Ecommerce Europe†s Proposal for Sustainable Growth of E-commerce in Europe www. ecommerce-europe. eu
POSITION PAPER 3 Table of contents 1 Introduction 4 2 General e-commerce regulation 5 2. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe 5
2. 1. 1 Stimulating trust in e-commerce 5 2. 1. 2 Country of origin vs Country of Destination 5
3. 1 Position of Ecommerce Europe 6 3. 1. 1 Harmonisation 6 3. 1. 2 Information requirements 7
3. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 7 3. 1. 5 Education and knowledge dissemination 7
4. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe 8 4. 1. 1 (Self-)Regulation 8 4. 1. 2 Checks and balances 8
4. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 8 4. 2. 1 Knowledge and Education 8
5 Data protection and e-privacy 8 5. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe 9 5. 1. 1 General 9
5. 1. 2 Personal data and consent 9 5. 1. 3 Marketing, profiling and targeting 9
5. 1. 4 Harmonisation and international consistency 9 5. 1. 5 Accountability, administrative burdens and sanctions 10
5. 1. 6 Data subject rights and consent 10 5. 1. 7 Regulation and enforcement 10
5. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 10 5. 2. 1 Knowledge and education 10
6 Electronic signatures and e-identification 11 6. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe 11 6. 1. 1 Electronic signatures and e-Identification 11
6. 1. 2 Interoperability 11 6. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 11 6. 2. 1 Knowledge and education 11
POSITION PAPER 4 1. Introduction E-commerce has enabled consumers to access goods and services from all over Europe.
As such, e-commerce has contributed significantly to the European economy in general and the success of the European Single Digital Market in
But while e commerce has grown spectacularly over these past two decades, the EU has taken not yet full
electronic signatures, diverging VAT systems, diverging distribution systems and e-privacy The European commission launched the Digital Agenda for
Ecommerce Europe welcomes the efforts of the European commission in this area and wishes to contribute to this important effort
In this position paper, Ecommerce Europe sets out its ideas on the steps that need to be taken to create an uniform, effective
Ecommerce Europe Seeks harmonisation and simplification of e-commerce and consumer protection law Seeks a fair balance between consumer and citizens†rights
cost-effective and user friendly e-Identification schemes that enable secure transactions. These schemes should be interoperable
2. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe The positions of Ecommerce Europe in the area of general
e-commerce regulation are summarised below 2. 1. 1 Stimulating trust in e-commerce •Although Ecommerce Europe acknowledges the
importance of trust between consumers and merchants in the e-commerce sector, the European commission overemphasized the†lack†thereof in its attempt to main
Ecommerce Europe notes that the two most important challenges to cross border e-commerce are the lack of a coherent policy towards
country is different to the obligation for web merchants to apply all requirements in the national law of the country of
Ecommerce Europe therefore supports the conclusions of the European parliament report on the simplification and modernisation of the EU VAT system. 3
1 Summary of the responses to the Ecommerce directive evaluation 2 http://www. retailresearch. org/onlineretailing. php
3 European Parliament†s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Simplifying and Modernising VAT in the Digital Single Market for E-commerce
•Ecommerce Europe welcomes the initiative of the European commission of an †EU code of online rights†and
Ecommerce Europe supports the conclusions and recommendations of the Copenhagen Economics study into the Pricing Behaviour of postal operators. 4
3. 1 Position of Ecommerce Europe The key positions of Ecommerce Europe in the area of online
contracts and consumer protection are summarised below 3. 1. 1 Harmonisation •Harmonisation of consumer rights is vital for a level
•Ecommerce Europe supports the action of the European Commission to remove all remaining restrictions to
processing of personal data for evidence purposes •Online comparison tools should be transparent and reliable.
comparison websites is important for consumers to be able to take full advantage of the Single Market
•Ecommerce Europe opposes the notion of a non-binding optional Common European Sales Law.
