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<?xml version="1.0" ?> <tei> <teiHeader> <fileDesc xml:id="0"/> </teiHeader> <text xml:lang="en"> <front>The use of the <lb/>Internet <lb/>331 <lb/>British Food Journal, <lb/>Vol. 103 No. 5, 2001, pp. 331-347. <lb/># MCB University Press, 0007-070X <lb/>The use of the Internet as a <lb/>critical success factor for the <lb/>marketing of Welsh agri-food <lb/>SMEs in the twenty-first century <lb/>Adrian Sparkes and Brychan Thomas <lb/>Welsh Enterprise Institute, University of Glamorgan Business School, <lb/>Pontypridd, South Wales, UK <lb/>Keywords Internet, Food, Small-to-medium-sized enterprises, Agriculture, Wales <lb/>Abstract A major challenge facing Celtic Fringe agri-food SMEs (in countries and regions of`` of``Celtic'' origin such as Wales, Ireland and Brittany) is how to sustain growth in a global market: a <lb/>market that is being expanded via e-commerce through the Internet to an international audience. This <lb/>paper reports on a two-stage survey undertaken by the Welsh Enterprise Institute initially involving a <lb/>short questionnaire that measures current Welsh agri-food SME usage of e-commerce and promotion <lb/>via the Internet. A selected follow up of respondents was undertaken utilising a more in-depth <lb/>questionnaire study of the management implications and critical success factors of those enterprises <lb/>using the Internet. The paper concludes by arguing the need for appropriate support to be provided <lb/>for Celtic Fringe, and specifically Welsh, agri-food SMEs to make them aware of the importance of <lb/>the adoption of e-commerce as a critical success factor for their marketing in the twenty-first century. <lb/></front> <body>Introduction <lb/>A significant challenge facing Welsh agri-food small and medium-sized <lb/>enterprises (SMEs) is how to sustain growth in a regional and sometimes global <lb/>market (Thomas and Sparkes, 2000b). The strategic and regional initiatives in <lb/>the agri-food industry in Wales have been described previously (Morley et al., <lb/>2000) and are significant for global marketing. The sustainable development of <lb/>agri-food SMEs has important implications for the Welsh farming environment <lb/>(Sparkes et al., 2000a; Sparkes and Thomas, 2001). There is a range of options <lb/>available and an increasingly important one is the Internet. In fact a contiguous <lb/>option available to SMEs is e-commerce. At a time when there is much talk about <lb/>globalisation, there is interestingly increasing interest in local food products. In <lb/>the first six months of 2000, the most frequent customer comment received by <lb/>Tesco related to the availability (or lack thereof) of local foods. There is a danger <lb/>that if there is too much emphasis on globalisation, the importance of local <lb/>markets will be overlooked. Further, the world is not a market ± it is a complex <lb/></body> <front>The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at <lb/>http://www.emerald-library.com/ft <lb/></front> <div type="acknowledgement">The authors would like to thank Professor David Brooksbank, Section Head of Enterprise and <lb/>Economic Development, University of Glamorgan Business School, for his support. The authors <lb/>are also indebted to Mr Courtney Probert and Miss Rachel Ellis, Directors of MAWR Ltd, Mr <lb/>Wynfford James, Food Director for Wales, Welsh Development Agency, Mr Tony Griffiths, <lb/>Agri-Food Co-ordinator for South East Wales, Mr Adrian Morley, Department of City Planning <lb/>and Regional Development, University of Wales Cardiff, Mr Terry Jackson, Medrus Cyf and Mr <lb/>David Grabham, WebAware, for their involvement in the research work reported. <lb/></div> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>332 <lb/></page> <body>series of myriads of sub-markets each with their own particular requirements. <lb/>These sub-markets can be enhanced through e-commerce and the marketing of <lb/>agri-food products via the Internet to an international audience. From recent <lb/>research carried out by the Welsh Enterprise Institute (WEI) it was found that <lb/>there may only be 4 percent of agri-food SMEs in Wales using the Internet to <lb/>market their products (Sparkes et al., 2001). <lb/>The challenge, therefore, is how to: <lb/>. <lb/>Enable Welsh agri-food SMEs to market effectively their products. <lb/>. <lb/>Put these small firms in contact not only with local markets but also <lb/>with international markets. <lb/>. <lb/>Ensure that a range of``of``authentic'' food products is available to Welsh <lb/>communities in other countries and those people with affinity to Wales <lb/>and``and``all things Welsh''. <lb/>. <lb/>Establish channels that facilitate repeat purchases by visitors to Wales. <lb/>This challenge can be responded to by enabling agri-food SMEs to: <lb/>. <lb/>Gain access to the Internet. <lb/>. <lb/>Develop``Develop``user friendly'' Web sites. <lb/>. <lb/>Link to overseas markets through