Global e-readiness of web sites: a look at the top 50 companies

Abstract

Today the globalisation of markets and the blurring of country borders leave no option for companies to contemplate whether they should go global. Even when their intended strategy is to be domestic, the changing competitive landscape forces them to take a global perspective. This scenario is further compounded by the fact that customers now come from all over the world through a relatively inexpensive channel ? the Internet. Thus, what were once considered to be a purely domestic company is now being increasingly drawn into a global market due to the Internet. Hence the central question that one needs to ask is, "Are companies gearing themselves to meet this need?" and, if so "Do their Web sites reflect such a strategy?" In other words what is the global e-readiness of Web sites of so called "big multinational corporations?" This paper reviews the relevant literature on e-readiness and applies proposed typology to measure the e-readiness of Web sites of the top 50 global companies. Implications of this exploratory research are discussed from a managerial perspective.