A b s t r a c t Netsourcing allows the renting of informa-tion systems (IS) services and applicainforma-tions from a third party provider via a network. E-ticketing is a booking option that is developing rapidly in the entertainment industry. This paper investigates the moti-vations of four theatres for adopting netsourcing-based e-ticketing. By splitting the IS adoption decision into solution- and realization-specific factors, the paper intro-duces a novel way of considering e-commerce adoption in SMEs. Exploratory case research demonstrates that perceived benefits, the desire to expand online activities, industry trends, and pressures from customers motivate theatres to adopt e-ticketing. In conjunction with e-ticketing, the netsourcing business model is adopted due to internal constraints and restrictions imposed by the provider of the existing box office system.
Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), e-commerce, netsourcing, e-ticketing adoption, theatres
A u t h o r s
Maria Woerndl
(mnsmrw@management.bath.ac.uk) is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems at the University of Bath, School of Management.
Philip Powell
(mnspp@management.bath.ac.uk) is Professor of Information Systems at the University of Bath, School of
Management.
Richard Vidgen
(mnsrtv@management.bath.ac.uk) is Professor of Information Systems at the University of Bath, School of
Management.
Netsourcing in SMEs: E-ticketing in Art
Venues
MARIA WOERNDL, PHILIP POWELL AND RICHARD VIDGEN
INTRODUCTION
E-ticketing is a method of obtaining tickets in which the traditional book-ing options of telephone, fax, face-to-face, and paper tickets are replaced by electronic media. This ticketing option is receiving substan-tial attention in the airline industry, but is little explored in other con-texts and settings. Airlines, unlike smaller enterprises, have the financial power and expertise to realize large and innovative information systems projects. For small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), such as regional theatres, that often operate with severe constraints on finance and resources netsourcing may offer the possibility of bridging the finance and resource gap and enable access to novel IS solutions.
‘Netsourcing is the practice of renting or ‘‘paying as you use’’ access to centrally managed business appli-cations, made available to multiple users from a shared facility over the Internet or other networks via brow-ser-enabled devices’ (Kern et al. 2002b: 1). The first generation of netsourcing is the application service provision (ASP) model. An ASP provider ‘manages and delivers appli-cation capabilities to multiple entities from a data centre across a wide area network’ (Susarla et al. 2003). The development of first generation netsourcing is constrained by the
limitations of the ASP concept, which are best summarized by ASP being little more than application outsour-cing (Bradshaw 2004). Netsouroutsour-cing is a rental channel enabling the provi-sion of business applications as well as services and infrastructure (Kernet al. 2002b). The Internet is the defining component that not only sets net-sourcing and ASP apart from IS out-sourcing (Tebboune 2003) but also enables the renting of a full range of IS services, such as data storage and backup/recovery. Although existing studies highlight the theoretical suit-ability of netsourcing for SMEs, empirical research on the SME per-spective of netsourcing is scarce.
After reviewing current literature on netsourcing, IS adoption and e-commerce in SMEs, this paper develops and tests a conceptual framework of netsourcing as an IS innovation based on Roger’s (2003) diffusion of innovations theory. An e-ticketing decision model is devel-oped, tested and discussed, and the findings presented. Research limita-tions and future research possibilities conclude the paper.
NETSOURCING IN SMES
Netsourcing is the renting of IS services and applications from a third party, enabled by an electronic net-work. This IS rental model, which is
Copyright ß 2005 Electronic Markets Volume 15 (2): 119–127. www.electronicmarkets.org DOI: 10.1080/10196780500083779
targeted at SMEs, is often marketed by providers as a panacea for access to innovative IS solutions. So far, though, there is little evidence that netsourcing influ-ences IS adoption by SMEs.
Netsourcing decisions may be understood from a number of perspectives (Figure 1). These include the IS outsourcing perspective (Currie and Seltsikas 2001;
Kern et al. 2002b; Tebboune 2003), and the ‘IS in
SMEs’ perspective (Brown and Lockett 2004). Studies investigating netsourcing in SMEs tend to approach the issue from the provider perspective (Brown and Lockett 2004; Currie and Seltsikas 2001; Kern et al. 2002a; Susarla et al. 2003) with fewer studies that adopt an SME-centric perspective (Barrar and Wood 2002). The current study emerges from the IS in SMEs discipline and takes an SME perspective.