the Internet. <lb/>. <lb/>Establish a long-term customer base. <lb/>The paper is structured according to a review of the appropriate literature, and <lb/>a description of a two-stage survey involving a short questionnaire return to <lb/>measure agri-food SME usage of e-mail and the Internet, followed by a longer <lb/>questionnaire survey for a more in-depth study of those enterprises using the <lb/>Internet. This is followed by a review of the significant aspects of the findings <lb/>of the research. The buying habits of Welsh culture affinity organisations on <lb/>the Internet in the USA, Canada and other countries have also been surveyed <lb/>and network links will be established between Welsh agri-food SMEs and <lb/>Welsh Affinity Groups (WAGs) (Welsh societies, organisations, and <lb/>communities) overseas through the Internet. <lb/>The pace of technological evolutionary development is ever increasing and <lb/>this is exhibited by the Internet which has reached 50 million people in just four <lb/>years (Sparkes and Thomas, 2000). The nature of innovation, including the use <lb/>of the Internet, amongst agri-food SMEs although slower than other sectors <lb/>(Thomas and Sparkes, 2000a) is still important for the growth and development <lb/>of the agri-food industry in Wales. Internet users in the home rose by 76 percent <lb/>to six million in the UK during 1998, with the use at the office up 54 percent to <lb/>5.3 million in the same period (Baker, 1999). There is, therefore, a huge audience <lb/>that can be reached for marketing programmes. <lb/>It is estimated that the annual value of Agri-tourism is worth some £4 <lb/>million to the Welsh economy with a further £500,000 value added by de facto <lb/>demand for Welsh food and related products following holiday visits. This <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/>Internet <lb/></note> <page>333 <lb/></page> <body>arises through tourists from countries like the USA and Canada with some 30 <lb/>Welsh affinity organisations and groups (and many more in countries such as <lb/>Australia and Argentina) with Web sites on the Internet. <lb/>The WEI has joined forces with Medrus Cyf, a tourism consultancy, and <lb/>WebAware, a Web design company, to link indigenous Welsh agri-food SMEs <lb/>to those Welsh affinity organisations and groups across the world with an <lb/>anticipated multi-million pound net gain to Wales and small Welsh agri-food <lb/>firms. It is anticipated that this will be a major project of long-term significance <lb/>not only to food producers in Wales but also to potential consumers of their <lb/>products across the World. <lb/>The objectives of the research project, which this paper describes, are <lb/>twofold: <lb/>. <lb/>First, to analyse the degree of Internet usage amongst a (``self-selecting'' <lb/>random) sample of Welsh Agrifood SMEs, and <lb/>. <lb/>Second, to identify the Critical Success Factors relevant to further, <lb/>increased, take-up of the Internet as a means of getting to market. <lb/>The paper concludes by arguing the need for appropriate support to be provided <lb/>for Welsh agri-food SMEs to make them aware of the importance of the adoption <lb/>of e-commerce (including the Internet and Web sites) as a critical success factor <lb/>for their marketing in the twenty-first century (Sparkes et al., 2000b). <lb/>Literature survey <lb/>Critical success factors (CSFs) have been defined by Guimaraes et al. (1999) as`` as``the critical areas that management must constantly monitor to ensure <lb/>successful performance by the organisation''. They refer to Magal et al. (1988) <lb/>who identified five composite CSFs for management: <lb/>(1) commitment; <lb/>(2) quality of support services; <lb/>(3) facilitation; <lb/>(4) role clarity; and <lb/>(5) co-ordination. <lb/>One CSF that is becoming increasingly important is marketing on the Internet. <lb/>With regard to this Ditto and Pille (1998) report that the degree of consumer <lb/>impact provided by a Web site can be divided into three categories: <lb/>(1) Informational level <lb/>(2) Transactional level <lb/>(3) Relational level. <lb/>Bringing these three factors together and creating a shared vision for the Web <lb/>site, according to Ditto and Pille (1998), is the CSF for creating an interactive <lb/>Web presence. <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>334 <lb/></page> <body>In the 1960s when Internet technology was emerging primary users were <lb/>based in academia. With the adoption of personal computers by business and <lb/>consumers the Internet became a resource for information, communication and <lb/>entertainment in the 1990s. The new Millennium is seeing yet another <lb/>transition for the Internet. Enterprises and the public worldwide are finding <lb/>that the Internet is more than a means for communication ± it is also a medium <lb/>for commerce and marketing. <lb/>For many SMEs, developing customer relationships is the basis for their <lb/>marketing