The adoption of e-commerce in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam : recommendations for building an e-commerce strategy
Ho, Huong (2013)
Ho, Huong
Turun ammattikorkeakoulu
2013
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017061613670
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017061613670
Tiivistelmä
It is highly recommended for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate e-commerce into their business operations because it is an opportunity to increase profitability, enhance effectiveness, and increase corporate values. However, the number of Vietnamese SMEs adopting e-commerce is insignificant due to lack of understanding of the process of integrating it into business operations. This research is conducted for the purpose of providing SMEs attempting to move towards the e-commerce sector with recommendations on how they can initiate e-commerce in Vietnam. The research is made with the cooperation of an experienced company in textile and garment industry, Duyen One-Member Co,. Ltd. This company hopes that its corporate experience will help other enterprises to have an insight into the adoption of e-commerce.
The process of initiating e-commerce requires SMEs to have an initial understanding of benefits of adopting e-commerce, then identifying factors and barriers affecting their progresses towards the e-commerce sector. By doing so, SMEs will be able to develop a strategy which is suitable for their capabilities, so they can maximize values from the adoption of e-commerce. This research is designed based on an exploratory study with the employment of a single-case study as a research method and qualitative interviews as a data collection instrument. The act of reviewing the literature not only builds up a solid knowledge regarding key issues but also guides the author through the conduction of the fieldwork to gather sufficient information to conclude the study’s findings.
The study’s findings indicate that the adoption of e-commerce brings benefits to the case company such as the expansion of customer base, a reduction in business costs, an improvement in the buying-selling processes and customer relationship management, and a faster update of the corporate information. Nevertheless, there are factors such as the experience of the employees to manage e-commerce sector, low customer awareness of e-commerce, the unpopularity of electronic payment, and barriers such as lack of capital investment, customer habit, the characteristics of the products, and an ineffective planning, that affect the case company’s progress towards the e-commerce sector. Comprehending the benefits of adopting e-commerce, and barriers and factors affecting its progress towards the e-commerce sector, the case company is able to generate an e-commerce business plan including three significant steps to integrate e-commerce into MT’s business activities. Suggestions for future studies are also presented in the research.
The process of initiating e-commerce requires SMEs to have an initial understanding of benefits of adopting e-commerce, then identifying factors and barriers affecting their progresses towards the e-commerce sector. By doing so, SMEs will be able to develop a strategy which is suitable for their capabilities, so they can maximize values from the adoption of e-commerce. This research is designed based on an exploratory study with the employment of a single-case study as a research method and qualitative interviews as a data collection instrument. The act of reviewing the literature not only builds up a solid knowledge regarding key issues but also guides the author through the conduction of the fieldwork to gather sufficient information to conclude the study’s findings.
The study’s findings indicate that the adoption of e-commerce brings benefits to the case company such as the expansion of customer base, a reduction in business costs, an improvement in the buying-selling processes and customer relationship management, and a faster update of the corporate information. Nevertheless, there are factors such as the experience of the employees to manage e-commerce sector, low customer awareness of e-commerce, the unpopularity of electronic payment, and barriers such as lack of capital investment, customer habit, the characteristics of the products, and an ineffective planning, that affect the case company’s progress towards the e-commerce sector. Comprehending the benefits of adopting e-commerce, and barriers and factors affecting its progress towards the e-commerce sector, the case company is able to generate an e-commerce business plan including three significant steps to integrate e-commerce into MT’s business activities. Suggestions for future studies are also presented in the research.