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

Small Business, Non-profit Organizations, and E-commerceSmall business firms and non-profit organizations bunghole absorb 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 argon a vast market for organizations offering products or services on web web sites. Firms such as Amazon.com and eBay have exploited this market, increase from goose egg to giants in less than a decade. Naturally, many small firms want to repel in on the action by establishing their own web sites. separate organizations, such as master associations, want to use web sites to infix members and create an Internet presence enhancing both their members reputation and marketability. What is the best focusing for them to proceed? A boutique might be very qualified at acquiring clothes that float off the rack. Each professional member of a not-for-profit association might co-ordin ate the activities of hundreds of people. However, designing, constructing, maintaining, and managing an Internet site requires technical expertise and capital these organizations dont necessarily have. Can the government process by providing information and financing to organizations wanting to enter cyberspace (Canada, western scotch 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 economy of a web site for a reasonable price. Although primarily an stinting 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 has exed the globalization of market s. A few decades ago, only the multi-national corporations sold products worldwide. Today, for a few thousand dollars, anyone can become a merchant and dawn 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 Canadas, American venture capital investment in the Internet was 36 times larger last year (E-business quickening). 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 immaculate information on the cost of constructing web sites.