philosophy. Small firms use many advertising and marketing tools <lb/>to build relations with their customers. In recent years many SMEs have <lb/>realised the importance of the Internet for customer relations by developing its <lb/>interactive nature. For early Internet marketing content was important but <lb/>more recently marketing professionals have realised that interactivity is critical <lb/>to forge relationships with customers. A Web site that engages the customer <lb/>with content and services differentiates the Internet from other forms of <lb/>marketing and can give a competitive advantage. As described previously <lb/>Ditto and Pille (1998) have divided the consumer impact of a Web site into three <lb/>categories of informational, transactional and relational levels. As development <lb/>progresses through each level customer interaction increases. <lb/>. <lb/>Informational level. This is the most basic level and the Web site is <lb/>fundamentally a means to provide the same information available <lb/>through traditional marketing. This usually includes the nature of the <lb/>enterprise. Information provided enables the customer to learn about the <lb/>enterprise but the static nature of the material means that it is not <lb/>interactive. It is therefore a one way process similar to conventional <lb/>marketing. <lb/>. <lb/>Transactional level. A transactional Web site provides more than static <lb/>information by enabling communication with the customer. Individuals <lb/>are attracted with particular needs and customers can have a ``virtual <lb/>tour''. Provision can be made through the Web site for customers to <lb/>contact the enterprise by e-mail, telephone or by other means. <lb/>. <lb/>Relational level. The Internet comes to the fore over marketing at this <lb/>level where an enterprise can develop interactivity with a customer. <lb/>This enables the development of a continuous relationship from the <lb/>original transaction. It is possible to create a community on-line <lb/>involving customer groups with similar needs and a ``virtual'' <lb/>community can be established involving customers with the enterprise. <lb/>The Internet can act as a conduit to develop a relationship between <lb/>enterprises and customers. <lb/>According to Ditto and Pille (1998) the development of an interactive Web site <lb/>involving real customer relationships requires an equivalent contribution from <lb/>the content, marketing and technology of an enterprise. These three need to be <lb/>brought together to create a shared vision for a Web presence which is the CSF <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/>Internet <lb/></note> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>336 <lb/></page> <body>their needs are met ± ``businesses are using their resources to target individuals <lb/>on an individualised basis'' (Kleindl, 2000). <lb/>Although SMEs are developing Web sites and using e-mail at nearly the <lb/>same rate as larger businesses they have been slower to adopt e-commerce <lb/>applications (Wilder, 1999). The reason for this is probably the high cost of set-<lb/>up and maintenance of e-commerce. An alternative for SMEs is to outsource to <lb/>third party companies (De Soto, 1998). Small firms who use effectively the <lb/>Internet may accrue benefits such as being more innovative, having a faster <lb/>response to environmental demands, and being able to adapt or change to <lb/>attain a competitive advantage (Kleindl, 2000). <lb/>Web site development costs for an SME will depend on the Internet goals of <lb/>the enterprise. Many small businesses will find these costs a barrier and those <lb/>looking to the Internet for business may not know how to start. Web site <lb/>developers can satisfy this need if the funding to do so is available and once <lb/>established can link SMEs to hosting sites such as Internet Service Providers <lb/>(ISPs). Some ISPs will offer a hosting service including content management, <lb/>order management and security on a fee basis (Kerstetter, 1998). Also Web site <lb/>developers can help an SME set up an e-commerce site to include shopping <lb/>carts to pick products, transaction costs, and credit card capture information <lb/>for the consumer when placing an order (Hoffman, 1998). <lb/>A number of disadvantages will confront SMEs if they are slow in the <lb/>adoption of technological skills. Also SMEs that acquire skills may face large <lb/>enterprises who are late movers but have large resource bases (Byrnes and <lb/>Judge, 1999). In both situations the small firms concerned will be at a <lb/>competitive disadvantage. Due to the impact of the Internet on SMEs they will <lb/>have to adapt or change many of their business practices. They will have to <lb/>embrace Internet-based technologies to stay competitive. Awareness to the <lb/>acquisition of new technology will impinge on their capability regarding the <lb/>employment and retention of skilled staff (Trager et al., 1999). This