8 years, with the newest site being
four and a half years old and the oldest operating for 15 years online. Cases engaged
up to 16 fulltime employees and each utilised temporary staff on demand.
Confidentiality agreements prohibit further discussion of both financial and
employment criteria. Twelve of the sites marketed multiple product categories (e.g.
clothing, footwear, accessories/other products). Five sites produced goods in-house
and 13 bought products in, with only one site operating both practices
simultaneously.
The fieldwork was conducted in two stages. Stage-one involved a pilot study
involving two cases and stage-two encompassed the main study. Individual cases
were also tracked over time in order to monitor new developments.
Data was collected via in depth interviews with the owner-managers. The interview
approach was employed as it offers the “most common and powerful” way by which to
“understand” (Fontana and Frey 2000:645). The use of ‘grand-tour’ questions based on
over-arching themes enabled key issues and meanings to be explored, elaborated on
and clarified (Tiessen et al. 2001). Interviews lasted around one-and-a-half hours (the
longest lasted over 2 h) which allowed for probing regarding the nature of the
business, how the organisation developed and sustainability strategies, until each topic
Table 2 Participating website profiles of successful e-retail pure-play enterprises
Additional products a
Product designer c
Product source b
Multiple revenue
Overseas market
Customisation c
competencies c
% of Business
development c
% Customers
In-house tech
Years online
e-Portfolio c
streams** c
overseas d
retailing*
retained e
Pure-play
e-retail
websites
Accessories
Case A1 7.5 CE M / H X
Case A2 9 AC BI X X / H X
Case A3 10 - IH / 80 X
Case A4 10 FO BI X X 5 H
Case A5 4.5 E BI 0 10 H
Case A6 6.5 - IH 0 72 H X
Case A7 6 - BI 0 10 H
Clothing
Case C1 6 A IH 50 65 X
Case C2 9 AF BI X X 30 H X
Case C3 15 A BI X X / H X
Case C4 6 A IH X / / X
Case C5g 10 A IH 0 50 70
Footwear
Case F1 10 AC BI X X 45 H X X
Case F2h 6 - BI X X 30 70
Case F3 7 A BI X X 30 70
Case F4h 7 A BI X X 30 70
Case F5 14 - BI X X 50 70
Case F6i 10 - BI X X 50 70
Case F7i 7 - BI X X 50 70
Cumulative years’ online experience across websites: 160.5. Total cases: 14. Total fashion websites: 19f.
Key:
(a) A= Accessories; C= Clothing; E= Events management; F= Footwear; O= Other product/service.
(b) IH= In-house; BI= Bought-in; M= Both in-house and bought-in products.
(c) = Yes; X = No. (d) / = Not specified.
(e) H= High level of customer retention and strong WOM; NS= Not specified.
(f) Total websites include feeder sites. (g) Latterly an acquisition by Case F5.
(h) Operate as feeder site for Case F3. (i)= Operate as feeder site for Case F5.
*= Figures rounded to January 2010.
**= Multiple revenue streams: these may include other businesses, trade/consumer fair attendance, specialist
market attendances, consultancy design work, or wholesale, along with direct-to-consumer sales.
Note:
Overseas market development relates to export sales and supply contracts to overseas trade customers including
retail stores and pure-play e-boutiques in foreign markets.
Customisation relates to three aspects: (1) customisation of products for individual customers (trade/consumer);
(2) customisation of products for publicity purposes (e.g. bespoke products made for magazine features); and
(3) customisation of communications materials (e.g. hand written delivery notes, bespoke packaging).
Source: Developed from empirical data generated in this study.

was exhausted in order to maximise data richness. The major benefit of this method
was that utilising open-questions allowed participants to speak freely about complex
issues, which would have been difficult to determine from a closed-questionnaire
approach (Silverman 1997). Interviews were terminated at 14 cases with saturation of
data across and between sectors (Gummesson 2000).
Data analysis and credibility of the study
The data was analysed in order to conceptually develop an understanding of the way
in which pure-play e-retailers developed and sustained their organisations. Code-
book analysis, also referred to as ‘qualitative thematic analysis’ (Bryman and Bell
2007), or ‘template analysis’ (King 1998) falls within the social construction
framework. This involves data analysis based on a thematic (coding) template and
this is the approach taken in analysing data gathered in this study.
For consideration within any case study is that qualitative research is, by nature,
flexible and open-ended. A vital aspect therefore was to transcribe interviews on an
ongoing basis and make brief field notes (Gummesson 2000) ensuring any emergent
phenomena could be probed in subsequent interviews. This ensured important data
was included. For example, the concept of ‘staged development’ of pure-play
websites emerged early in the pilot research and was explored and confirmed across
all cases in the main study.
The principle of crystallization was adhered to in analysing the data, which
allowed the multi-dimensionality of concepts and themes arising from the data to
grow (Denzin and Lincoln 2000). Analysis ensured a deeper understanding of the
data and its underlying patterns across cases and sectors. Interview themes were
coded and grouped to form clusters of similar codes to produce general higher order
themes. The practical decision to stop the process of developing/modifying the
analytical template was taken once transcripts were fully coded and a clear
understanding of each element was apparent (King 1998).
Credibility of the findings derives from the saturation of rich data across both
constructs and fashion sectors (Creswell and Miller 2000; Gummesson 2000).
Theoretical saturation was established through the application of thematic matrices
analysis and evidence of recurrent themes across developmental processes. Findings
were then conceptually developed into natural stages—since in qualitative research
“the account must offer conceptualization and condensation or the researcher has not
contributed interpretation and meaning” (Gummesson 2005:315). In reporting the
findings, care was taken to quote directly from transcripts rather than paraphrase in
order to maintain richness.
In order to validate the integrity of the findings, the outcomes and conceptual
developments in this study were forwarded to three of the participating owner-
managers and the managing director of a web-design agency which has developed
over 200 websites (including more than 30 in the SME fashion sector) for comment/
amendment. The owner-managers and the managing director having studied the
findings and having found them most interesting did not require any changes. The
credibility and applicability of the findings is therefore fully grounded in the
practices of the participating retailers and e-marketing context. The next section
addresses the findings of the empirical study.
Empirical findings and discussion
Following analysis of the data six core themes relating to organisational

