A Composite Model for E-Commerce Diffusion

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Why are some countries successful with e-commerce while others flounder? This chapter is an update of an earlier research study that the authors conducted to analyze the impact of technology, cultural, and socio-economic factors on the global diffusion of e-commerce. The general thesis of this chapter is that cultural and socio-economic factors in addition to technology were the reasons for the growth of e-commerce within countries. There had been no prior studies that combined the aggregate effects of cultural, socio-economic, and technology factors on e-commerce diffusion. While technology could solely contribute to Internet surfing, culture and socio-economic factors can be pivotal in bridging the gap between Internet usage and e-commerce diffusion. The objective of this research is to provide a model that quantified the aggregated influences of technology, culture, and socio-economic factors on global e-commerce diffusion. In terms of methodology, a cross-country regression model was used to analyze the determinants of e-commerce diffusion and the results provide evidence that the propensity for e-commerce growth can be explained by these factors. The results were aimed at providing firms with a greater understanding of strategies to employ while implementing e-commerce across the world. This paper revisits that publication to see if any changes in the factors have occurred.