in turn will <lb/>influence their ability to retain existing and generate new customers. Whereas <lb/>the internal development of an Internet capability may not be possible for <lb/>resource limited small firms, the use of a Web site developer and the requisite <lb/>support to do so can enable SMEs to compete. <lb/>If SMEs successfully set up a Web site the Internet, which is perhaps the <lb/>most easily accessible communication system for small businesses, can help <lb/>them attain a global market (Lituchy and Rail, 2000). Even if an SME does not <lb/>have an international strategy, being linked to the World Wide Web through <lb/>the Internet positions a firm on the World stage, and the receipt of international <lb/>orders will trigger it to investigate international markets. The predicted growth <lb/>in e-commerce and the use of the Internet will considerably increase the level of <lb/>internationalisation for even the smallest twenty-first century firm. <lb/>The growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web is taking place at a fast <lb/>rate. The Web doubles in size every two to three months (Hoffman et al., 1995). <lb/>In 1996 there were 9.47 million host computers on the Net, with a doubling of <lb/>the number every year since 1981 (Network Wizards, 2000). A year later a user <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/>Internet <lb/></note> <page>337 <lb/></page> <body>survey of the World Wide Web amongst 10,000 Web users showed the Internet <lb/>to be increasingly important, with 84 percent reporting that e-mail and the Web <lb/>hadbecomèìndispensable technologies'' (GVU, 2000). Eighty-five percent <lb/>reported that they used the Web on a daily basis. Berthon et al. (1996) have <lb/>described the marketing possibilities of the Web which helps businesses with <lb/>regard to product information, new markets, corporate image, consumer <lb/>involvement in product development, and interactivity with consumers. <lb/>Small firms as well as their consumers can benefit from marketing on the <lb/>Internet. Benefits to customers include informed buying decisions from <lb/>information, the consumer-driven nature, the form of information received, and <lb/>the continual accessibility (Hoffman and Novak, 1996). The benefits to small <lb/>firms include competing with other firms on non-price dimensions, new <lb/>markets, low-cost marketing, and increased consumer satisfaction (Hoffman <lb/>and Novak, 1996). Barriers to consumers include access, ease of use, privacy <lb/>and security (GVU, 2000). For small firms deterrents include Web site <lb/>construction and test performance of marketing (Hoffman and Novak, 1996). A <lb/>good Web site will contain information needed to enable a buying decision and <lb/>it will have entertainment value. Marketing awareness will lead to a larger <lb/>number of visits. If the entry barriers are low SMEs will be able to establish an <lb/>Internet presence, which will help them compete with larger firms. Small firms <lb/>will be able to reach a larger market through the Internet and this will cause <lb/>SMEs to become international. Like many other sectors this will apply to Welsh <lb/>agri-food SMEs. <lb/>It is important for Welsh agri-food SMEs to design an e-commerce strategy <lb/>responsive to customer needs since the Internet will help them find foreign <lb/>clients, information and sell products (McCue, 1999). The Internet enables the <lb/>smallest firm to access collaborators, customers and suppliers globally <lb/>(Etemad and Wright, 1999). In a study of 15 small Scottish arts and crafts <lb/>companies where all the firms were less than a year old, they had already <lb/>internationalised, becoming``becoming``instant internationals'' (Oviatt and McDougall, <lb/>1994). It is this type of approach that is needed for Welsh agri-food SMEs, <lb/>which are in a position where they would benefit from becoming``becoming``instant <lb/>internationals''. <lb/>Agri-food SMEs and the Internet <lb/>Research methodology <lb/>In order to determine the use of the Internet as a critical success factor for the <lb/>marketing of Welsh agri-food SMEs a two stage survey was undertaken in the <lb/>Spring of 2000 at the Welsh Enterprise Institute (WEI). Important aspects of <lb/>the survey were the research design, sampling method, questionnaire design <lb/>and content, and the research question and hypothesis. The research was <lb/>designed as a two-stage questionnaire survey ± a primary and a secondary <lb/>questionnaire accompanied with an incentive that offered some form of <lb/>subsidised and tailored assistance ± either to assess and improve an existing <lb/>Web site or to help set one up. The authors had been given the contact details of <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <lb/> <body>Results and analysis <lb/>All the agri-food SMEs were asked what forms of traditional marketing <lb/>communications they undertook at present. It was felt that this would help give <lb/>an overall picture of how actively the business currently interacted with their <lb/>market place; both above and below them in their particular supply channel. <lb/>The results are shown in Table I. <lb/>The results in Table I show that 81 percent of the agri-food SMEs that <lb/>responded to the questionnaire considered promotional literature including <lb/>leaflets and posters to be an important traditional marketing tool, 20 percent <lb/>considered radio advertisements, 66 percent considered press advertisements, <lb/>76 percent brochures, only 33 percent considered television advertisements or <lb/>holiday programmes and 70 percent considered direct mail to previous/ <lb/>potential customers to be vital. <lb/>With regard to the length of time that they have been in business 8 percent <lb/>had been in business as a food supplier one to three years, 17 percent four to <lb/>seven years, 25 percent 8-15 years and 50 percent over 16 years. Concerning the <lb/>major marketing initiatives they were involved with 71 percent of respondees <lb/>No <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Little <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Some <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Fairly <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Very <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Promotional literature <lb/>± leaflets/posters, etc. <lb/>14 <lb/>5 <lb/>18 <lb/>27 <lb/>36 <lb/>Radio advertisements <lb/>60 <lb/>20 <lb/>20 <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>Press advertisements <lb/>± trade/consumer, etc. <lb/>17 <lb/>17 <lb/>17 <lb/>22 <lb/>27 <lb/>Brochure <lb/>18 <lb/>6 <lb/>29 <lb/>29 <lb/>18 <lb/>TV advertisements or <lb/>holiday programmes <lb/>59 <lb/>8 <lb/>8 <lb/>8 <lb/>17 <lb/>Direct mail to <lb/>previous/potential <lb/>customers <lb/>12 <lb/>18 <lb/>18 <lb/>29 <lb/>23 <lb/>Table I. <lb/>Forms of traditional <lb/>marketing undertaken <lb/>by agri-food SMEs <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>340 <lb/></page> <body>were registered with a major marketing initiative ± 59 percent with``with``A Taste of <lb/>Wales'' and 41 percent with the Welsh Agri-Food Partnership. <lb/>Table II shows the results from the survey for the critical success factors <lb/>(CSFs) appropriate to agri-food SMEs which were again measured on a five-<lb/>point Likert scale where 1 = of no importance and 5 = very important. The <lb/>critical success factors in Table II were developed using a filter process derived <lb/>from the model to measure critical success factors reported in a previous paper <lb/>(Sparkes et al., 2000b). By doing this it was possible to review the wide-ranging <lb/>critical success factors outlined in the literature and identify and apply those <lb/>applicable to agri-food SMEs. <lb/>The results in Table II show that 95 percent of agri-food SMEs considered <lb/>turnover to be important, 96 percent considered product characteristics, all <lb/>considered marketing, 44 percent exports, 88 percent competition, only 43 <lb/>percent technological complexity, all considered management to be important <lb/>and 83 percent considered the Internet to be important. Statistical analysis of <lb/>the average scores in Table II shows that if the percentages of``of``fairly <lb/>important'' and``and``very important'' are added (the Internet has 39 percent with the <lb/>average for all the critical success factors being 54 percent), the Internet has <lb/>only modest``modest``very important'' (4 percent) (and``and``some importance'' suggests that <lb/>it is an afterthought) and turnover, product, marketing and management are <lb/>the greater facets. This is contrary to the hypothesis that the Internet is a <lb/>critical success factor for the marketing of Welsh agri-food SMEs. Although <lb/>this may be the current situation, if the Internet is adopted to a greater degree <lb/>by agri-food SMEs in the future it will consequently become a significant <lb/>critical success factor. Of the agri-food SMEs that responded to the <lb/>questionnaire 38 percent already had a Web site and 58 percent were actively <lb/>planning one. One SME did not have a computer and therefore had no Web site <lb/>but, given the incentives they had been offered to respond quite optimistically <lb/>reported that they would like to have both! <lb/>From the second section it was apparent that for businesses with existing <lb/>Web sites 34 percent had been running their own Web site for one to three <lb/>Factor <lb/>No <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Little <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Some <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Fairly <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Very <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Turnover <lb/>5 <lb/>0 <lb/>25 <lb/>25 <lb/>45 <lb/>Product characteristics <lb/>0 <lb/>4 <lb/>21 <lb/>33 <lb/>42 <lb/>Marketing <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>17 <lb/>65 <lb/>18 <lb/>Exports <lb/>39 <lb/>17 <lb/>31 <lb/>9 <lb/>4 <lb/>Competition <lb/>4 <lb/>8 <lb/>38 <lb/>17 <lb/>33 <lb/>Technological complexity <lb/>22 <lb/>35 <lb/>30 <lb/>9 <lb/>4 <lb/>Management (leadership) <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>8 <lb/>46 <lb/>46 <lb/>Internet <lb/>4 <lb/>13 <lb/>44 <lb/>35 <lb/>4 <lb/>Table II. <lb/>Critical success factors <lb/>(CSFs) reported by <lb/>agri-food SMEs in <lb/>Wales <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/>Internet <lb/></note> <page>341 <lb/></page> <body>months, 22 percent for four to eight months, 22 percent for nine to 16 months <lb/>and 22 percent for over 17 months. Of those actively planning a Web site: 43 <lb/>percent anticipated launching a site in one to three months time, 28 percent in <lb/>four to eight months, 29 percent in nine to 16 months and none in over 17 <lb/>months time. For businesses with existing Web sites the forms of traditional <lb/>promotional marketing undertaken over and above their Web sites are shown <lb/>in Table III. <lb/>It will be recalled that the justification for returning to these areas of the <lb/>survey were to assess whether the Internet was leading or just supplementing <lb/>the businesses' traditional ways of communicating with their market place. <lb/>A number of trade or consumer press publications were reported as being <lb/>used for promotional traditional marketing and these included: The Grocer, the <lb/>Fish and Chip Magazine, Frozen and Chilled Foods, Meat Trade, Ice Cream <lb/>Alliance and the Western Mail (the daily newspaper of Wales). More generally <lb/>other publications used included the meat and retail press, food magazines, <lb/>catering press (locally), local paper (South Wales), Wales regional press, trade <lb/>magazines, and newspapers generally. Other media used included radio (local <lb/>stations Red Dragon and Radio Ceredigion, for example), and television <lb/>(adverts on Harlech Television (HTV) Wales and Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C)). <lb/>With regard to Web site business increasing, staying static or decreasing, 50 <lb/>percent of those enterprises that responded to this question reported that it was <lb/>increasing and 50 percent reported that it was static. None reported that it was <lb/>decreasing. The origin of main customers via Web sites included: Wales, <lb/>England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire, and overseas: Australia, North <lb/>America, Denmark and Japan. Further research could usefully elicit critical <lb/>success factors relevant to most effectively accessing these markets. <lb/>Out of the agri-food SMEs who responded to the question regarding what <lb/>search engines they were registered with 100 percent reported they used <lb/>Yahoo, 57 percent Alta Vista, 43 percent Infoseek and 29 percent AOL, Google <lb/>No <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Little <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Some <lb/>importance <lb/>(%) <lb/>Fairly <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Very <lb/>important <lb/>(%) <lb/>Promotional literature <lb/>± leaflets/posters, etc. <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>11 <lb/>33 <lb/>56 <lb/>Radio advertisements <lb/>60 <lb/>20 <lb/>0 <lb/>20 <lb/>0 <lb/>Press advertisements <lb/>± trade/consumer, etc. <lb/>12 <lb/>0 <lb/>13 <lb/>25 <lb/>50 <lb/>Brochure <lb/>0 <lb/>14 <lb/>14 <lb/>29 <lb/>43 <lb/>TV advertisements or <lb/>holiday programmes <lb/>75 <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>25 <lb/>Direct mail to <lb/>previous/potential <lb/>customers <lb/>43 <lb/>0 <lb/>0 <lb/>14 <lb/>43 <lb/>Table III. <lb/>Forms of traditional <lb/>promotional marketing <lb/>undertaken over and <lb/>above Web sites <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>342 <lb/></page> <body>and Hot Bot. Keywords used included``included``food'', ``food ingredients'', ``fresh'', <lb/>``natural'', ``organic'', ``Wales'', and``and``Welsh''. Only two agri-food SMEs reported <lb/>that they had a hit counter which had been active for one and four months, <lb/>respectively. For the enterprise whose hit counter had been running for four <lb/>months, for the period 16 March to 20 July 2000, 8,210 hits had been recorded. <lb/>Of some importance is the finding that no companies reported that they dealt <lb/>with other Welsh food companies' Web sites therefore showing no or littlè`businesslittlè`business to business'' activity through Web sites for agri-food SMEs. Table IV <lb/>provides examples of Welsh agri-food SME Web sites. <lb/>Discussion and review <lb/>Although the paper reports the study of the use of the Internet as a critical <lb/>success factor for the marketing of Welsh agri-food SMEs in the twenty-first <lb/>century, against the more rigorous framework of previous research, it does not <lb/>propose that the use of the Internet is a panacea for all the problems that face <lb/>the sector. In fact the