development emerged from the study. The themes are ordered as follows: e-retail
launch; competence development; market development with value integration;
intensification; leveraging experience to maximise business value; and strategic
development in pursuit of sustainability.
In order to appreciate the process of organisational development the six themes
inherent within the process are presented as stages which correspond with the owner-
manager’s explanations of how their enterprises developed over time. As the
emphasis in social constructionist research is “more on processes” (Burr 2003:9) the
findings are presented in relation to existing literature.
Presentation of the six stages is followed by a justification for the staged approach
to e-retail organisational development and an explanation of how the findings in this
study redress many of the criticisms of existing stages models. An overview of the
principal conceptual development resulting from the themes generated in the study
then ensues. This responds to appeals from the literature (e.g. Dobbs and Hamilton
2007:296) to investigate SME development “as a process”.
It is interesting to note that both comfort-zone and growth-oriented enterprises
follow a comparable process of development until stages five and six when the more
growth-oriented enterprises employ a more aggressive strategy for development.
Process stage-1 e-retail launch
The first stage of the development process involves the launch of the pure-play
website. Here the e-retailer decides how the site will be positioned and marketed
both on/offline. Sites typically launch with a few lines and expand offerings as time
progresses. Lines are also expanded to meet customer demands and as opportunities
arise demonstrating the inherent flexibility of these small pure-players.
“Set up the website … then increased the product offering” (Case-A5).
“The trick is to identify target markets, then produce products/services to support
customer needs and continue to develop those products within the niches” (Case-F3).
Skills and experience are fostered as the firm develops online. Most pure-players
develop competencies in-house in order to maximise operational flexibility and
minimise costs. This extends the need for strategic flexibility highlighted in the
literature to the context of SME e-retailing.
Since SME marketing budgets are often limited and as pure-players do not have a
high street/local presence to fall back on, winning publicity is a key role throughout
all stages, with initial developments and contacts made at the outset. Initial public
relations (PR) contacts are used as a foundation for developing longer-term media
relationships in more growth-oriented firms.
“No matter how good your website is—if nobody ever sees—it isn’t going to
work! Marketing is the key to winning” (Case-C2).
“When I went online I made sure I got a lot of press … need to sustain that”
(Case-C4).
“You have to network and PR [free publicity] is key. Being part of the
‘community’ also helps! I run club nights—so generate lots of publicity that
way too” (Case-F5).
Business networks are also used to leverage publicity from the outset:
“If people don’t know about you, they are not going to be able to buy from you
… Our background is advertising … so strong links with the advertising world
and good contacts … been really useful” (Case-A2).
Consequently, the role of PR represents a key aspect of the strategic marketing

management of the firm throughout the organisational development process. The
more growth-oriented firms are much more aggressive in their pursuit of publicity
opportunities throughout their development online.
Success is driven by developing transactional business from the outset which
further develops the existing three/four-stage e-business models and contrasts with
prior findings on larger fashion stores which have historically maintained an
extended information-only e-retail presence (Verdict 2007), therefore limiting profit
generation opportunities.
At this point pure-players have bridged any initial knowledge and competence gaps
and developed some understanding of the requirements for managing e-retailing in order
to drive the enterprise through the next stage of the development process.
Process stage-2 competence & initial developments
Owner-managers described their next stage of development as a process of developing

greater e-retailing competencies as sales, new opportunities and confidence in the
medium escalate. Here pure-players typically extend their competencies in-house and
new, improved versions of the initial web offering are facilitated.
“Keeping the site simple is extremely important: quick and simple with a very
good host, fast download time. I researched it, then got it all together” (Case-A3).
These tactics ensure costs are minimised and ensure that flexibility and control are
facilitated. Eleven cases (comprising 15 websites) bridged the competence and organisa-
tional capabilities gaps in order to manipulate internet-technology in-house (see Table 3).
This not only cut costs and improved flexibility but also became a source of enjoyment
for the pure-players and facilitated transition across Process Stage-Three:
“I’ve picked up books and learnt it well—how to programme … do the design
… great fun! Develop online much faster now …” (Case-C2).
At this stage the websites are being picked up by the search engines and market
development provides initial exporting opportunities without the need for expensive
marketing campaigns.
“24 h portfolio: meant I very quickly started getting orders from around the
world. It started with the USA, New Zealand, Dubai and Singapore—they all
just came to me” (Case-A6).
This necessitates enhancements to site functionality (e.g. adding currency

converters, sizing comparison charts). Pure-players now pay greater attention to
e-service and quality information provision. As skills and experience are
developed, competencies are leveraged to improve service dimensions, such as
functionality.
“Slight changes over time: make it easier and more user-friendly. Get a lot of
feedback from customers saying our website is very easy to use, order from
and understand: retains them [customers]—that’s good business” (Case-F1).
Having accrued experience, the cumulative learning means the pure-player

bridges the organisational capabilities gap. The firm is now ready to progress
through the next stage of the development process.
Process stage-3 market development plus value integration
Three core areas of activity occur in this stage of the development process: value
integration, market development extension and increasing strategic integration. Pure-
players have now gleaned substantive feedback from customers and sufficient
marketspace experience to be able to evaluate opportunities for differentiation and
integrate creative adaptations. This adds value and enhances website stickiness and
represents a more incisive use of strategic marketing to add value to the enterprise
and consumer.
It is important to note here that for comfort-zone cases in particular ‘a lack of
formal marketing strategy could be misconstrued as a lack of marketing’ (O’Dwyer
et al. 2009): however, the emergent and experiential nature of strategic marketing in
these pure-players means that owner-managers may not always see their inherent
practices as corresponding to strategy.
Activities which add value include building frequent fresh, creative elements into
the website such as: engaging e-retail theatre, customisation and personalisation of
products/services.
“Hit rating has built every single month … took a major leap when I
introduced my ‘blog’—increased straight away … jumped to over double …
continues to grow …” (Case-A1).
“We built our own back office system which integrates with the website …
seamless operation … better for customers …” (Case-F5).
Product ranges are also extended. This involves relationship marketing

strategies to build closer links with existing suppliers and seek new associations.
Promotional and e-marketing activities increase as new opportunities emerge.
This typically opens the enterprise to international activities and consequently
export sales levels grow from a zero base, given the pure-play nature of the
business.
“50% of our business comes from overseas …” (Case-C1).

