Small Business, Non-profit Organizations, and E-commerce :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Small Business, Non-profit Organizations, and E-commerce Small business firms and non-profit organizations can seize the opportunities that the Internet offers. The number of Internet users worldwide exceeded 150 million in 1999, and this number is expected to quadruple in a few years. These users are a vast market for organizations offering products or services on web sites. Firms such as Amazon.com and eBay have exploited this market, growing from nothing to giants in less than a decade. Naturally, many small firms want to get in on the action by establishing their own web sites. Other organizations, such as professional associations, want to use web sites to recruit members and create an Internet presence enhancing both their members' reputation and marketability. What is the best way for them to proceed? A boutique might be very competent at acquiring clothes that float off the rack. Each professional member of a not-for-profit association might co-ordinate the activities of hundreds of people. However, designing, constructing, maintai ning, and managing an Internet site requires technical expertise and capital these organizations don't necessarily have. Can the government assist by providing information and financing to organizations wanting to enter cyberspace (Canada, Western Economic Diversification)? To compete with the big players on the Internet, small businesses and non-profits, with help from the government, can contract with experienced web-consulting firms to supply the programming and computer skills to ensure delivery of a web site for a reasonable price. Although primarily an economic phenomenon, electronic commerce forms part of a broader process of social change, characterized by the globalisation of markets, the shift towards an economy based on knowledge and information, and the growing prominence of all forms of technology in everyday life (OECD Economic 143). The Internet has hastened the globalization of markets. A few decades ago, only the multi-national corporations sold products worldwide. "Today, for a few thousand dollars, anyone can become a merchant and reach millions of consumers world-wide" (OECD Economic 10). Unfortunately, Canadian small businesses are not embracing e-commerce as ardently as American firms. Many domestic firms have neither the investment capital nor the technical knowledge to seize the opportunities the Internet offers. Consequently, Canadian firms lag behind American firms. While the American economy is ten times larger than Canada's, American venture capital investment in the Internet was 36 times larger last year ("E-business Acceleration"). Although the Canadian government is making an effort to encourage e-commerce (Canada, Industry Canada, The Canadian Electronic), some firms paid exorbitant prices for e-commerce sites that are not profitable because they lacked accurate information on the cost of constr ucting web sites.