Small and medium-sized businesses are failing to get into e-business, say Waikato University researchers.
Their results mirror findings issued by Statistics New Zealand last month and indicate that, although awareness of e-business is rising, participation is not.
The project - E-business Adoption and Implementation in New Zealand 2002 - has been publishedthis week.
More than 1050 companies were surveyed.
The study builds on research by the university last year examining trends, patterns and changesin e-business activity and their impact.
Ted Zorn, professor of management communication at Waikato University business school, said there was no single reason for the low growth in e-business use.
But one belief apparent among small and medium-sized businesses was that few of their customers used it. That seemed to indicate to firms that they had no reason to either.
Zorn said another reason was the cost.
Small and medium-sized businesses were not prepared to invest in technology in this area without a certain financial result.
A lot of hype had made businesses cynical, Zorn added.
The Waikato research shows that 95.3 per cent of small-to-medium businesses use a computer and 63.3 per cent of companies have websites.
Most use of computers is "at the low end of sophistication", indicating that the internet had become a fax machine replacement for speedy mail, and an online reference medium.
The report says most businesses do not see information and communication technology improving business and that "a friend is the preferred adviser, in contrast to accountants, for other business advice".
A problem businesses surveyed raised repeatedly was access to adequate bandwidth, and in some areas access to any bandwidth at all.
