Jennifer Gibbs, Kenneth L. Kraemer and Jason Dedrick
This article examines the key global, environmental and policy factors that
act as determinants of e-commerce diffusion. It is based on systematic comparison
of case studies from 10 countries-Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico,
Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. It finds that B2B e-commerce
seems to be driven by global forces, whereas B2C seems to be more of a local
phenomenon. A preliminary explanation for this difference is that B2B is driven
by global competition and MNCs that "push" e-commerce to their global
suppliers, customers and subsidiaries. This in turn creates pressures on local
companies to adopt e-commerce to stay competitive. In contrast, B2C is "pulled"
by consumer markets, which are mainly local and therefore divergent. While all
consumers desire convenience and low prices, consumer preferences and values,
national culture, and distribution systems differ markedly across countries
and define differences in local consumer markets. These findings support the
transformation perspective about globalization and its impacts.
In terms of policy, the case studies suggest that enabling policies such as
trade and telecommunications liberalization are likely to have the biggest impact
on e-commerce, by making ICT and Internet access more affordable to firms and
consumers, and increasing pressure on firms to adopt e-commerce to compete.
Specific e-commerce legislation appears not to have as big an impact, although
inadequate protection for both buyers and sellers in some countries suggests
that mechanisms need to be developed to ensure greater confidence in doing business
on-line.