•Ecommerce Europe seeks full harmonization of European e-commerce legislation. However, Ecommerce Europe opposes the proposal for a Common European Sales
Law. Even though such a proposal could potentially be helpful in achieving the objectives of the internal market
3. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 3. 1. 5 Education and knowledge dissemination •Provide free, accessible and clear information for SMES
4. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe For Ecommerce Europe, ADR is an important part of the trust
framework for e-commerce. The key positions of Ecommerce Europe in the area of ADR and ODR are summarised below
4. 1. 1 (Self-)regulation •While rules and regulations may provide more uniformity and legal certainty, they present the risk that they
Ecommerce Europe supports a multi-stakeholder approach to ADR and ODR. 8 4. 1. 2 Checks and balances
•Include the core principles for ADR in a binding instrument, but keep rules to a minimum as to ensure
•Ecommerce Europe stresses that ADR/ODR must be a voluntary alternative to court settlement,
4. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 4. 2. 1 Knowledge and Education •Improve knowledge amongst both merchants and
5. Data protection and e-Privacy The responsible use of personal data is a key element for trust
in e-commerce. Therefore, a comprehensive and effective data protection framework is of great importance. A coherent and
comprehensive EU framework for personal data protection not only protects the privacy of European consumers; it also
facilitates the cross-border flow of personal data, thereby strengthening the single digital market and cross-border e
-commerce. As such, Ecommerce Europe welcomes the revision of the EU data protection framework and the proposal
for a general data protection Regulation While data protection legislation may strengthen privacy and stimulate the single digital market,
there are also concerns that the legal framework will be too strict and inflexible, raising the cost of business through administrative burdens and slowing
down innovation. For this reason, Ecommerce Europe calls on the EU, national authorities, operators and consumers to further
reflect with relevant stakeholders (i e. data controllers processors and data subjects) on the proposal in order to
achieve a harmonised framework based on a balanced approach in this important legislative step 8 Del Duca, L.,Rule, C.,Loebl, Z. 2011), Facilitating Expansion of Cross-Border E-commerce-Developing a
Global Online Dispute Resolution System (Lessons Derived from Existing ODR Systems †Work of the United nations Commission
on International Trade Law), 1penn. St. J. L. & Int†l Aff. 59. p. 282
5. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe For Ecommerce Europe, privacy is an integral part of a
sustainable relationship with the consumer. The key positions of Ecommerce Europe in the area of data protection and
e-Privacy are summarised below 5. 1. 1 General •European rules applicable to the processing of personal
data must meet the dual objective of both ensuring an adequate level of protection for personal data and
ensuring the free movement of data within the EU •Ecommerce Europe stresses the need for general
principles applicable to all processing of data, but flexibility is needed to achieve the necessary context sensitivity
•Ecommerce Europe welcomes the instrument of a Regulation for data protection as it will ensure a
harmonised approach to data protection in Europe •Ecommerce Europe underlines the importance of the †legitimate interests of the data controller†as a ground
for processing personal data. This ground for processing ensures a fair balancing of interests and allows for
necessary flexibility in processing personal data 5. 1. 2 Personal data and consent •The broad definition of â€oepersonal data†in the new
Regulation may lead to unnecessarily high compliance costs and additional administrative burdens for merchants Ecommerce Europe feels a more limited definition of
personal data is necessary •Ecommerce Europe opposes the strict requirements for â€oeexplicit consent†proposed in the new Data
Protection Regulation, as it places an unnecessary burden on both consumers and merchants. An approach
to consent requirements based on the sensitivity of the data processing activities is preferable. Ecommerce Europe stresses that the balance between data protection
and business interests †as mentioned in Directive 95/46 /EC-should be kept in place. Article 6 of the new general
data protection regulation-which lays down the need for one consent from the data subject in order to process data
†is vital but over-emphasised by the Commission •The draft of the new definition however, increases the
formality of obtaining consent. This could introduce a significant imbalance for businesses in terms of security requirements and additional costs.
It is also doubtful whether consumers welcome this excessive formalism 5. 1. 3 Marketing, profiling and targeting
•Direct marketing has become an important part of European businesses. The new Data protection Regulation should aim to strike a fair balance between
protecting individuals†rights to data privacy and preserving the commercial freedoms of companies to engage with consumers. 9
•Controllers use personal data and †cookies†for behavioural targeting and profiling. Ecommerce Europe emphasises the importance of profiling
and states that profiling is a fundamental component of trade relations It allows web merchants to provide customers with rel
-evant information •To limit the negative effects of Directive 2009/136/EC (the †Cookie Directiveâ€) on both consumers and merchants
a light-touch approach towards consent should be timulated throughout Europe. Both browser-based solutions and collective opt-mechanisms such as †Your
online choices†are preferable •When there is a legal obligation for merchants to check the customer†s credit status, these data should be readily
available and accessible •The right balance †as laid down in Directive 95/46 /EC-between the protection of consumers†data and the
merchants†innovative legitimate business interests has to be respected in order to get consent to process data 5. 1. 4 Harmonisation and international consistency
•Ecommerce Europe emphasizes the need for harmonisation and a level playing field within the EU and
its Member States. Article 29wp/EU DPB should focus on harmonisation throughout Europe. Too strict
requirements for the EU should be avoided in order to preclude competitive distortions with third countries POSITION PAPER 9
9 DMA, Putting a price on Direct Marketing, 2012 POSITION PAPER 10 5. 1. 5 Accountability, administrative burdens and
sanctions •Strict requirements for accountability, including standard EU formats may create excessive administrative burdens
•The EU should limit administrative burdens and minimise the cost of compliance, in particular for SMES
Significantly raising the cost of business for merchants by overemphasizing accountability will lead to a stagnation of
•Ecommerce Europe opposes the financial penalties laid down in the Regulation. The proposed sanctions-which
5. 1. 6 Data subject rights and consent •Where possible, data subjects should be in control of their
personal data. It will be important to strike a balance between individual rights, consumer trust, the public interest and the right of free access to (and
collection of) information •Ecommerce Europe warns that a †right to be forgotten†is
technically not possible for web merchants. Besides that Ecommerce Europe would like to stress that the ability
to withdraw personal information is laid already down in Directive 95/46/EC. The rule that private data may only
be stored for a limited time, supplemented by the right of individuals to have deleted their data
and/or withdraw their consent already forms, strictly speaking, a †right to be forgottenâ€. Therefore, creating a general †right to be
forgottenâ€, as proposed in the draft regulation is neither necessary nor appropriate •Ecommerce Europe questions the usefulness of the †right
to data portabilityâ€, which has been introduced in the new draft regulation. Ecommerce Europe thinks that the
creation of such a right will discourage companies from implementing innovative services because client information has to be transmitted to competitors.