The SME perspective in IS outsourcingis a neglected area of study, although Chau (1994) has investigated packaged software selection in SMEs. This lack of research may be due to the inability of SMEs to adopt the IS outsourcing model – possibly as a result of the resource constraints faced by SMEs. However, the spread of netsourcing means that there is a shift toward increasing availability of IS through outsourcing to SMEs.
IS adoptionresearch in SMEs centres on three issues:
reasons for adoption or non-adoption (Sillince et al. 1998), general factors affecting IS adoption in SMEs (Caldeira and Ward 2002; Fink 1998; Thong 1999), and specific factors affecting IS adoption in SMEs (Gagnon et al. 2000; Harrison et al. 1997). Within these three areas further distinctions emerge. For example, within the factors affecting IS adoption, the adoption of specific types of IS, such as Internet adoption (Levy and Powell 2003; Mehrtens et al. 2001) or EDI adoption (Iacovou and Benbasat 1995; Kuan and Chau 2001), can be found. Although within the IS adoption literature these various themes emerge, the reasons for adopting an IS are often generic, crossing geographical and context boundaries. For example, Mehrtens et al. (2001) find that SMEs adopt the Internet for perceived benefits, organizational readiness and external pressure reasons – the same reasons given for SMEs to adopt EDI (Iacovou and Benbasat 1995). The three key areas for adoption are also tested by Levy and Powell (2003) in the Internet context, yet they find little evidence of external pressure on SMEs to adopt. This contradicts parts of the Mehrtens et al. (2001)
findings and therefore warrants further, contextual, investigations. The key internal reasons for adopting an IS, according to the SME adoption literature, are perceived benefits, CEO/owner/manager perspectives and attitudes towards IT, IS/IT resources, competencies and compatibility, and organizational issues such as size and competitive strategy. External reasons driving IS adoption in SMEs include pressure from customers, competitors, suppliers, trading partners, the industry and government; external support from vendors or consultants; access to resources, e.g., grants; availability of a solution for a specific IS need; and image issues.
E-commerceadoption in SMEs, as with IS adoption in
SMEs, can be understood as involving external and internal driving forces, for reasons similar to those identified in the SME-IS adoption literature. Examples of external reasons include pressures from customers, suppliers and competitors, and industry trends; internal reasons include opportunity to grow and expand, top management influence, increasing the value of the business, and increased effectiveness (Daniel and Grimshaw 2002; Drew 2003). These perceived benefits build a relative advantage for SMEs of adopting e-commerce (Kendall et al. 2001; Poon and Swatman 1999; Santarelli and D’Altri 2003) alongside the external pressures that drive adoption. A further factor determining e-commerce adoption among SMEs is firm size (Daniel and Grimshaw 2002; Van Beveren and Thomson 2002). The process of e-commerce adoption and development by SMEs in some instances is seen to be a stage model (Danielet al. 2002; Rao et al. 2003) whereas others researchers question stage models and propose contingent approaches to IS adoption and development in SMEs (Levyet al. 2002).
IS research in theatres
Although IS research in theatres is sparse, this is an interesting and important domain given that there are more than 1,800 theatres of varying sizes in England and Wales (The Theatres Trust 2004) and many thousands across Europe. A theatre is ‘any building or part of a building constructed wholly or mainly for the public performance of plays’ (Theatres Trust Act 1976). Often such institutions are publicly or locally owned, which provides an interesting context for research. Examples of
Figure 1. Disciplines and perspectives of netsourcing
IS literature on theatres include the development of a theatre box office system (Vidgenet al. 2002) as well as inclusion of theatres in SME case analyses (Levy and Powell 2005). Little other research on IS in Theatres exists, which is surprising as theatres are not only community hubs but are often major local employers.
This review illustrates the lack of research on the SME perspective of netsourcing and on theatres in particular. This study addresses part of this deficiency by focusing on the adoption of netsourcing-based e-commerce solutions for SMEs, using e-ticketing in regional theatres as an example.
AN E-TICKETING DECISION MODEL
When internal and external motivations trigger a recognition of an IS need (Rogers 2003) SMEs tend to start a search to satisfy this need within the boundaries accepted by the SME. These boundaries will determine whether netsourcing is a suitable solution for considera-tion. Examples of boundaries include resource (e.g., financial) and skill constraints, awareness of the various options available, and the SME managers’ understanding of the value of IS. Once the boundaries are established, the SME can decide how to satisfy the recognized IS need within the search space. Three options are available: to build the solution in-house; to buy the solution; or to rent the solution via a netsourcing model. The boundaries determine whether the SME engages in a netsourcing relationship to satisfy the IS need. One reason for inclusion or exclusion of netsourcing may be, for example, cost (Kernet al. 2002b), but, as identified earlier, there is little research about this and that reported here makes an important contribution. These aspects are summarized in the e-ticketing decision model that is tested and developed later (Figure 2).
