BARRIERS TO INTERNET AND E-COMMERCE USE BY WOOD PRODUCTS EXPORT FIRMS IN GHANA
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BARRIERS TO INTERNET AND E-COMMERCE USE BY WOOD PRODUCTS EXPORT FIRMS IN GHANA
1. Introduction 1.1 Background.
The internet has evolved into a critical commercial tool. Business practices have evolved in recent years as a result of the use and deployment of internet-based technology.
The use of the internet for export marketing allows export firms to reach a large number of people while remaining profitable because it removes all geographical constraints, allows for the instant establishment of virtual branches all over the world, and allows even the smallest businesses to enter foreign markets directly and immediately.
According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Work Programme, e-commerce is defined as the production, distribution, marketing, sale, and delivery of products and services via electronic methods.
As a result, e-commerce can be defined as any business transaction that takes place over an electronic medium or network, particularly the internet, whether locally or worldwide.
Vladimir Zwass (1996), editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Electronic Commerce, describes e-commerce as the use of telecommunication networks to share business information, establish commercial relationships, and conduct business transactions.
He believes that the Internet, or World Wide Web, has become the primary driver of contemporary e-commerce. Although the terms are frequently used interchangeably, the World Wide Web is the information, and the Internet is a means of accessing that information (Tassabehji, 2003).
The internet is driving the modern economy by providing unprecedented opportunities for countries, businesses, and individuals all around the world. In some countries and businesses, using the internet and e-commerce is no longer an option, but rather a need for life. Ghana was the first country to introduce the internet throughout West Africa.
Network Computer Systems (NCS) Ltd., which is entirely owned by a Ghanaian, pioneered the usage of internet technology in Ghana in 1994. There are now three major Internet Service Providers (ISPS), including NCS. The others are Africa Online Ltd and Internet Ghana Ltd. NCS (Tetteh & Burn, 1999).
However, according to research, African businesses and the private sector have been slow to adopt e-commerce practices. For example, a survey in Ghana dubbed “Ghana SCAN-ICT” indicated that approximately 65% of ICT enterprises do not have an internet presence, and 84% are not active in e-commerce (Mensah, Bahta, and Mhlanga 2005).
As Ghana’s economy improves, the timber industry, particularly enterprises that export wood products, is working hard to broaden their international reach in order to attract new buyers from across the world, as wood product exports contribute considerably to Ghana’s GDP.
To reach as many potential customers as possible while lowering expenses, these enterprises must incorporate the internet and e-commerce into their export marketing plan. They will be able to cut the number of middlemen in their supply chain while also expanding into global markets.
According to a directory I received via email from the Ghana Forestry Commission’s Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD), only 2% of Ghana’s 230 wood products export companies have WebPages, 40% have e-mails, and only two have their own domain name business e-mail addresses.
Ghana earned €170 million in 2005 from the export of 455,000 cubic metres of wood products. However, this decreased in 2006; wood product exports in the first three quarters of 2006 were €125.82 million in value and 328,620 cubic metres in volume.
These numbers reflected an 8.8% and 6.7% decrease in value and volume, respectively, compared to 2005. Wood export quantities to the US and European markets were reported to have decreased by 23% and 32%, respectively (Domson 2008, 1).
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