Purpose – This paper aims to investigate factors affecting small business owner/managers' adoption of country-specific business websites.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire was sent to a selected sample of 300 small businesses in the Northwest of England. In total, 55 responded with complete and usable answers, representing a response rate of 18.33 per cent.

Findings – The results indicate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively affect the adoption of country-specific business websites. Furthermore, perceived company image in a foreign market and perceived transaction benefits were found to be significant antecedents of the perceived usefulness of country-specific business websites.

Research limitations/implications – The research sample is relatively small, and limited to small businesses located in the Northwest region of the UK. Emergent results are not necessarily representative of the wider small business population of the UK.

Practical implications – The results of this research study would be of benefit to owner/managers who intend to expand into international niche markets by adopting country-specific business websites.

Originality/value – This paper extends the theoretical framework of the website acceptance model (WAM) in the context of small businesses, by distinguishing two factors that influence the perceived usefulness of having a country-specific website.