The e-ticketing decision model draws on the first two stages of Roger’s (2003) innovation process in organiza-tions, i.e. identification of need and search for a solution. With little research on netsourcing available from the SME perspective, Roger’s (2003) initiation stages of innovation (agenda setting and matching) provide a backbone for the research, concluding in the adoption decision. The innovation in organizations literature has, in the past, proven beneficial when investigating the adoption of IS innovations (Moore and Benbasat 1991) and netsourcing is just such an IS innovation (Brown and Lockett 2004; Currie 2004).
RESEARCH METHOD
Netsourcing is a new business model that is continuing to develop with the spread of Internet technologies. An exploratory, qualitative case study research method is employed here due to the lack of existing knowledge on the SME perspective of netsourcing and the absence of prior research about e-ticketing in theatres. A qualitative research approach produces rich data and is a useful research strategy where there is little upfront knowledge available about a phenomenon (Marshall and Rossman 1989).
Four theatres using a netsourcing-based e-ticketing solution participated in the research. This sample is not chosen randomly but is a ‘convenient sample’ (Levy
et al. 2002) as the research focuses on a phenomenon in
a specific context (Marshall and Rossman 1989) – netsourcing in SMEs. Data about the adoption of netsourcing was obtained through semi-structured interviews with key personnel responsible for adopting and operating e-ticketing, for example box office and marketing managers. In total, 14 interviews, each lasting one to two and a half hours, were conducted. The
Figure 2. e-ticketing decision model
interviews were recorded and transcribed and the findings summarized in four case summaries. A cross case, qualitative data analysis (Miles and Huberman 1994) is the basis for the findings presented. Good qualitative data analysis consists of three activities: data reduction; data display; and conclusion drawing/verifi-cation (Miles and Huberman 1994). The data collected from the four theatres were first abstracted in the data reduction process. Then the data were displayed in case summaries and organized in cross case tables, which permitted conclusions to be drawn.
E-TICKETING ADOPTION IN UK ART VENUES
This section first provides context about e-ticketing and then investigates the reasons for SMEs to adopt e-ticketing using netsourcing.
The four art venues
For confidentiality reasons, the four theatres are called
STAGE, MUSIC, PANTO and OPERA. The four
theatres are based in the South-West and West regions of the UK. The catchment areas of all four theatres can be described as local and regional, however the introduction of e-ticketing has made the publication of the productions staged by these theatres visible to a world-wide audience.
The theatres are classified as SMEs as they fall within the boundaries of the European Commission SME definition (European Commission 2004) which states that small and medium-sized enterprises have fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less thanJ50 million. In terms of employment structure, the theatre industry depends heavily on casual employees. The European commission definition of an SME does not differentiate between full-time, part-time and casual staff but, nonetheless, all four theatres have fewer than 250 employees including casual staff. The smallest theatre with about 30 full-time members of staff is STAGE followed by PANTO and
OPERAwith about 50.
Ownership and legal status of the theatres are more diverse. In general, theatres tend to be administered by local government, have charitable status or act as a charitable trust, or some combinations of these. It is
common for theatres to attract and to depend heavily on public funding. Certain criteria, specific to the theatre industry, further help to position the four case theatres. The first criterion is the stage size; the second differentiator is whether the theatres produce their own shows or mainly buy them in (a ‘receiving’ theatre); and the third differentiator is the core types of show staged (Table 1).
E-ticketing adoption in UK theatres
Three categories of netsourcing-based e-ticketing adop-tion are set out in the e-ticketing decision model: internal reasons; external reasons; and specific reasons for adopting a netsourcing-based e-ticketing solution. This section presents the reasons for adopting e-ticketing; the reasons for going down the netsourcing route are explored thereafter.
Rogers (2003) differentiates five adopter categories – innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. The innovator imports an innovation from outside the system’s boundaries and launches the idea in the system; early adopters help trigger a critical mass by approving a new idea through adoption; the early majority adopt a new idea before the bulk of members of the system and, as such, follow the adoption leaders; the late majority tends to adopt an innovation because of increasing peer pressures or economic necessity; the laggards are the last ones in a system to adopt an innovation.
