An Investigation of ‘Build vs. Buy’ Decision for Software Acquisition in Small to Medium Enterprises

Abstract

The prevalence of computing and communication technologies, combined with real-time transactions, and sophisticated and highly specialised software packages have made package acquisition a viable option for many of today’s enterprises. At the same time, innovative and flexible outsourcing methods as well as increasing ease of use of open sources have created another exciting channel for software acquisition in all kinds of today’s organizations with varying intensities. However, while some attempts have already been made to determine the factors that influence selection of software acquisition method in large enterprises, little is known about the SMEs where such decisions are often made intuitively and with little reporting. The present paper argues that an understanding of the deeply rooted reasons for adoption of a particular method for acquiring software systems by the SMEs, among other things, will enhance effectiveness of these decisions. This study investigates factors that affect the decision of software acquisition methods by the SMEs using the case of Thai SMEs as a representative of many of the today’s SMEs, and particularly in the South East Asia region. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with eight Thai SME owner/managers for collection and analysis of the data.