A Composite-Model for E-Commerce Diffusion: Integrating Cultural and Socio-Economic Dimensions to the Dynamics of Diffusion

Why are some countries successful with e-commerce while others flounder? The purpose of this article is to study the impact of technology, cultural, and socio-economic factors on the global diffusion of e-commerce. While past studies have focused on technology reasons alone, this research includes cultural and socio-economic factors as well. Having access to the Internet does not necessarily translate to e-commerce usage. Fundamentally, culture and socio-economic factors are pivotal in bridging the gap between Internet usage and e-commerce diffusion. The objective is to provide a model that quantifies the aggregated influences of all factors on global e-commerce diffusion. A cross-country regression model analyzes the determinants of e-commerce diffusion and the results used in a cluster analysis to provide further evidence that the propensity for e-commerce depends on the interplay among the different factors. The results can provide firms with an improved understanding of strategies to employ while implementing e-commerce.