The Growth of E-Commerce in Developing Countries

Abstract

The growth of the Internet has opened up a vast arena, providing more opportunities for businesses, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to sell their products and services to a global audience than they would have been able to afford to reach using the traditional methods. SMEs are extremely important to many countries and their contribution to economy cannot be over emphasized. Several researchers have studied the contribution of the Internet and highlight the importance of convenience, satisfaction, quality, and consumer purchase behavior. In this study, it is argued that SMEs stand to benefit significantly from the opportunities and benefits that the Internet offers to businesses. Therefore, the use of the Internet is widely seen as critical for the competitiveness of SMEs in the emerging global market. The study is exploratory in nature and will be conducted in three stages. The findings presented in this paper, argues that SMEs in developing countries must learn from the experiences of developed countries, such as the United States and European countries, and use the Internet more frequently.

A study of electronic commerce adoption factors in Nigeria

“…This is the basis of trust that underpins e-commerce in the developed world. In Nigeria, legal and judicial institutions are underdeveloped, individual consumers and enterprises lack confidence and trust to engage on internet transactions (Lawrence and Usman, 2010). The authors affirmed that reluctance to adoption of e-commerce in developing countries could be traced to limitation on personal contact.…”

“…Most developing countries are not prepared for e-commerce, due to lack of network infrastructure, especially among individual users and business people. E-commerce accomplishment depends heavily on a number of infrastructure technologies (Lawrence and Usman, 2010). Lawrence and Usman (2010) found that in most developing countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Togo that are embracing outdated telephone cords and unreliable extension wires, due to this may result to the low performance many providers of internet services encounter.…”

“…E-commerce accomplishment depends heavily on a number of infrastructure technologies (Lawrence and Usman, 2010). Lawrence and Usman (2010) found that in most developing countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Togo that are embracing outdated telephone cords and unreliable extension wires, due to this may result to the low performance many providers of internet services encounter. A poor telecommunication infrastructure may cause a concentration of the technology in urban areas, which makes the participation of rural users more difficult (Lawrence and Usman, 2010).…”

Barriers to E-Commerce Adoption in Syria: An Empirical Detection

“…Most of the business is conducted through small enterprises and it is local. A typical company in developing country is a socio-economic entity and not just a pure economic one (Lawrence & Tar, 2010). Thus, some business traditions that make e-commerce work elsewhere -such as catalogue shopping -do not exist in the region.…”

“…Economics always play an important role in encouraging the use of technology in developing countries (Economic Commission for Africa, 1999). However, economic condition in developing countries is widely recognized as a major hindrance for e-commerce adoption (Lawrence & Tar, 2010). To measure the impact of ICT diffusion in developing countries including Latin America region, Bakay et al (2010) analysed the ICT readiness levels on socio-economic indicators that might affect ICT either positively or negatively.…”