PANTOandOPERAare innovators, being two of the
first theatres in the UK to adopt e-ticketing, starting with tickets.com in 1999, who provide business-to-business ticketing solutions to live entertainment orga-nizations: ‘we were one of the first venues I think along with thePANTOtheatre in 1999’ (Marketing Manager,
OPERA).STAGEis an early adopter as it was one of the
first theatres to adopt e-ticketing using tickets.com following the success of the innovators: ‘we were I think the first theatre that actually went live if not the first we were the second … in 2000’ (General Manager,
STAGE). MUSIC falls into the late majority category
as it only adopted e-ticketing in late 2003 and a major reason given for adoption is that most theatres now offer e-ticketing (whether netsourcing-driven or not). Though time is a major factor identifying adopter categories, the reasons for adoption further underline the assignment of adopter categories. Table 2 presents
Table 1. Theatre background information
Stage size Show production Core shows
PANTO .1000 Produces and brings in shows Musicals and pantomime
OPERA .600 Principal receiving theatres Musicals and opera
STAGE .800 Principal receiving theatres Core audiences for various plays MUSIC Two stages:.1000 and.200 Produces and brings in shows Musicals and pantomime
the reasons for adopting e-ticketing, categorized as internal and external as per Figure 2.
Whereas some of the motivations for adopting e-ticketing can be found across all three adopter cate-gories, there are distinct reasons that set the adopter categories apart. By segmenting the adoption motiva-tions into internal and external categories it emerges that
internal motivatorsare perceived benefits and the desire
to expand online activities. Perceived benefits include increasing sales and efficiency and customer service improvements. Increasing sales is a desired outcome by all four theatres ‘to increase sales we want to sell more tickets so one of the things that we are always trying to do is to remove barriers to sales opportunities’ (General Manager,STAGE). Improving efficiency is an adoption driver forOPERA,MUSICandSTAGE: ‘It saves us a lot of time’ (Box Office Manager, STAGE). Improving customer service is not an original aim for the innovators but it is driving e-ticketing adoption in the early adopter and late majority group. The expansion of online activities is the second major internal motivation for
theatres to adopt e-ticketing. All four theatres have a website and whereasOPERAwants to expand through e-marketing initiatives, the other three theatres want to expand into e-commerce activities. The external drivers
for e-ticketing adoption include external pressures from customers ‘our customers demanded it’ (Marketing Manager, OPERA), ‘more and more people wish to be able to buy online’ (Systems Manager, MUSIC), and industry trends. Pressure from customers is a driver for one innovator, OPERA, and the late majority theatre,
MUSIC. E-ticketing is generally seen as the way of the
future in the entertainment industry and is reflected by
OPERA, STAGE and MUSIC: ‘we should just move
forward with the times’ (Systems Manager,MUSIC) and ‘that’s the way society is going’ (Box Office Manager,
STAGE).PANTOdid not specifically foresee e-ticketing
as a future trend at the time of adoption.
The key personnel driving the adoption of e-ticketing in the theatres are the marketing manager at PANTO, the general manager at OPERA, the general manager and the marketing manager at STAGE, and the systems
Table 2. Reasons for adopting e-ticketing
Category Motivation for adoption
Theatres
PANTO OPERA STAGE MUSIC
Internal
Perceived benefits ! ! ! !
To increase sales through ! ! ! !
–a new sales channel for tickets !
–a readily available (24/7) solution ! !
–removing barriers to sales opportunities ! !
–attracting new audiences ! !
–addressing potential revenue !
To improve efficiency by ! !
–a cost-effective solution ! !
–another avenue for communication !
–increasing staff effectiveness ! !
–capturing data online !
–being able to market shows with immediate effect ! –engaging in e-initiatives instead of printed materials !
To improve customer service ! !
–no hassle of telephone queues or coming in person ! !
Expansion of online activities ! ! ! !
–adding e-commerce to the website ! ! !
–launching e-Marketing initiatives !
External
External pressure ! !
–from customers ! !
Industry trend ! ! !
–seen as the future direction for ticket sales for theatres ! ! !
Adopter category Innovator Innovator Early adopter Late majority
coordinator at MUSIC. Hence, upper and middle management are driving the adoption of e-ticketing. This is atypical of the SME context where the owner/ manager is usually the driver of IS adoption.
Netsourcing-based e-ticketing adoption
Besides the reasons underlying the decision to adopt e-ticketing, this research investigates the reasons for using a netsourcing approach to realize e-ticketing. Data from the four theatres via interviews are analysed using a case ordered factor matrix (Miles and Huberman 1994) (Table 3).