“We do a lot of business overseas … I mean, a lot! It has grown year on year”
(Case-C3).
At this point the designer-led organisations in particular actively seek to service

and develop opportunities with international trade customers.
“My business has really grown. Now over 70% of business comes from overseas
… new stockists and e-boutiques … It’s all purely as a result of being online”
(Case-A6).
Market development is also assisted by pure-players keeping pace with search engine
modifications. This is achieved by enterprises improving their connectivity as a result of
their cumulative experience online. Eleven websites claimed that 30% or more business
resulted from international markets. Of these: five pure-players reported over 50% of
sales emanating from overseas and one highlighted over 70% of sales came from
overseas (see Table 2). The open nature of the internet is perceived to facilitate routes to
market. Each of the process-oriented and creative marketing strategies implemented by
participants allows pure-players to bridge the value gap ready for Process Stage-Four.
Process stage-4 integration intensification
This stage involves a period of fortification. Here the firm strengthens its position.
This requires collating and considering evidence from process stages one-to-three in
order to develop plans for enhancing internal operations/back-office systems and
external customer/supplier relationships. A close eye is also kept on the marketspace
to ensure customer needs are satisfied and new opportunities spotted:
“Found a new opportunity. This fed into the overall plan … provides a better
opportunity to supply niche consumers than the high street” (Case-F3).
Integration intensification requires management commitment with regard to

developing and leveraging resource infrastructures including people and processes
and strategic planning activities are intensified.
“It’s probably on the 3rd—now we’re working on the 4th generation of the site …
more control … more flexibility for customers … better to manage” (Case-F5).
“It’s a continuous learning curve. As opportunities come up … as challenges
present … you change in order to grow …” (Case-A2).
Following a period of intelligence gathering, ‘re-engineering’ involves improve-

ments to business processes and consumer-facing systems in order to develop
efficiencies, improve flexibility and boost market presence.
Re-engineering is different from making incremental changes to the website (which
builds freshness and continuity); in that it takes a ‘planned’ rather than an opportunistic
approach. As such it is a key strategic aspect of organisational development for both
established players and new entrants.
Interestingly both growth-oriented and comfort-zone enterprises engage in a
planned approach. For growth motivated pure-players the decision links to starting to
explore the potential opportunities for new business ventures more formally and for
comfort-zone players the choice is more aligned to meeting new customer demands,
sourcing new products and extending ranges to satisfy marketspace needs and
seeking deeper and more instrumental relationships with suppliers, suggesting a

more strategic approach to marketing and enterprise management than is commonly
expected of small firms. This ‘planned approach’ contrasts with both the existing
offline literature which suggests SMEs are poor planners (Ward 2008) and the
e-business literatures which suggest retailers develop only through ad-hoc strategy
online (Nicholls and Watson 2005).
At this stage the organisation has progressed through the strategic integration gap
and is primed for stage five of the development process.
Process stage-5 experience leveraging to maximise business value
The penultimate stage involves the organisation in leveraging cumulative experi-

ence, enhancing service-delivery and value-added to boost customer loyalty,
maximise synergy and resource utilisation within the business, rather than being
focused on ‘commercialisation’ (i.e. developing e-shopping) incumbent in existing
models. This also contrasts with offline models which assume the firm has reached
maturity by stage five since several cases (i.e. comfort-zone) were still at a
comparatively nascent stage of development at this point (e.g. limited employment
creation). Accordingly, this model provides understanding of both comfort-zone and
more growth-oriented enterprise development.
Stage-five involves a strategic focus on the business in terms of more formally
planning for sustainability. This follows a bilateral approach involving planned
extensions with incremental adaptations to existing product/service offerings; and
formalisation of investigations of emergent opportunities.
Here a difference between comfort-zone and growth-oriented organisations arises
in that growth players are more aggressive in their strategies and more highly
proactive in their investigation of new opportunities, particularly in terms of
investigating potential putsuits across and beyond the fashion sector and new staff
are sought to assist in these more aggressive strategic pursuits.
Implementing sustainability strategies vis-a-vis new products, range extensions
and controlled experimentation ensures customer attention is retained, encourages
strong WOM1 and drives a constant stream of traffic.
This mode of operating affords the stability/security of a formal, planned
approach (e.g. in extending ranges/business ventures) but also enables pure-players
the flexibility and external marketspace focus to explore and exploit emergent
opportunities. These findings therefore span the two academic debates which
conversely call for either a strategically planned approach (Porter 2001; White and
Daniel 2004; Nicholls and Watson 2005) or flexibility (Fillis et al. 2003; Javalgi et
al. 2005; Kennedy and Coughlan 2006) by offering pure-players the ‘best of both
worlds’.
At this stage several cases take the strategic marketing decision to preserve a
comfort-zone business whilst the remainder traverse the continuity development gap
to achieve a level of growth. The progress of comfort-zone and growth-oriented
enterprises is discussed in the next process stage.
1
WOM = Word-of-mouth.
Process stage-6 strategic development—sustainability
At this point pure-players have either consolidated an equable position extending ranges
within their focal sector as part of retaining a single cyberstore (‘comfort-zone’ strategy)
in accordance with the literature, or have pursued additional organisational development
by engaging extension strategies within, across or beyond the fashion sector.
Almost all cases pursued sustainability through the development of multiple
revenue streams and/or multiple businesses. Stage-six therefore identifies an
augmented approach to e-retail organisational development confirming and extend-
ing initial findings in this sector by establishing a sixth stage which accommodates
the organisational development of both comfort-zone and more growth-oriented
pure-players.
Stage-six differs from other five-stage models in that it does not suggest maturity
and decline. Instead organisational development is perceived as a process whereby
the firm constantly seeks to refresh activities in pursuit of sustainability. This is
assisted by keeping pace with technological developments online (e.g. facebook
interactivity with consumers). This need for continuity and freshness in a fashion
context is upheld in the literature in terms of website content (e.g. Siddiqui et al. 2003)
and findings here extend this concept to the organisational development process.
Once pure-players have navigated development process stages 1–5, strategies to
build sustainability into operations are required. Two core options prevail: comfort-
zone and e-portfolio development. A third option for pure-players, whereby offline
stores are launched in addition to cyberstore activity (i.e. creating a hybrid CAM
operation), is also acknowledged. Only one case was found to follow this route
(Case-A1)—therefore this paper concentrates on the two core options as con-
ceptualised in Fig 2.
Comfort-zone pure-players
Comfort-zone pure-players retain a limited presence online. Despite experiencing

sales growth (domestic and overseas) ‘comfort-zoners’ have no immediate plans for
significant employment creation and retain a single cyberstore. This does not mean
that future growth is discounted. Comfort-zone pure-players continue with the
process of development by seeking continuous improvements in the technology/
functionality of the enterprise.
As opportunities arise, these pure-players adapt to emerging situations: as a result
of their size—cases retain the flexibility to achieve this. Continuity is also sought in
terms of e-marketing, alongside a strong customer and quality focus. Case-C2, for
example, adapted their website to incorporate men’s products having recognised a
marketspace opportunity. Eight websites fit into the comfort-zone category.
Despite being categorised as comfort-zoners many cases still developed multiple
revenue streams (MRS) and so were not perceived as complacent or stagnant
operations as suggested in much of the growth typologies literature discussed
previously. MRS were created through market development activities: by expanding
trade/wholesale networks internationally via independent boutiques/e-boutiques, or
extending marketing channels (e.g. through iDTV shopping channels such as
SkyTV).
In accordance with SME research (e.g. Fillis 2004; Devins et al. 2008)—central to e-
business development is the understanding that not all firms are immediately willing to
embrace the technology, or develop, at the same rate. Rationale for maintaining a
single cyberstore presence is linked to the desire to preserve a manageable size of
business, or not wanting to deal with the additional red tape associated with higher
employee levels. Comparable with the fashion management literature (Siddiqui et al.
2003; Le Pechoux et al. 2007), pure-players also maintain continuity and inject
freshness into product and service aspects of their operations in order to continue to
meet consumer needs over the longer-term.
“I have negotiated a position to be Supplier X’s preferred e-retail supplier for the
UK, like a ‘super-affiliate’ … Constantly looking for new marketing ideas …”
(Case-C2).
Comfort-zoners also leverage supplier relations (e.g. in building exclusivity deals)
and continually investigate emergent market opportunities in order to sustain online
positions.
E-portfolio development
More growth-oriented companies follow a process of EPD (i.e. ‘e-portfolio develop-

