Table 2
Factors for the Importance of Expected Benefits

 
Variable 
Factor 1
4.00
11.4%
a=.9470
Factor 3
3.68
6.5%
a=.5692
Factor 4
3.53
9.6%
a=.5823
Factor 5
3.07
22.9%
a=.7542
Factor 6
2.66
7.7%
a=.4741
Mean
Larger Firms
n=67
Mean
Smaller Firms
n=66
T-test
(p)
Low development cost 
.9630 
4.00
3.89 
ns 
Low maintenance cost 
.9512 
4.04 
4.04 
ns
To use as a promotional tool 
.7950 
4.04 
4.10 
ns
To improve the company’s image 
.5437 
3.76 
2.90 
.001
To increase sales 
.7590 
4.29 
4.70 
.032
To reduce middlemen required in distribution 
.6650 
2.59 
2.84 
ns
To reduce order processing costs 
.6351 
2.70 
2.83
ns
To expand geographical coverage 
.4957 
4.25 
4.04 
ns
To acquire mailing lists/customer demographics 
.7197 
3.00 
2.89 
ns
To provide customer support 
.6904 
3.22 
2.53 
.009
Low cost and rapid way to disseminate information 
.6013 
3.93 
3.94 
ns
To use as a market research tool 
.5900 
2.76 
2.65 
ns
To solicit customer feedback 
.5377 
2.94 
2.74 
ns
Site was requested by customers
.7178 
1.64 
1.32 
.095
To match the competition 
.6788 
2.45 
2.56 
ns
To be one of the first firms in the industry on the Net
.5117 
4.06 
3.67 
ns

The column headings for each factor contains the weighted average of the variables that make up the factor, the percentage of variance explained by the factor, and the Cronbach’s Alpha statistic. 

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