Exploring E-Commerce Benefits for Businesses in Different Developing Countries

More than 80% of the world's population lives in developing nations, and e-commerce is used increasingly. E-commerce may provide considerable value to businesses in poor nations, but we know very little empirically about the actual results of e-commerce adoption. There are theoretical arguments. This information vacuum has been addressed in our study by a study of 92 companies in South Africa, all of which go beyond the fundamental e-commerce phase. The results show that the advantages of eCommerce are mostly confined to improvements in intra- and inter-organizational communications. In the majority (more than 80 percent) of businesses questioned, there were no additional strategic advantages related to market access, customer/provider links or cost reductions. Therefore, the probability of wider advantages such as integration into global supply chains, disintermediation and increased competitiveness are restricted. This somewhat dismal e-commerce picture calls for a multi-faceted approach to expand the business resources and skills and to establish electronically mediated business routines with partners and customers, and to solve national e-readiness problems and global trade regulations.