Internet is seen as one of several important factors that <lb/>impact on the survival and development of SMEs. The challenge of how to <lb/>sustain growth in a global market, and the justification for this strategy, is seen <lb/>to be aided by being technology enabled in terms of Internet access and Web <lb/>site development. In these terms it is necessary to take account of the context of <lb/>marketing in this sector. It is important to note that there is more Internet <lb/>selling rather than marketing. This needs to be set in the wider context of <lb/>marketing within these firms. As well as supply side emphasis the customer is <lb/>important. There are various types of customers and customer segments <lb/>involved such as end users (people buying food produce in supermarkets) and <lb/>customers in the chain (such as restaurateurs). <lb/>Also important are integrated marketing, customer satisfaction, relationship <lb/>marketing and the high component of customer care and service. There is a <lb/>need for agri-food SMEs to have appropriate resources to respond to this <lb/>opportunity. There are particular issues paid by agri-food SMEs to the <lb/>marketing of their produce. For example, firms marketing cheese via the <lb/>Internet, such as those in the Cegin Cymru network, face specific problems of <lb/>keeping the produce fresh in transit which is quite different to other products <lb/>sold on the Internet such as books through Amazon.com. <lb/>Welsh affinity groups <lb/>Following the survey of Welsh agri-food SMEs it is proposed to survey the <lb/>buying habits of Welsh culture affinity organisations on the Internet in the <lb/>USA, Canada and other countries. With the development of a Welsh agri-food <lb/>Web portal it is hoped to establish network links between Welsh food SMEs <lb/>and the Welsh Affinity Groups (WAGs) and communities overseas through the <lb/>Internet. Table V lists the WAGS that have been identified in the USA, Canada, <lb/>and elsewhere. There are six in Canada, 24 in the USA and one each in <lb/>Australia, England, New Zealand, Norway, and Tasmania. <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/> Internet <lb/></note> <page>343 <lb/></page> <body>Name of company <lb/>Product <lb/>Location <lb/>Web site address <lb/>Abergavenny Fine Foods <lb/>Cheese <lb/>Abergavenny <lb/>http://www.foodhall.co.uk/aff <lb/>Anglesey Sea Salt Company <lb/>Sea salt <lb/>Anglesey <lb/>http://www.seasalt.co.uk <lb/>Barbara's Kitchen <lb/>Dietary solutions <lb/>Pontyclun <lb/>http://www.barbaraskitchen.co.uk <lb/>Beacon Foods Ltd <lb/>Processed Foods <lb/>Brecon <lb/>http://www.beaconfoods.co.uk <lb/>BHC Honey Supplies Limited <lb/>Honey <lb/>Brecon <lb/>http://www.bhchoneysuppliers.com <lb/>Black Mountain Liqueur <lb/>Cordial <lb/>Usk <lb/>http://:www.celticspirit.co.uk <lb/>Brains Brewery <lb/>Beer <lb/>Cardiff <lb/>http://www.sabrain.co.uk <lb/>Brecon Court Vineyard <lb/>Wine <lb/>Llansoy <lb/>http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~richards/vineyards/brecon.htm <lb/>Crown Buckley Brewery <lb/>Beer <lb/>Pontyclun <lb/>http://www.beerline.co.uk/brew0088.htm <lb/>Cwm Deri Vineyard <lb/>Wine <lb/>Pembrokeshire <lb/>http://www.cwm-deri.co.uk <lb/>Eladon Food Supplements <lb/>Food Supplements <lb/>Bangor <lb/>http://www.btinternet.com/~elanltd <lb/>Felinfoel Brewery <lb/>Beer <lb/>Llanelli <lb/>http://.felinfoel-brewery.co.uk <lb/>Graig Farm Organic Meats <lb/>Organic Meat <lb/>Llandrindod Wells <lb/>http://www.graigfarm.co.uk <lb/>Llangloffan Farmhouse Cheese <lb/>Cheese <lb/>Nr Fishguard <lb/>http://www.welshcheese.co.uk <lb/>Llyn Peninsula Bacon <lb/>Bacon <lb/>Pwllheli <lb/>http://www.cegincymru.co.uk/meat/meat.htm <lb/>Organic Farm Foods <lb/>Organic Vegetables Lampeter <lb/>http://www.organicfarmfoods.co.uk <lb/>Rachel's Dairy <lb/>Yogurts <lb/>Aberystwyth <lb/>http://www.rachelsdairy.co.uk <lb/>South Caernarfon Creameries Ltd <lb/>Creamery products Pwllheli <lb/>http://www.sccwales.co.uk <lb/>The Patchwork Traditional Food Company Pate  <lb/>Ruthin <lb/>http://www.patchwork-pate.co.uk <lb/>Tomos Watkin Ltd <lb/>Beer <lb/>Swansea <lb/>http://www.tomoswatkin.com <lb/>Ty à <lb/>Nant Ltd <lb/>Spring Water <lb/>Llanon <lb/>http://www.tynant.co.uk <lb/> Table IV. <lb/>Examples of Welsh <lb/>agri-food SME Web <lb/>site <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">BFJ <lb/>103,5 <lb/></note> <page>344 <lb/></page> <body>The principal WAG in the USA is the National Welsh-American Foundation <lb/>(NWAF, 1999) which was incorporated under the provisions of the District of <lb/>Columbia Non profit Corporation Act on February 27, 1980. It is recognised as a <lb/>charitable and educational organisation. The Foundation is dedicated to <lb/>promoting and sharing the history of Welsh-Americans, providing financial <lb/>assistance to individuals, Welsh festivals, travelling museums and exhibits, co-<lb/>ordinating activities of Welsh-Americans, assuring a unified and effective voice <lb/>for