E-Readiness Assessment of Small and Medium Enterprises in Egypt: A Micro Study

While providing insight into the overall e-readiness of countries on the macro level, few studies have attempted to evaluate e-readiness from a micro perspective. In particular, a small number of studies have undertaken as assessment of the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United States, Australia, some European and Asian countries [1]. However, none was done for any of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. This paper takes on this endeavor. It is the first attempt to adopt a micro approach to assess e-readiness of SMEs in an Arab country. The objective of the research is to assess the e-readiness of SMEs in the textile sector in Egypt, particularly their preparedness for electronic commerce. It is the first step in a line of research that looks deeper into the preparedness of different sectors in Egypt for embracing and internalizing ICTs.