Electronic commerce and its socio-economic implications in Brazilian small and medium enterprises

The paper examines the experience of Brazilian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in relation to electronic commerce looking at the perceived barriers and catalysts to its adoption with focus on the socio-economic implications. The study combined quantitative and qualitative methods with the aim to gain a detailed and in-depth knowledge of the experience of adopting e-commerce over time and to accompany the SMEs developments in the use and implementation of ICT. According to the participant SMEs, e-commerce is "a reality that is here to stay" and while the main drive behind its adoption was stated as being economic, it was pointed out that the social implications, mainly internal, were quicker to arise and be felt. The study also highlights the finding that the adoption of e-commerce at this early stage does not imply abandoning more traditional communications technologies such as the phone and the fax in favor of more modern ones such as the email. Instead, different functions seem to be attributed to the respective communication mediums allowing for their co-existence within the one business process.