ment’). EPD is a replication strategy involving the development of an e-portfolio of
cyberstores. This is achieved by utilising cumulative e-retail experience, a common
technological infrastructure and existing staff/logistics/operational structures in order to
develop multiple revenue streams encouraging organisational economies and efficiencies.
However, such activities typically result in employment generation. These additional
cyberstores can be developed either concurrently or consecutively by the firm and so
demonstrate a merging of Hall’s (1995) serial and portfolio entrepreneurship typologies.
The EPD process (Fig. 3) may also be strategically fast-tracked via acquisition of
established cyberstores alongside in-house launch and development thus differentiating
this group of companies and extending the habitual entrepreneurship literature
accordingly.
This multiple cyberstore development, as shown in Fig. 3 assists in developing
enterprise stability and sustainability online for the pure-play retailer.
Extending earlier work (Ashworth et al. 2006b), which saw e-portfolio activity only
within the fashion sector, EPD can now be found to occur within one fashion sector
(Intra-sector E-portfolio Development), across divergent fashion sectors (Inter-sector
E-portfolio Development) or outside fashion retailing (Extra-sector E-portfolio
Development), with launches into events management and alternative enterprises such
as temporary warehousing.
“I acquired the TKY website. That’s a venture into clothing for the first time”
(Case-F5).
“Got exclusive internet rights for a lot of our brands … the first deal gave us
more credibility when we approached other designers. Run another business
too: temporary warehousing. I set it up; got to the top of the search engines.
80% of enquiries come through online. We’re talking a much bigger scale of
business now” (Case-A4).
“Got the ‘events’ side which covers party planning and corporate events …”
(Case-A5).
The e-portfolio development strategy works through fast-tracking the launch of
new cyberstores across the first five-stages of the six-stage process. New websites
allow the enterprise to service fresh opportunities in the marketspace, as they
emerge, without affecting the positioning of existing sites. This has an obvious
affiliation to portfolio and roll-out strategies common in an offline setting and
extends these ideas into pure-play fashion e-retailing.
As EPD is found across the fashion sector this multiple case evidence adds to the
recent idea of cyber-entrepreneurship and places it in the context of pure-play e-retailing
indicating this may be an important e-SME marketing strategy for sustainability as
pattern matching is used to “verify the credentials of all performers” (Berger and
Luckmann 1966:92). It also confirms and extends earlier single case evidence of
e-portfolio activity in the pure-play arena (Ashworth et al. 2006b). Table 3 identifies
the pure-players involved in EPD within, across and beyond the fashion sector.
As enterprises continue to develop—and since pure-players reserve the right to
disaffiliate or consolidate sites—these numbers may change as new opportunities are
leveraged and limited resources strategically managed. For example, having started with
one clothing cyberstore, HMSN operated four additional clothing websites but divested
these once their new footwear arm of the business grew (and turnover was forecast to
exceed over £5 million) in order to sensibly focus limited resources. This strategic
sensibility and migration of efforts assists in guarding against spreading resources too
thinly and shields against compromising service level delivery for the pure-player.
The experience gained can be used to scout the marketspace for new opportunities
as part of a manageable organisational development (growth) strategy. For example,
following this study HMSN have continued their e-portfolio tradition and have
Table 3 Summary of pure-play e-portfolio cases
Within Fashion Sector Across Fashion Sector Beyond Fashion Sector

Hamsin**. Kavort. Dobson-Hunt
Case F21 Case F51 Case-A42
Case F31 Case F61 TS.co.uk6
Case F41 Case F71 SS.co.uk6
Case C53&4
Griffith-Elliott. Hamsin.
Case A52&5 Case-C6 (CSC)3*
Case A72 Case-C7 (LBW)2&3*
Case-C8 /(MBW)2&3*
Case-C9 (PTS)2&3*
Total Websites: 5 Total Websites:4 Total Websites: 3
Key:
1 = Footwear; 2 = Accessories; 3 = Clothing; 4 = Make-up & hair products;
5 = Events management; 6 = Temporary warehousing.
*Sites launched in 1997-1999 but divested in 2009 to refocus strategic direction of the enterprise towards the high growth
aspect of the e-portfolio.
**Hamsin’s owners have recently been featured in the Top 10 UK entrepreneurs listing & new sites are under construction.
Option 1 Mono-presence
Comfort-zone E-retailer retains only a single website online
E-retailing
Intra-sector E-portfolio
Multiple cyberstore launches
within one fashion sector
(e.g. either clothing, or footwear or accessories)
Pure-Play Inter-sector E-portfolio

E-retailer Option 2
Multiple cyberstore launches
Strategic E-portfolio across fashion sectors
Options for development (e.g. separate sites in clothing and footwear)
Sustainability
Extra-sector E-portfolio
Multiple website launches outside of
the fashion sector
(e.g. events management or temporary warehousing)
Option 3
Hybrid Extension
Hybrid PP extends to hybrid CAM
development
Key:
Solid lines and bold print: indicate the two core options for sustainability.
Dotted line (option 3): relates to future research opportunity as only one case was found to develop
from a pure-play (PP) operation into a hybrid clicks-and-mortar (CAM) enterprise operating via
both online and high street activities.

