Barriers to e-commerce and competitive business models in developing countries: A case study

This paper integrates and extends research on e-commerce in the developing world. We use three categories of feedback systems–economic, sociopolitical and cognitive—to offer a simple model of e-commerce barriers in the developing world. We also examine characteristics of e-business models that can be successfully employed in developing countries. Then, we provide the case of an e-business model followed by a Nepal-based multiple international award winning online provider. This paper’s theoretical contribution is to explain the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of e-commerce in developing countries and to identify clear contexts and attendant mechanism.