**1. Introduction**

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered a source of economic growth and are seen as a key sector for creating employment in many countries around the world. Consequently, training and learning are considered critical to SMEs' growth in many countries. To this end, references [1, 2] consider that in knowledge-based economies, a firm's investment in training and updating its employees' skills is a key element of its growth. However, SMEs do not provide sufficient training mainly because they cannot spare time for employees to

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attend external training programs and because internal training is too expensive. Therefore, SMEs should logically turn to e-Learning to provide training as the benefits associated with it are supposed to solve these problems. But the logic is not working. SMEs have not rushed to embrace e-Learning in order to train their employees. Why? What are the barriers and constraints they face?

In Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, SMEs have played an important role in the economic development in various ways and their contribution towards a healthy economy has been recognized. They are defined as businesses having fewer than 500 employees and they represent the majority of businesses [3]. They are the fastest growing segment of the economy, and are considered the foundation of economic development [3–5]. Due to their great flexibility and adaptability, they represent the economy sector that creates the most employment [3, 6] and they remain critical to the economic prosperity of the region as in other parts of the world [see, for example, 7–9]. Yet, despite their great contribution to the region's economy, there are very few studies on them and even less on the training barriers they face, and this despite the fact that the most successful economies are those with the best trained individuals [1, 2, 10].

Capability development of small and medium firms remains critical to economic prosperity in Atlantic Canada as well as in other parts of the world [for example, see 3, 5, 7–9,11–13]. It is therefore important to know the barriers faced by SMEs regarding training, more specifically e-Learning, in order to be in a position to help them ensure their growth and their sustaina‐ bility.

The purpose of this study is descriptive and prescriptive. After having identified the barriers and constraints SMEs experienced when they wanted to use e-Learning using a survey of the literature on the issue, the first objective is to determine through multiple case studies if the barriers to e-Learning actually experienced by SMEs in Atlantic Canada are still the same after all these years. If so, the second objective is to introduce possible solutions to assist SMEs in surmounting these barriers.

Thus, the remainder of this chapter is arranged as follows. Section 2 presents the method used for the study. Section 3 presents a literature census on the various barriers and constraints to the use of e-Learning by businesses. Section 4 determines through multiple case studies the barriers and constraints to e-Learning actually encountered by SMEs in Atlantic Canada and proposes different approaches to overcome those barriers. The conclusion and discussion will be included in section 5. The references are in section 6.

### **2. Method**

Given the present state of knowledge on training in SMEs and on e-Learning, the method used for this study includes a census of the literature on training and e-Learning combined with a qualitative and exploratory research approach, i.e. multiple case studies. The literature census covers more specifically the barriers and constraints businesses faced when they wanted to use e-Learning. The case study method is well adapted in situations where theoretical propositions are few and field experience is still limited [14]. Multiple-site case studies allow one to understand the particular context and evolution of each firm in regard to e-Learning. Sixteen SMEs located in the Atlantic Region of Canada were studied in 2006, four in each of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. In 2012, 6 years later, four other SMEs located in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have been studied to verify if the businesses were still encountering the same problems in regard to e-Learning. These 20 businesses were selected because they were sufficiently successful (at least 10 years in business) and representative in terms of industry and size, for theoretical generalization purposes. These manufacturing SMEs stem from various sectors such as: construction, textile, oil and gas, pulp and paper and processed food sector. Following North American research [4, 15], a small enterprise (SE) is defined as having 20 to 99 employees, whereas a medium-sized enterprise (ME) has 100 to 499.

Data were collected through semi-structured tape-recorded interviews ranging approximately 2 hours each with the owner-manager or CEO and with the firm's HR manager or manager responsible for training. E-Learning users were also interviewed. The interviews consisted of a series of standardized open-ended questions related to e-Learning. The standardized openended interview, as explained by reference [16], is a structured approach in which participants are always asked identical questions designed to generate an open-ended response. This approach was utilized to solicit a variety of viewpoints based on individual experiences, but also to control researcher biases. All narrative interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using open line-by-line coding to identify themes following reference [17] prescriptions with the assistance of the Atlas.ti application. For confidentiality reasons, fictitious names of individuals and firms participating in the study were used. For example, the first business interviewed is represented by the letter A, and a name starting with the letter A (Arthur, Andy) is given to the representatives of this business. The second business interviewed is represented by the letter B, and a name starting with a B (Bert, Bob) is used and so on. As presented in the research results section, these firms range in size from 60 to 490 employees and operate in industries whose technological intensity varies from low to high. All export except for one firm (M). The SMEs interviewed in 2006 were regrouped in four e-Learning profiles of increasing intensity based on the extent of their awareness and use of e-Learning (none, weak, average, strong). The four businesses interviewed in 2012 are grouped together, but not based on their e-Learning profiles of awareness and used of e-Learning. Three of these businesses were using e-Learning, and one was not.
