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32 Part 1 Introduction

Summary of factors most important in encouraging Internet adoption
Table 1.4
amongst e-retailers

Factor influencing adoption A B C
1 Internet target segment 3 2 1
2 Internet strategy 1 1 6
3 Internet marketplace 4 5 2
4 Infrastructure and development capability 2 3 5
5 Internet communications 5 6 4
6 Cost of Internet trading 8 9 10
7 Internet cost opportunity 6 8 7
8 Market development opportunity 7 4 3
9 Concerns 9 10 9
10 Consumer preferences 10 7 8

A = Internet adoption (static web site), B = active web site, C = online sales (transactional site)
Based on a compilation from separate tables in Doherty et al. (2003)

An example of an analysis performed to identify the barriers and drivers for adoption of Inter-
net technologies for one market is that from Doherty et al. (2003). These authors researched
the drivers and barriers to retailers’ adoption to determine the most important factors. Table
1.4 summarizes the ranking in importance for different degrees of Internet adoption from
Brochureware static brochureware, through an active web site containing product information (B) to a
Brochureware describes transactional site where items can be purchased (C). You can see that the two most important
a web site in which a
company has migrated its factors which correlate with adoption are ‘Internet target segment’, i.e. customers in their
existing paper-based market are typically adopters of the Internet, and ‘Internet strategy’, i.e. a defined Internet
promotional literature on strategy is in place. This suggests, as would be expected, that companies that do not have a
to the Internet without
recognizing the coherent Internet or e-business strategy are less likely to use higher levels of Internet services.
differences required by Many larger organizations that have responded to the challenge of e-business have created a
this medium.
separate e-commerce plan and separate resources to implement it. This book covers what
needs to go into such a plan and the issues to consider when implementing it.

More recently, in Europe, research completed for the i2010 initiative monitored usage of
the Internet by business (European Commission, 2008) and it found that around 95% of
businesses in the majority of countries surveyed have Internet access although this figure
masks lower levels of access for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and particularly
micro-businesses (Figure 1.10).
Now read Case Study 1.2 which illustrates the benefits of setting up an online operation
for a small or medium enterprise (SME). It also highlights some of the challenges of manag-
ing an online business and highlights the need for continued investment to refine online
services and the marketing needed to attract visitors to the web site.