Fig. 2 Pure-play e-retail sustainability strategies
already launched four new specialist footwear sites. The company now also operates
a wholesale footwear operation targeting the European trade and retail sectors
alongside its direct-to-consumer e-retail model.
EPD is differentiated from the existing literature by the role and importance of
leveraging marketing and internet-technology competencies, thus offering a new
aspect of portfolio development in the context of the small firm. This is supported by
owner-manager perceptions’ that developing multiple revenue streams in this way
assists in achieving profitable and potentially sustainable e-retail thus providing
pure-players with greater stability. Pure-players are not necessarily aware that what
they are doing is pertaining to strategy or strategic marketing, thus the EPD model
brings greater clarity to what appears to be an effective strategic process within the
fashion sector. A closer understanding of this process would be most useful to
formative e-businesses (Dobbs and Hamilton 2007) and to supply-side organisations
which assist e-retail web development.
Table 4 outlines the benefits of developing an e-portfolio e-retail strategy
according to owner-manager perspectives, offering both strategic marketing benefits
and potential routes to advantage for the small firm.
Pure-Player Habitual Entrepreneurship Mechanism
… Online portfolio development, management & launch cycles …

e-retail website-1 website-2 website-3 new e-portfolio additions*
Marketspace intelligence exposes
& e-retail theatre opportunities.

new niche/e-marketing/SEOa
‘Opportunity Development’
Common technical infrastructure, cumulative experience

& back-office systems engaged across all e-portfolio websites
to utilise synergy & build enterprise economies and efficiencies.
This mechanism spreads risk and emphasises sustainability
through ‘sequential’ and/or ‘concurrent’ multiple ventures for the e-SME.
… Development utility and speed for subsequent launches progresses over time …
Key:
a
SEO = Search engine optimisation.
Note:
*More rapid growth enterprises may develop multiple sites concurrently
once the first sites have been launched as experiential learning impacts upon speed, utility and
agility.
Fig. 3 E-retail strategy for pure-player sustainability: e-portfolio development mechanism
Future plans for all cases involved maintaining a process of continual

improvement, in manageable steps, in order to sustain a cycle of change through
refreshing/enhancing offerings over time and to keep pace with technological/
marketspace advancements and opportunities, such as those offered by Web 2.0.2
These findings address the third gap in the literature which highlighted the lack of
knowledge of where habitual & novice e-entrepreneurs develop/sustain business
interests in pursuit of sustainability. Following on from the discussion of the core
themes arising from the empirical data generated in this study, the next section
addresses the conceptual aspect of the organisational development process.
Conceptual development: six-stage process
This paper set out to empirically explore and conceptualise the way in which pure-
play fashion retailers develop and potentially sustain their organisations through
understanding the strategic interventions of owner-managers.
2
Web 2.0 refers to internet applications that facilitate interactivity online. Examples include: social
networking sites, Weblogs (blogs) and internet-based communities.
Table 4 Benefits of e-portfolio strategy (EPD) for pure-play fashion e-retailers
Enterprise benefits & routes to advantage Strategic marketing benefits
1. E-portfolio development provides a protective 1. Integration of new websites & niches spreads risk
buffer to the pure-player (e.g. safer, more stable as ‘multiple revenue streams’ are secured
and financially balanced operation)
2. Affords a complexity difficult to replicate for 2. First-mover advantages accrued to exclusive
entrants (given cumulative e-retail experience) product launch online
3. Generates cost economies as experience, 3. Expansion beyond fashion sector provides
knowledge and facilities are utilised across additional income streams for some pure-players
multiple cyberstores
4. Builds an increasingly sustainable operating 4. Multiple niches and international customer base
strategy as lines and ranges are increased and protect against fashion ‘seasonalities’
customer retention remains high
5. Established technical infrastructure means cost of 5. Flexibility and cumulative experience enables
additional sites is just ‘opportunity cost’ ‘speed to marketspace’ for new launches
6. Financial gains from early sites support new 6. Facilitates market/product development strategies
opportunities and launches, building multiple and potentially allows for diversification on a
profit pathways small scale
Source: Developed from empirical data generated in this study
The findings add a new perspective to organisational and e-business development

by recounting development along six core thematic and strategic areas grounded in
the practices of e-SME pure-play retail owner-managers operating in the fashion
retail industry.
The six core themes arising from the data analysis are naturally conceptualised in
a six-stage process model explaining how pure-players develop and sustain their
online organisations (Table 7). The sixth-stage of the conceptual framework
represents sustainability strategy for the pure-player. Understanding SME organisa-
tional development as a process parallels recent academic insight (e.g. Dobbs and
Hamilton 2007) and thus represents an extension of the existing small business
literature to accommodate the practices of SME retail e-businesses operating via a
pure-play strategy.
The findings here address the first two gaps identified in the literature which
called for adding to the knowledge base with depth studies in relation to the
organisational development and sustainability of pure-play e-retailers. The concep-
tual framework is developed from pure-play cases whose owner-managers claim to
have been successfully generating (and sustaining) revenues as a result of e-retailing
for several years online. This differs from existing models which offer only a bricks-
to-clicks perspective. Moreover, the conceptual development is grounded in rich
empirical data.
In total 14 cases incorporating 19 active websites were studied. There are clear
similarities in terms of pure-players transitioning generic stages and this is held
across all sectors. This fits well with the SME and e-business literature which strives
to explain the complexity of business development in a way which maximises
understanding. Moreover the strategic management practices, in particular in relation
to marketing, communications, technology utilisation and taking advantage of
emergent market opportunities appear to positively influence the development of

pure-play e-retailers aligning with recent developments in the entrepreneurship
literature (e.g. Valliere 2010), thus extending this understanding into a new SME
domain.
Rationale for the staged approach
As indicated in the previous section, pure-players including first-movers (i.e. online

following the onset of the internet in the 1990’s) and recent entrants (post-
millennium) develop online in a series of stages. This process enables experience
and knowledge to be built over time. In the sample six websites had been online for
less than 7 years and 13 online for over 7 years. Both comfort-zone and growth-
oriented cases explained a staged approach to the development of their organisations.
The concept of a staged approach to e-retailing is generated from the explicit
perceptions of the participants’ direct accounts of their online development:
“We’ve really developed online in stages …” (Case-C2).

“The launch … everything … was in stages really …” (Case-A1).
“The whole process … it’s gone through a series of stages …” (Case-F5).
Staged development was perceived to result from enterprises being unable to

