E-commerce implementation in India: A study of selected organizations

Abstract

Electronic commerce is a vital part of India’s trade facilitation policy. Following major initiatives in liberalization in 1991 the need to facilitate international trade through policy and procedural reforms has become the cornerstone of trade and fiscal policies. Electronic commerce, including electronic data interchange (EDI), has been implemented in various organizations in India, in particular those that are closely involved in international trade. It is known that the level of electronic commerce development in the organizations has been either facilitated or inhibited by various factors. In order to identify these factors an empirical study comprising a questionnaire combined with case studies and in-depth interviews in selected organizations was carried out. The results indicate that factors primarily intrinsic to the organizations and organization-driven strategies have been more significant causal factors than either network-driven strategies or factors extrinsic to the organizations in the implementation of e-commerce in India. Electronic commerce is today a vital part of India’s trade facilitation policy. Since 1991, after India took major initiatives in liberalization and opening of the economy with a view to integrate itself with the global economy, the need to facilitate international trade both through policy and procedure reforms has become the cornerstone of India’s trade and fiscal policies. As of early 2003, there are some 18 million internet users and about 500 licensed ISPs in the country while the e-commerce market size according to the IDC report is estimated to be $ 1.750 billion, including both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) modes. The era of electronic data interchange (EDI) was ushered in with the setting up of the EDI Council in the Ministry of Commerce in 1994, the organization