Imposing such a right can also lead to additional costs for businesses since companies have to develop new
systems for data management. For this reason Ecommerce Europe challenges the impact assessment that has been carried out by the Commission
•The requirement for â€oeplain language, adapted to the data subject†when it comes to information and
transparency, will lead to legal uncertainty for merchants because of its subjective nature 5. 1. 7 Regulation and Enforcement
•National Data protection Authorities/Supervisory Authorities and Article 29wp/EU data protection board must focus on enforcing the law,
not interpreting the law or influencing the legislative process •The use of administrative fines should be limited and must
not form part of the budget of the Data protection Authorities •An independent judge must have a more prominent role in
the interpretation of the data protection law •Any data protection regulation should be technology -neutral, considering the emergence of new technologies
such as mobile e-commerce (m-commerce 5. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 5. 2. 1 Knowledge and education
•Both consumers and merchants need to be educated on new) data protection requirements •Merchants must be provided with tools for compliance
e g. standard PIA, privacy policies. These tools must be voluntary, simple to use and not lead to additional
•Rather than strengthening the rights of data subjects and thereby providing them with a false sense of security, data
subjects should be educated on how they can protect their personal data 5. 2. 2 Self-regulation
•Data protection requirements should be included in national) e-commerce trustmark schemes 6. Electronic signatures and e-Identification
Secure, reliable, user friendly and interoperable identification and authentication measures are necessary for the further development of cross-border e-commerce.
Although e-Identification and e-Authentication mechanisms are already widely used in the governmental and banking sector (for in
-stance, the use of tokens for online banking), their use in other economic sectors is still in its infancy
significant boost for user convenience, confidence and trust in e-commerce. Ecommerce Europe recognizes the need for
mutual recognition and acceptance of electronic identities given by Member States to their citizens by other Member States and
6. 1 The position of Ecommerce Europe The key positions of Ecommerce Europe in the area of
electronic signatures and e-Identification are summarised below 6. 1. 1 Electronic signatures and e-Identification •For merchants, it is important to verify the identity of the
customer. For consumers, e-Identification can help secure their online identities •Electronic signatures and e-identification mechanisms
increase trust in electronic commerce •Electronic signatures are less relevant in B2c e-commerce; e-Identification is more important
•E-Identification schemes based on real IDS verified by the government (or another trusted party) would help to
reduce cybercrime and fraud •E-Identification-based schemes would allow effective age verification, which would be useful for age-dependent
•Interoperability of electronic signatures and e-Identification schemes is necessary to achieve the required economies
6. 2 Ecommerce Europe†s additional proposals 6. 2. 1 Knowledge and education •Provide an overview of (trusted) e-Identification
Ecommerce Europe Rue d†Accolay 15 box 6 B-1000 Brussels-Belgium Tel:++32 (0) 2 502 31 34
Website: www. ecommerce-europe. eu Contact us at publicaffairs@ecommerce-europe. eu Twitter:@@Ecommerce eu
WARN-Count in xref table is 0 at offset 690722 Policy guidance Mar 2014 E-commerce, omni-channel
retail, and EU policy OUR MANIFESTO †SHOPPING FOR GROWTH€ Eurocommerce recently launched its manifesto †Shopping for Growthâ€.
The manifesto captures our main policy proposals for the next EU legislature 2014-2019 ï a digital policy that helps retail and consumers in the digital age
ï a plan for European retail and wholesale competitiveness and more open markets ï a voluntary approach to fair relations with suppliers and to sustainability
of the computer and of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, are changing dramatically in terms of behaviour and expectations as shoppers.