quantify the value of the internet at the outset, along with the inaccessibility of
venture capital. Additionally, cases had the desire to constantly improve and
incorporate new technological developments.
This staged process explains how enterprises cumulatively develop experience
and key competencies (e.g. in marketing and technology utilisation). This enables
progression differentiating the six-stage process from incumbent SME organisational
development models which stress the management of crises (e.g. Churchill and
Lewis 1983).
Traversing the six-stage process involves bridging various developmental stages
on the route to successful e-retail. This necessitates focal activities to be conducted at
each stage emphasising the need for an organisation to absorb and use new
knowledge progressively—correspondent with recent perspectives (e.g. Phelps et al.
2007) on organisational development.
Findings herein enable many of the criticisms leveraged at stages models to be
redressed, as highlighted in Table 5.
The next section explores the extent of application and benefits of the six-stage
conceptual development across cases and sectors in the context of the research gaps
identified in the literature review.
Relevance of the six-stage process and e-portfolio strategy
Results presented in this paper offer empirical evidence supporting further development
of the existing generic three, four and five stage e-business models and e-portfolio
entrepreneurship activity in light of insights specific to fashion e-retail pure-players.
They also emphasise the need for strategic marketing management and publicity
strategies in the pursuit of sustainable pure-play enterprise.
Table 5 Criticisms/assumptions of stages models: how they are redressed in this study
Core criticisms/assumptions of stages modelsa Inherent problems of stages models redressed by this
studyb
1. Lack of empirical evidence to support 1. This study redresses the visionary nature of early
conceptualisations models and the surface knowledge of survey research
through extensive evidence. Use of recent entrants and
first-movers offers explanatory value regarding the
way pure-players develop over time
2. Based on a large enterprise perspective 2. All successful e-SMEs progress through each of the
stages providing theoretical good fit across cases
3. Focus on (rapid) growth enterprises 3. Eliminating a specific timeline accommodates
enterprises which are growth-oriented and therefore
traverse the stages quickly. Conceptualisations here
thus accommodate comfort-zone and growth enter-
prises
4. Assume successful organisations all progress 4. Findings do not assume a linear process as many
through stages in a linear fashion stages overlap, or operate concurrently, and activities
are extended as the organisation develops
5. Assume firms not achieving high growth and 5. Model does not assume growth, complexity and size
multi-million (£) asset base are failures are ultimate measures of success
6. Assume organisational development 6. Findings do not assume rapid growth is either
(growth) is constant and desired constant or desired and enterprises are free to exit at
any point
7. Level of fit for SMEs can be questioned (due 7. Stage-six builds in flexibility for the firm in terms of
to points 2–6 above) extending sustainability strategy options and offers
insight into both growth-oriented and comfort-zone
enterprise development. Saturation of data across 19
pure-play fashion websites assumes a good level of fit
Source: a Drawn from literature review; b Elaboration resulting from empirical data generated in this study
Findings encompass the cumulative experience of first-movers and more recent

online entrants. However, whilst the six-stage process clearly fits both early and new
entrants it was found that the speed of development through the stages appeared
more rapid for the post-millennial market entrants. This is likely due to the rapid
advancements in internet technology over the last 15 years and the availability of
open source (OS) products and off-the-shelf e-shopping packages for newer entrants.
The need for strategic flexibility in online SMEs is given little attention in
existing e-business models but can be located in the established portfolio literature
and the developing field of cyber-entrepreneurship. The findings in this paper
therefore extend research (e.g. Javalgi et al. 2005; Fillis 2004) which calls for
strategic flexibility in order to develop successful enterprise from the small business/
service sectors into a fashion e-retail setting. The six-stage model also acknowledges
that pure-players may choose to extend, migrate or terminate activities at any point.
In the ultimate stage, organisational development may be achieved by initiating
new operations either within or beyond the fashion sector. It may also be achieved
via acquisition. This extends existing cyber-entrepreneurship literature by providing
an explanation of where habitual entrepreneurs develop their business interests. In
particular this study provides rich insight into how novice/habitual entrepreneurship
relate to pure-players in the SME retail and fashion arenas in the context of
organisational development and sustainability thus addressing the third knowledge
gap arising from the literature review.
Taking into consideration evidence from across three fashion sectors, the concept
of habitual entrepreneurship in the form of e-portfolio development as a strategic
option for sustainability is outlined as a sixth stage of development for enterprises
wishing to grow. This also confirms and extends initial concepts developed from the
pilot study. The six-stage model presented in Table 7 thus accommodates both
growth-oriented and comfort-zone pure-player perspectives by highlighting the
strategic choices available following initial set-up and augmentation of the website.
Table 6 summarises the operational and strategic marketing benefits of developing
pure-play e-retail via a six-stage approach.
Existing models typically assume distinct organisational development stages. In
contrast, as the six-stages represent a process, competencies overlap and cumula-
tively develop across stages. This means that although Table 7 appears linear for
presentation purposes and to aid understanding, organisational development online
involves pure-players involved in multiple activities: either concurrently—or within
a short space of time.
Of note is that the more growth-oriented pure-players tend to traverse the
process stages much more quickly than the comfort-zone e-retailers. Growth-
oriented enterprises are also more likely to traverse aspects of the process stages
Table 6 Six-stage pure-play e-retail process: owner-manager perceived benefits
Operational benefits Strategic marketing benefits
1. Synergy utilisation: leading to improved operating 1. Benefits from experience, learning and
efficiency knowledge of customer responses gained over
time
2. Operating economies created (costs spread across 2. Unique segment opportunities (new customers/
multiple websites and trade/consumer business) sub-cultural groups)
3. Cost minimisation (via strategic integration) 3. Strong market development (UK & overseas:
comprising both trade and consumer)
4. Consolidation benefits (across websites and/or 4. International customer base cushions against
trade/consumer business) domestic domain fashion seasonalities
5. Multiple revenue streams facilitate cash flow for 5. Unique customisation facilitated—enabling
the small firm marketspace differentiation
6. Risk spread (across multiple websites/multiple 6. High customer retention
revenue streams)
7. Stabilisation of employee base in particular for 7. Strong WOM (also facilitates reduced customer
growth-oriented pure-players acquisition costs via high level of referrals)
8. Stability & sustainability from multiple activities 8. Growth based on ‘opportunity cost’a
sustained over time
Key:
Benefits apply comparably across sectors and pure-play cases.
a
Additional websites integrated into existing infrastructure with minimum outlay; strong customer
feedback mechanism facilitates identification of new opportunities and potential new niche domains for
targeting.
Table 7 Six-stage pure-play e-retail organisational development process
Int Entrep Manag J (2012) 8:165–201
Key: a Only one case was found to have developed a hybrid strategy therefore the findings concentrate on the first two options
Note: Each stage represents a knowledge gap which the enterprise is required to bridge in order to achieve business value over the longer-term
Source: Developed from empirical data generated in this study
193
concurrently, rather than sequentially. The concurrent nature of website develop-