Welsh-Americans, ensuring cultural exchange between Wales and the USA, <lb/>and supporting Welsh-American groups. <lb/>A number of WAGs already havè`shop fronts'' where members or``or``visitors'' <lb/>to their sites can purchase Welsh products. An example of a WAG with links to <lb/>Welsh food products is the Saint David's Welsh Society of Georgia. The <lb/>Name <lb/>Country <lb/>Arizona Welsh Society <lb/>USA <lb/>Colorado Welsh Society <lb/>USA <lb/>Cymdeithas Cymru Birkenhead <lb/>England <lb/>Gulf Coast St David's Society <lb/>USA <lb/>Iowa Welsh Society <lb/>USA <lb/>National Welsh-American Foundation <lb/>USA <lb/>New York Welsh <lb/>USA <lb/>Oslo Welsh Society <lb/>Norway <lb/>Prince Edward Island Welsh Society <lb/>Canada <lb/>Puget Sound Welsh Association (PSWA) <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Society of Montreal <lb/>Canada <lb/>Saint David's Society of Connecticut <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Society of St Petersburg and the Suncoast <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Society of Wyoming Valley <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Society of Toronto <lb/>Canada <lb/>Saint David's Society of Winnipeg <lb/>Canada <lb/>Saint David's Welsh Society of Georgia <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Welsh Society of Greater Kansas City <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Welsh Society of Nebraska <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Welsh Society of the Capital District <lb/>USA <lb/>Saint David's Welsh Society of the Slate Belt, Bangor, Pennsylvania USA <lb/>Saint David's Welsh-American Society of Baltimore <lb/>USA <lb/>The Welsh in Australia <lb/>Australia <lb/>Victoria Welsh Society <lb/>Canada <lb/>Welsh Society of Vancouver <lb/>Canada <lb/>Welsh American Society of Northern California <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Cambrian Society of Canterbury <lb/>New Zealand <lb/>Welsh Organisations in the Washington, D.C. Area <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Central Ohio <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Fredricksburg <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Greater Cincinnati <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Northwest Ohio <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Philadelphia <lb/>USA <lb/>Welsh Society of Southern Tasmania <lb/>Tasmania <lb/>Welsh Society of the Carolinas <lb/>USA <lb/>Table V. <lb/>Welsh affinity groups <lb/>in Canada, USA and <lb/>outside North America <lb/></body> <note place="headnote">The use of the <lb/> Internet <lb/></note> <page>345 <lb/></page> <body>establishment of a Welsh agri-food Web portal will enable members of Welsh <lb/>communities to buy speciality Welsh food products (peculiar only to Wales, <lb/>such as Welsh cheese, honey and cake) directly from Welsh agri-food SMEs. <lb/>This will have advantages for both the customers and the agri-food SMEs of <lb/>direct buying. <lb/>Conclusions <lb/>This paper has attempted to illustrate the way Celtic Fringe agri-food SMEs <lb/>can respond to the major challenge of how to sustain growth in a global market <lb/>through the use of the Internet as a Critical Success Factor (CSF). This can be <lb/>achieved by ensuring that a range of``of``authentic'' food products is available to <lb/>Welsh and Celtic periphery communities in other countries and those people <lb/>worldwide with affinity to the Celtic fringe. The use of the Internet by SMEs is <lb/>important and thè`business to business'' uses of the Internet are equally <lb/>recognised. Using the technology to forge better commercial relations with <lb/>trade customers, as well as suppliers is as significant as the sexier``sexier``develop a <lb/>Web site'' approach to communicating with end consumers. The conclusions of <lb/>the research findings are that the challenge can be responded to by enabling <lb/>small agri-food firms to gain access to the Internet, develop``develop``user friendly'' Web <lb/>sites, link to overseas markets through the Internet, and establish a long-term <lb/>customer base sustained via e-commerce and e-communications. There is the <lb/>need for appropriate support to be provided for Celtic Fringe and specifically <lb/>Welsh agri-food SMEs to make them aware of the importance of the adoption of <lb/>e-commerce (including the Internet and Web sites) as a critical success factor <lb/>for their marketing in the twenty-first century. <lb/>Subsequent areas of research, not specifically constrained to Agri-Food <lb/>SME's, could usefully re-evaluate the effectiveness of``of``first generation'' Web <lb/>sites and also drill down into the various forms of marketing communications <lb/>to analyse the extent to which they are all integrated (i.e. does the advert in the <lb/>trade press or the promotion used at exhibitions carry incentives to buy, at say <lb/>a discount, from the Web site?). 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