A growth theory perspective on B2C e-commerce growth in Europe: An exploratory study

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) continue to have a profound effect on the economies and societies where they are used. In this article, we propose three related theories to describe the underlying mechanism for growth in e-commerce revenues at the national level. Endogenous growth theory posits that the primary drivers of e-commerce growth are internal to a country. Exogenous growth theory suggests that the primary drivers of e-commerce growth are external to an economic system, and reflect the forces of the regional economy. A blend of these, a mixed endogenous–exogenous growth theory, incorporates drivers from both the economy and the region of a country. We test a number of hypotheses about e-commerce growth in the context of these theories. The key variables include Internet penetration, telecommunication investment intensity, venture capital and credit card availability, and education level. The data are drawn from 17 European countries over a five-year per...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: ECRA
• Authors: Shuchun Ho, Robert J. Kauffman, Ting-Peng Liang
• Keywords: E-commerce Growth, ECRA 2007, Growth Theory, Primary Drivers