ment is emphasised by the e-portfolio players who may set up multiple sites
concurrently following the experiential learning gained from the first website
launch.
The concurrent nature of the stages is further exemplified in Case-A1. Within
12 months, for example, Case-A1 had: developed transactional retail (Stage-One);
recouped investment within 10 days of launching a shopping cart, developed in-
house technological competencies—allowing frequent additions and changes to the
website (Stage-Two); initiated an e-gift-vouchers scheme, set up an online customer
gallery, initiated a detailed ‘blog’ diarising the owner-manager’s international
escapades (e.g. added value by engaging e-retail theatre, Stage-Three); extended
the product range, improved packaging and launched a new password protected
wholesaler site for independents (Stages Four-Five); and within the next year had
opened a high street store as a joint-venture with a fellow pure-play complementary
fashion products e-retailer (i.e. Stage-Six—high street extension; development of
multiple revenue streams). Definite stages occurred here—yet itemising these into
specific times/dates and plotting individual events is highly complex given the
dynamic nature of e-retailing (and the limitations of participant memory).
Given the strong ecological and participant validity in this thesis, the findings
may teach general lessons to a wider domain correspondent with Barnes et al.
(2004), McCracken (1988) and Gummesson (2003). The findings also emphasise the
importance of strategic marketing management and development in the context of
SME e-retailing.
In summary the findings indicate that the route to sustainable e-retailing lies in
bridging five essential knowledge gaps, with the most successful pure-players
developing further by bridging a sixth. Developing successful e-retailing entails:
maximising economies in supply/infrastructure; converting added value into
commercially viable units of response; keeping the customer happy through
continuous improvement (e.g. functionality, product range extensions); and building
a strategically integrated operational system that best utilises synergies within the
organisation. Stability is gained by developing multiple revenue streams (e.g. trade
and consumer) or developing a portfolio of websites/multiple channels within, across
or beyond the fashion sector emphasising the need for strategic marketing initiatives
in the development of e-retail enterprise.
The limitations of the study and application of the findings are discussed next.
Limitations and application of the findings
Three aspects limit this study: namely, the number of cases; UK focus; and company size.
Given the highly fragmented nature of the fashion industry this research is limited
by the sample size (19 websites) and sectors. Utilising respondent definitions is a
useful strategy, however, as experiential learning accumulates attitudes and opinions
may change over time.
The number of cases and sectors is counter-balanced by the cumulative
experience (over 160 years of ‘time in the field’) of the participants’ (Johnson and
Weller, 2002), whilst the rich description and conceptual developments assist in
building credibility (Creswell and Miller 2000).
Barnes et al. (2004: 337) suggest it is possible to generalise results from only
three cases “with caution”, whilst Gummesson (2003: 488) adds that a “theoretical
and purposeful” sample “guided by saturation … not only helps understand, but can
teach general lessons about marketing”. The findings may therefore not be fully
generalisable across the retail sector as a whole per se. However, saturation of data
across cases and sectors provides ‘good fit’ and ‘reliability’ for the theoretical
inferences drawn in this qualitative study (Creswell and Miller 2000; Gummesson
2000, 2003; Barnes et al. 2004). Moreover, discussions with the managing director
of the web-design agency following dissemination of the findings suggests that
many small enterprises beyond the retail sector also develop via a staged or
incremental approach—as knowledge, experience and confidence in the medium is
built. This means that the findings herein are likely to apply beyond the retail sector
and further research in this area could be a welcome addition to the literature.
In summary, the saturation of data across themes and sectors alongside the market
development, ease of export opportunities and comparable application of strategic
interventions across the six-stage process explained by the cases suggests that the
findings have a wider application to the e-retail context in general and thus may be
relevant to the fashion market beyond domestic borders. This is because internet
operation offers smaller high street enterprises, operating outside of the UK, the
opportunity to be born global (Foscht et al. 2006) and this is likely to equally be the
case for small pure-play enterprises across a wider retail domain. Significant
opportunities are thought to exist for e-retailers operating from developed markets in
particular since they have ready access to affordable internet technology packages
and consumers in developed nations have ready access to broadband (Ala-Mutka
et al. 2009) for ease and speed of e-shopping.
Implications resulting from the study
The findings of this study have important implications for e-retailers, web-design/
support agencies and industry researchers.
▪ In particular, the conceptualisations in this paper will provide useful strategic

frameworks for SMEs to plan and monitor their e-retail organisational development.
▪ The frameworks may also be used as a guide for small high street retailers
wishing to launch and then fast-track their organisational development into a
clicks-and-mortar operation.
▪ The conceptual developments are likely to provide a very useful tool for
further research into e-business domains across a wider set of niches and cross-
cultural settings.
▪ Web-designers and support agencies may employ the frameworks in order to
determine the stages of organisational development with a view to evaluating
where e-SMEs require the greatest inputs in terms of support services and
training.
The results of this study also have implications for policy makers as previous
studies have demonstrated a lack of academic knowledge in this rapidly developing
domain and, despite the All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group, current
government policy documentation (e.g. High-Street Britain 2015) does not extend to
protection and support of emerging small firms in the online retail domain. As small
shops continue to struggle to compete on the high street—fresh inputs to the e-SME
retail marketing community could assist in developing and maintaining the vital
diversity which small retailers bring to the consumption cycle.
The policy implications here, from a domestic market perspective, urge the UK
government to develop timely interventions to extend the small shops agenda
beyond 2015 in order to encourage policy relating to the development of a Healthy
‘Super High-Street’ in order to protect the national retail heritage.
Given that promoting the development of e-business is a key factor in efforts to
make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy in the world—this study also proposes international policy implications.
With new aspects to the European E-Commerce Directive (European Commission
2007) emerging on an ongoing basis, a balance must be struck between costly
regulations which could prove a disincentive to smaller-sized firms (in terms of cost
and red-tape regarding operating ethical and legal e-businesses in-line with European
requirements) and the need to protect consumer interests in order not to rein back
advancements in new media opportunities. European governments should therefore
seek clarity in e-business trading regulations and compatibility of legislation across
trading borders given the export and market development opportunities provided by
online trading. Appropriate dissemination and accessibility of critical information
should also be considered given the resource limitations of small shops across
Europe and the wider international sphere.
Conclusion
In response to calls from the literature this study sought to understand and
conceptualise the organisational development of pure-play SME fashion e-retailers
and to explore the strategies employed in pursuit of sustainable retailing.
This paper has explained and conceptualised the organisational development of
UK-based pure-play fashion e-retailers as a natural six-stage process. Within this
process two core options for sustainability, accommodating both comfort-zone and
growth-oriented e-retail enterprise typologies, have also been established. Eight
strategic marketing benefits and eight further operational benefits are thought to
accrue from developing via a six-stage process, according to owner-manager
perspectives. Participating pure-players have developed from four to over 10 years
online and many have therefore surpassed the 5 and 10 year survival expectations of
small firms (Harry 2006), thus bucking the current dot.com failure trend. This adds
credibility to the sustainability claims of the owner-managers and the strategies
identified herein.
The concept of an e-portfolio in the context of cyber-entrepreneurship has been
extended into the new domain of pure-play fashion e-retailing and the question of
‘where’ these habitual e-SME entrepreneurs expand their business interests has been
answered. The current study has found the practices of e-portfolio pure-players to be
wide ranging with expansion of operations within, across and beyond the initial
fashion sector. E-portfolio development, as outlined in this study, provides the
organisation with six key benefits which highlight possible routes to advantage
alongside six further strategic marketing benefits. These findings consequently add
important insights and bring greater clarity into the organisational development of
growth-oriented pure-players and extend more recent understanding (e.g. McMahon
2001; Bridge et al. 2003; Carrier et al. 2004) to the online fashion retailing domain.
The process of multiple business ownership explained in the paper also introduces a
new aspect to the concept of portfolio management and more specifically cyber-
entrepreneurship by stressing the role of developing internet-technology competen-
cies alongside strategic marketing and service capabilities for the smaller-sized
pure-player.
In accordance with the literature which emphasises the creativity and flexibility of
small firms in the quest for success (Fillis 2004; Javalgi et al. 2005), only the
inherent creativity and flexibility of the host pure-player are perceived by owner-
managers to limit success in the marketspace. Firms must therefore seek to engage
strategies for building market development and added-value into their operations via
application of sustainability strategies as an integral process. This has obvious
implications to players in the wider e-retail arena and emphasises the importance of
strategic marketing capabilities in the context of the online small firm.
As the UK is a leading player in the European e-shopping sector, valuable
insights into the types of pure-play e-retailers active in the marketspace and their
growth/development strategies have been gained which are likely to inform the
practices of e-retail organisations across a wider international domain given the
saturation of case evidence and theoretical inferences drawn in this study
(Gummesson 2000; Barnes et al. 2004). Consequently, this study highlights the
need for a more comprehensive EU policy in relation to internet retailing across
borders which takes into account the needs and nuances of small retailers in order to
retain and support the diversity of the sector. However, whether these findings can be
generalised beyond the European context (e.g. South America and developing areas
in the Caribbean) is an interesting question since the penetration of broadband/
e-shopping and the ready availability of credit have yet to reach the levels of near
saturation of the UK market. More psychically and culturally distant markets
however, may present useful market development opportunities to more growth-
oriented enterprises as growth in the UK e-shopping market starts to slow.
There is considerable scope for replication of this study. However, as the nature of
the industry is dynamic and since successful cases incorporate regular changes to
their websites in pursuit of customer lock-in and sustainability and as e-retailers
reserve the right to disaffiliate and migrate sites, experiment and consolidate, it is
likely that firms will have ‘moved on’ should future studies be conducted with the
same enterprises.
It would now be useful for future research to examine the organisational
development process and sustainability strategies across a wider retail sphere. For
example, the conceptual developments can be utilised as the basis for research across
additional retail sectors and cultural settings in order to affirm the applicability of the
six-stage process to additional enterprises operating at the strategic marketing/
entrepreneurship interface. An in-depth understanding of the drivers of success in the
context of sustainable retailing would also be useful as more retailers’ launch online
over the next 5 years (Herrod 2010). Exploration of the export and international-
ization strategies of smaller-sized pure-players would also be a useful addition to the

