Adoption of B2C E-commerce by Manufacturing SMEs in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu: An Emprical Study

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the manufacturing sector in India. They have great advantages in terms of providing employment and promoting exports. To help them with greater visibility and also sell themselves better it is important for them to adopt B2C technologies and systems. Recognising the importance of B2C adoption by SMEs this empirical study was undertaken in the SME cluster in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A total of 300 manufacturing firms were surveyed by administering a questionnaire with the objectives of examining the determining factors, the benefits of B2C adoption as also the challenges faced in the process. Simple percentages have been used. The study is the first of its kind in India and Asia. The major finding was that the SMEs that adopted ecommerce solutions could clearly see the benefits, whereas those that did not faced many challenges and could not see the importance of adopting B2C e-commerce. Some policy recommendations have been prescribed. The research study was limited to industrial clusters. Further, only manufacturing SMEs were considered. The findings of the study provide areas of policy initiatives for the government as also for private and public organisations in the promotion of SMEs.