Internal constraints and boundaries imposed by the existing box office system and provider are the two reasons emerging as the foremost drivers for adopting the netsourcing business model. Key internal constraints are the lack of IT skills available in-house and the lack of resources, financial and personnel in particular ‘we don’t know how to do [e-ticketing in-house] that obviously we’d need to find someone to do it for us’ (General Manager, STAGE). System and box office provider restrictions refer to the necessary integration with the existing box office system and the limitations imposed by this necessity to engage in live e-ticketing: ‘and the second thing is I have a feeling in fact that tickets.com don’t allow you to do it [integrate other than their own e-ticketing solution with their box office system] (General Manager,STAGE). Access to expert knowledge is an enabler for early adopter and late majority theatres,
STAGE and MUSIC, but not for the two innovators.
The remaining reasons for adoption are theatre-specific as they are only identified by single theatres as driving the adoption of a netsourcing solution. Surprisingly, only one theatre (OPERA) identifies cost savings as a reason for adopting the netsourcing solution. OPERA
further adopted that specific netsourcing solution because it is a real e-commerce solution selling tickets on the spot live on the Internet as opposed to a Web front-end with back-end communication using forms and emails. Adopting that specific solution meant fewer problems for everybody involved in OPERA. For
MUSIC the failed attempt to build and maintain their
website in-house, combined with the resulting successful outsourcing of the website, prompted the adoption of an e-ticketing solution from a third party.
DISCUSSION
Matching reasons for adoption to adopter categories illustrates that though there are different adoption drivers for different categories, there is also some significant overlap. The solution-centric approach illus-trates that e-ticketing is adopted due to the perceived benefits and the desire to develop existing online services, though this online development is defined differently by the theatres. For OPERA the expansion includes e-marketing initiatives like email and mobile phone text messaging alerts for customers, while for the other three theatres it is simply being able to sell theatre tickets on the Internet. The external reasons for adoption – pressure from customers and industry trends
Table 3. Reasons for using a netsourcing solution to realize e-ticketing
Reasons for adopting netsourcing
Theatres
PANTO OPERA STAGE MUSIC
Internal constraints ! ! !
–lack of skills ! ! !
–lack of resources ! ! !
System/box office provider restrictions ! ! !
–needs to be integrated and compatible with existing box office system ! !
–box office provider won’t allow to use another system except their own ! ! !
–provider already provides existing box office system !
Access to expert knowledge ! !
Cost !
–obtained it cheaply !
–more cost effective than in-house !
Previous outsourcing experience !
Convenience !
–easiest route to go down !
Live platform !
Adopter category Innovator Innovator Early adopter Late majority
– are not as clear-cut among the adopter categories. Industry trends, as identified by three theatres (OPERA,
STAGEand MUSIC) are a driver for adoption, though
not necessarily in the innovator category. External pressure is coming from customers of OPERA and
MUSICin the innovator and the late majority category.
No other sources of external pressure are identified. The realization-centric approach demonstrates that the necessary integration with existing box office systems and the boundaries set by the box office provider make it nearly impossible for theatres to choose any other than the existing box office provider to realize e-ticketing. A search to satisfy the IS need, therefore, did not take place to the extent expected. Though internal constraints, such as lack of skills and resources, do drive the adoption of the netsourcing business model, this is overshadowed by existing systems boundaries. The OPERA and
MUSICcases identify further reasons for using
netsour-cing; however these need to be validated on a larger scale. Figure 3 summarizes the findings.
Theoretical implications
This paper introduces a new way of exploring IS adoption in SMEs: it splits the adoption intosolution -centric andrealization-centric. Thesolution-centric part explores the reasons for adopting a specific solution, whereas therealizationelement investigates the reasons
for choosing a particular way of doing it (build versus rent versus buy). This research investigates the rent alternative of the realization component via the netsour-cing business model decision.
Two categories of reasoning for adopting e-ticketing emerge: internal and external. This divide, though visible in the existing IS adoption in SMEs literature, has not been pursued. The solution-centric approach identifies two internal and two external drivers for e-ticketing adoption: perceived benefits and desire to expand online services are internal motivators; pressure from customers and industry trend are external motivators.
