Utilisation analysis and increasing strategy: e-commerce use of SMEs in Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract

Electronic commerce or e-commerce is an important factor in developing domestic and international scale businesses. It also increases the efficiency of trade and integrates developing countries into the global economy. Although generally receptive, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bandung have low usage of technology for their operations. By applying descriptive methodology, this study aims to describe e-commerce utilisation and strategies for increasing e-commerce use of SMEs in Bandung. Data were collected from 2300 SMEs via survey. Results indicate that, although not all SMEs use the internet, the firms understood the benefits of using e-commerce and were willing to adopt it in their business activities. SMEs who use the internet mostly do not use websites and marketplaces for their business activities. Moreover, most SMEs are still hesitant about the security of doing business via the internet and still encounter difficulties in using online business applications.