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Increasing the Reach of Enterprises through Electronic Commerce: A Focus Group Study Aimed at the Cases of Portugal and Spain

Ramiro Gonçalves^{1, 2}, José Martins^{1, 2}, Frederico Branco^{1, 2}, Manuel Perez-Cota³ and Manuel Au-Yong Oliveira⁴

1. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
   5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
   {ramiro, jmartins, fbranco}@utad.pt
2. INESC TEC (coordinated by INESC Porto), Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
   4200-465 Porto, Portugal
   {ramiro, jmartins, fbranco}@utad.pt
3. University of Vigo
   36310 Vigo, Spain
   mpcota@uvigo.es
4. GOVCOPP, Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro
   3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
   mao@ua.pt

Abstract

E-commerce notably increases the reach of enterprises, bringing a firm‟s products and services into the international arena. In times of shrinking domestic markets, due to national crises, becoming available in global markets is essential for survival and growth. We have thus held three focus group interactions to produce a set of strategic recommendations with regards to how to improve e-Commerce adoption levels in Iberian enterprises, essential in times of local hardship and market contraction. Suggestions include creating actions to influence governments to re-evaluate the legislation that regulates e-Commerce, making it more transparent; encouraging venture capitalists, banks and business angels to finance such e-Commerce endeavors; encouraging higher education institutions (HEI) to partner with Iberian enterprises to ensure knowledge transfer in both directions; creating, with HEI and training organizations, a set of new training courses directed at Iberian enterprises and focusing on concepts such as Web 2.0 capabilities and a coherent online organizational identity. Fundamental is the perspective that e-Commerce is a strategic issue, warranting funds and qualified personnel, at different levels in the hierarchy, for adequate strategic e-intent, e-vision, and e-mission formulation, followed by effective e-process implementation.

Key words

BNML, e-commerce adoption, focus group, Iberia, internationalization

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.2298/CSIS160804036G

Publication information

Volume 13, Issue 3 (November 2016)
Special issue on Trends in Software Technologies
Year of Publication: 2016
ISSN: 2406-1018 (Online)
Publisher: ComSIS Consortium

Full text

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How to cite

Gonçalves, R., Martins, J., Branco, F., Perez-Cota, M., Oliveira, M. A.: Increasing the Reach of Enterprises through Electronic Commerce: A Focus Group Study Aimed at the Cases of Portugal and Spain. Computer Science and Information Systems, Vol. 13, No. 3, 927–955. (2016), https://doi.org/10.2298/CSIS160804036G