Theinternal motivator‘perceived benefits’ consists of
increasing sales, improving efficiency and customer service. In the e-commerce context, providing enhanced customer service and increasing operational efficiency (Daniel and Grimshaw 2002) are known drivers for SMEs to adopt e-commerce. On a wider perspective, perceived benefits (Iacovou and Benbasat 1995; Kuan and Chau 2001; Levy and Powell 2003; Mehrtenset al. 2001) are a major driver for IS adoption in various contexts (EDI adoption, Internet adoption and general IS adoption). The desire to expand online activities is the systematic development of online activities, yet it is not clear whether this process takes place in stages (Daniel
et al. 2002; Raoet al. 2003) or is a contingent approach
(Levyet al. 2002).
The two external reasons that emerge are customer pressure and industry trends. E-ticketing is a
business-Figure 3. Drivers of netsourcing-based e-ticketing adoption in theatres
to-consumer solution which may explain the external pressure from customers. This finding is consistent with the e-commerce literature, where adoption is to some extent driven by customers (Daniel and Grimshaw 2002; Drew 2003). However, this finding is e-commerce specific as external pressure depends on the type of solution adopted and varies by solution and by context. The need to follow an industry trend is another acknowledged driving force for e-commerce adoption (Drew 2003).
There is no evidence from the cases of either internal or external factors being more important than the other when adopting e-ticketing (Fink 1998). Further, no evidence for the SME owner being a major force for adopting IS is found (Cragg and King 1993; Levy and Powell 2003), although the theatre ownership structure is atypical. It is the perspectives of middle management (Caldeira and Ward 2002) that is driving e-ticketing adoption, due to the nature of the ownership structure of theatres that is characterized by dependence on public funding and charitable status.
The second part of this research is concerned with the reasons for using netsourcing as the underlying business model for realizing e-ticketing. Surprisingly, there is little evidence for cost as the driving factor for netsourcing adoption, which is often the case in SMEs and is suggested by research from the provider perspective (Kern et al. 2002a). The most influential reason for adopting this form of e-ticketing provision is the need for the solution to be integrated with the existing box office system and the restrictions that come with this need. These boundaries, arising from existing IS systems, have not, so far, been acknowledged by the netsourcing literature. Legacy systems, e.g., pre-existing back office and ticketing systems, are a major constraint on the decision and result in significant switching costs for theatres wishing to move from the incumbent supplier. Overcoming lack of IT skills and limited resources further stimulate the adoption of the netsourcing business model. Lack of skills and limited resources are known inhibitors of IS adoption in SMEs (Cragg and King 1993; Panizzolo 1998) and e-commerce adoption in SMEs in particular (Drew 2003). Netsourc-ing, therefore, does indeed provide SMEs access to skills and resources not available otherwise (Kernet al. 2002a).
CONCLUSIONS
This paper develops and tests a netsourcing-based e-ticketing adoption decision model for theatres. In so doing, it introduces a new way of exploring IS adoption in SMEs by differentiating between reasons for adoption (solution-centric) and reasons for choosing a particular way of satisfying the arising IS need (realization-centric). Further contributions of this study include the identi-fication of factors driving e-ticketing adoption in theatres and the reason underlying the use of the netsourcing business model to realize e-ticketing. It
emerges that the need for integration with existing IS systems as a constraint on the choice of a netsourcing solution is underestimated by netsourcing providers and adopters alike: for theatres, an e-ticketing solution needs to be integrated with the existing box office system which necessarily narrows the range of possible solu-tions. Surprisingly, this research does not reveal much evidence for cost as a major driving factor for netsour-cing adoption. Netsournetsour-cing does, however, offer SMEs an opportunity to overcome lack of skills and limited resources and therefore enables the adoption of IS not available otherwise. The final contribution of this study is that this paper adopts an SME perspective of netsourcing and offers additional insights into the issues raised in by earlier studies taking a provider perspective. This study has a number of limitations: first, only four theatres, all based in the UK, participated. The general-izability of the findings will increase when the research is repeated on a wider scale and in other industries that use e-ticketing. The second limitation is that insight about only one provider, tickets.com, is gained. Researching netsourcing-based e-ticketing adoption with other providers, such as ticketmaster.com, may reveal issues not identified here. Comparing netsourcing-based e-ticketing adoption to in-house developed e-e-ticketing solutions is a further area for future research. A third limitation is that only three out of the five adopter categories (Rogers 2003) are present in this research and it would be interesting to examine the e-ticketing adoption drivers in the other two adopter categories, early majority and laggards.
As netsourcing is an emerging field of study, different industries, different solutions and different SME sizes need to be studied to fill the current knowledge gap. Future research could also be conducted to show reasons for SMEs to adopt or not adopt netsourcing solutions to satisfy their more general IS needs.
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