موانع تجارت الکترونیک و مدل های کسب و کار رقابتی در کشورهای در حال توسعه : مطالعه موردی

This paper integrates and extends research on e-commerce in the developing world. We use three categories of feedback systems–economic, sociopolitical and cognitive—to offer a simple model of e-commerce barriers in the developing world. We also examine characteristics of e-business models that can be successfully employed in developing countries. Then, we provide the case of an e-business model followed by a Nepal-based multiple international award winning online provider. This paper’s theoretical contribution is to explain the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of e-commerce in developing countries and to identify clear contexts and attendant mechanism.

E-commerce arguably has a potential to add a higher value to businesses and consumers in developing countries than in developed countries [1], [2], [3], [4] and [5]. Yet most developing country-based enterprises have failed to reap the benefits offered by modern information and communications technologies (ICTs) [6]. Some business models have emerged that overcome e-commerce barriers in developing countries. Yet in e-commerce journals, the developing world has received surprisingly scant attention. There are a very few analytical e-commerce studies in the developing world settings [7]. Moreover, empirical evidence in the developing world lags behind theoretical development. There have been calls for research on developing country-based enterprises’ e-commerce strategy [7]. To fill the research void and this paper attempts to gain an understanding of e-commerce barriers in developing countries and illuminate successful e-business models. To achieve this, we draw upon the literature to offer a model of e-commerce barriers in the developing world and illustrate a competitive business model employed to overcome some of the barriers. In the remainder of the paper, we first discuss the methodology. Next, relevant literature on e-commerce in developing countries is reviewed. Then, we provide a case study of a competitive business model employed by Thamel.com, a Nepal-based e-commerce firm. It is followed by a discussion of the case. The final section provides conclusion and implications.

The theoretical contribution of this paper is to explain the ‘Hows’ and ‘Whys’ [96] of e-commerce in the developing world. The above discussion indicates that economic, sociopolitical and cognitive factors play important roles in the adaptation of business models in the context of the developing world. We also discussed a case illustrating how a firm can respond to some of the factors. Clearly, there is much to be learned about e-commerce in the developing world. There are thus a number of avenues for future research. First, all business models targeting the developing world are not equally successful. Future in-depth research is needed to address the following question: What factors differentiate successful and unsuccessful e-commerce business models in developing countries? Second, Thamel.com’s model “worked” in Nepal, but may not be successful in other types of institutional setting. Our work also opens new areas of research in terms of how a business model responds to institutions. In the language of institutionalists [39], [40] and [41], how does an e-business model gain regulative, normative and cognitive legitimacy in a developing country? Third, Thamel.com flourished in Nepal is because the Nepalese e-commerce market is too small for multinationals like yahoo to be attractive. So a third question is: What is the optimum size of the e-commerce market for firms from developing countries to profitably exploit? Fourth, the case presented in this paper illustrated Thamel.com’s influence on its business partners ICT adoption. All firms are not equally successful in influencing their partners’ technological portfolio. The next question is: What types of companies are likely to force their business partners to adopt ICTs? Fifth, the government is more effective to deal with some factors (e.g., infrastructure) than private firms. A final question thus is: What is the optimum level of involvements for government and private organizations in combating various barriers discussed in this paper.