The e-marketplace: the challenges of Malaysian small & medium enterprise in the information and communication technology era / Mohd Amirul Akhbar Mohd Zulkifli

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) an application of the Internet is exploding and has expanded exponentially for over the past five years. In fact many firms throughout the world migrate to adopt electronic initiatives in their environment. Much however, remains to be done to fully exploit the benefits offered by e­ commerce. In Malaysia alone, we expect to see about 2 million users by the . . year 2002. However, one of the greatest challenges for Malaysia is to convince small and medium enterprise (SME) that both their survival and prosperity depends on adopting e-commerce. SME today still do not understand the process in setting up e-commerce. Skepticism, as well as incoherence loom especially among SME's in Malaysia on accepting the concept of e-marketplace and formulating the best strategy for an electronic endeavor. This research found out that most of the SME do not appreciate the implication of the major ICT changes taking place in this information era. It is evident in this research that there is resistance to e-commerce adoption. This research also figures out the influencing factors and experiences of SME using the ICT for e-commerce. Suggestion on the steps towards e-commerce for SME has been brought forward in this paper. Therefore the transition to e-commerce is hoped to open up a vast array of business opportunities for those who are willing to take advantage of the new technology.