literature, as would an understanding of the development processes involved in
business-to-business (B2B) retailing online.
In conclusion, this paper identifies a staged process to understanding e-SME
organisational development in the context of pure-play enterprises operating in
the fashion retail marketing industry. Moreover, it redresses many of the
criticisms leveraged at stages models. It also supports Carter (1999) in that
persistent emphasis on fast growth may be equally inappropriate in an e-business
setting. However, that stages may be very short in fast growing industries is
acknowledged in this study, providing useful links back to prominent offline
organisational development studies.
Acknowledgements The research for this paper was supported by the Marketing and Retail Division at
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School and the Retail Enterprise Network (http://www.
retail-network.org). The author would also like to acknowledge Dr Elke Pioch, Ruth Schmidt and
Professor Emeritus Alan G. Hallsworth for their guidance throughout the research process for this study.
Participants are also thanked for their valuable time and information.
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Int Entrep Manag J (2012) 8:165–201

Marketing and organisational development

Published online: 10 March 2011

Abstract Following calls to explore organisational development in a fashion retail

Keywords Organisational development . Pure-play . e-SME . Fashion .

Following calls to explore small business development in a fashion and online

and sustainability is important since owner-managers may draw lessons from

Organisational development offline

Key papers investigating offline organisational development focus on growth models

collectivity; formalisation and control; followed by elaboration of structure which

Online organisational development

E-business development models

A limited selection of notable e-business development models exist. Willcocks et al.

marketing and developing customer relationships than traditional organisational

Critique of stages models

Organisational development models typically lack empirical data to support

SME growth & sustainability

This section addresses the important aspect of organisational development

configurations (which include both ‘lifestyle’ enterprises and businesses deliberately

Table 1 SME development typologies

Strong Moderate Limited

O’Farrell and Fast growers Satisfiers Failures (those attempting

Source: Compiled & summarised from extant literature

It is interesting to note in Table 1 that many sub-fast development categories are

Portfolio approach (offline)

Multiple-business-ownership has been proposed for offline (i.e. bricks-and-mortar)

Source: Conceptualised from text in Hall (1995).

Ashworth (2010a). The notion of multiple-business-ownership is now discussed in

Online portfolio (e-portfolio)

The importance of portfolio ownership for small enterprises is a recent development

Summary of key knowledge gaps relevant to this study

1. Need for understanding the e-business development process

bricks-and-mortar perspective. The literature gives little focus to the strategic

Importance of the research context for strategic management

Since the study of organisational development and sustainability, in the context of

Research approach and aims

Research design and data collection

Altogether 14 pure-players participated to enable an examination of the organisa-

Table 2 Participating website profiles of successful e-retail pure-play enterprises

Source: Developed from empirical data generated in this study.

Data analysis and credibility of the study

Empirical findings and discussion

Following analysis of the data six core themes relating to organisational

Process stage-1 e-retail launch

Consequently, the role of PR represents a key aspect of the strategic marketing

Process stage-2 competence & initial developments

Owner-managers described their next stage of development as a process of developing

This necessitates enhancements to site functionality (e.g. adding currency

Having accrued experience, the cumulative learning means the pure-player

Process stage-3 market development plus value integration

Product ranges are also extended. This involves relationship marketing

“50% of our business comes from overseas …” (Case-C1).

At this point the designer-led organisations in particular actively seek to service

Process stage-4 integration intensification

Integration intensification requires management commitment with regard to

Following a period of intelligence gathering, ‘re-engineering’ involves improve-

seeking deeper and more instrumental relationships with suppliers, suggesting a

Process stage-5 experience leveraging to maximise business value

The penultimate stage involves the organisation in leveraging cumulative experi-

Process stage-6 strategic development—sustainability

Comfort-zone pure-players retain a limited presence online. Despite experiencing

More growth-oriented companies follow a process of EPD (i.e. ‘e-portfolio develop-

Table 3 Summary of pure-play e-portfolio cases