The growth of the internet and the power of the digital economy have opened new ways for
orders via the internet and through distance selling. The term electronic commerce or e -commerce was coined.
and online via web stores. More recently, with the growth and universal spread of mobile devices such as smartphones and
tablets, a fourth and rapidly expanding channel has been added: m-commerce, for mobile commerce Although each channel retains the unique characteristics that compel customers to engage
with it †be specialized that a or expanded merchandise assortment, a compelling and informative visual presentation, the on-demand nature of a channel,
ï Significant development of digital commerce, including multi-channel and mobile ï More sophisticated and personalised communication with the consumer
ï with clarity on how the data they leave behind is being used ï with clear guarantees
that to be fully compliant one retailer needs 28 different websites with 28 terms and
new technologies such as 3g and 4g and a lack of new competitors (mobile virtual network
business environment and the digital economy. Or it creates a bias and competitive advantage for one channel over another.
taxation, labour conditions and employment, privacy and data protection, product return, sales conditions, parcel delivery, labelling and information requirements
Think of electronic signature and authentication or return policies for deliveries thousands of miles away from the store
1. 2. Data protection and privacy †a balance between the citizens†right to privacy and the rights of businesses to capture data to optimally serve consumers
1. 3. Consumer access to balanced redress at the appropriate level †a recognition of
legitimate and unbiased review sites, accurate comparison websites, effective and robust trustmarks 1. 5. Fair and safe payment systems †payment systems that are cheaper and more
3. 1. Roll out of 4g and broadband-a single telecoms market-harmonise ICT standards 3. 2. Ensure people have the right e-skills to use the internet (social inclusion) and to
provide the necessary talents for e-businesses (jobs and enterprise creation 7 of 16 3. 3. Push for more use of digital processes in regional, national and EU government
or adapting to the digital economy; such (digital) one -stop shops should contain user friendly knowledge about EU and national
o consumer protection rules o VAT rules o administative cross-border requirements o product testing, information and labelling requirements
disincentive to cross-border online and offline selling. In particular, SMES suffer most from this lack of harmonisation.
1. 2. DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY Privacy is valued a highly right in Europe. So are property rights.
over the years, developed very sophisticated systems to manage data about products, stocks, logistics, and consumers.
With the advent of the internet, the capture of data has become easier but also more sophisticated.
With the internet, some data are given with explicit consent, others are gathered with less obvious consent.
The existing Data protection Directive has been implemented differently in different Member States. The proposed Data protection Regulation12 aims to
remedy this. It should strike the right balance between the respective interests of consumers and businesses.
continue being able to use data to deliver efficient value chains and meet consumers†expectations
With the digitisation of the economy and the gathering of data, a number of online-specific
comparison websites/tools, trustmarks, review tools 1 Also see the Commissions communication on the proposed Data protection
Package: http://ec. europa. eu/justice/newsroom/data protection/news/120125 en. htm 2 http://www. eurocommerce. be/media/11042/briefing-cons-data protection. pdf
10 of 16 There is an enormous diversity amongst comparison tools, with different outcomes and purposes.
Some focus on price and some on quality. Some are managed independently from the seller, some by public authorities,
the other hand, comparison websites should be clear about what and how they compare from
whether the buying occurs offline or online. This offers businesses a free way to show other
and security needed by users and the flexibility required by innovators. All market participants must
to population data, address verification services, 3dsecure, and better security education of consumers 1. 7. FREEDOM TO TRADE (OR NOT
Market, those ICT systems sitting with internet providers, telecom providers, banks, postal operators, retailers, public authorities, etc. need to be able to †talk to each otherâ€.
Thirdly, different electronic standards (power, television) are also barriers to cross-border online retailing Recommendation 14:
In the offline world, we take the way we buy and sell products and services for granted.
Consumers need a computer or mobile device and access to high-speed internet for shopping online. If a consumer wants to buy online he often
needs to make an account, needs an e-mail address, needs an online payment method etc.;
consumers in some countries do not use the internet. On the other hand, for people with low mobility, the internet is provided a blessing they have the opportunity to learn how to use it
Digital inclusion is an important societal objective To develop online capabilities, businesses need to be able to tap into a wide pool of people
where relevant, integrate it with the offline world. It is striking that, in many Member States,
accelerated speed towards a digital economy, if public administrations still function with papers and a physical infrastructure only.
The EU could help close this digital divide Recommendation 16: The EU needs to help close the digital divide between Member States
with high-level of digital literacy and digital administrative processes and those with low -levels
Reaping the benefits of ICT Europe†s productivity challenge A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit
sponsored by Microsoft  The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004 1 Reaping the benefits of ICT
paper, sponsored by Microsoft The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole editorial responsibility for the content of the report.
in the mould of the Internet or mobile telephony. The issue now is whether Europe can turn
quality networks and information technology (IT systems, as well as management skills training. SMES account for over 95%of firms in most European
telecommunications markets. This is particularly critical for the growth of broadband access Moreover, the benefits of enhanced telecoms
competition must be extended to businesses and consumers in the EU accession countries â ICT in the public sector. The executives we
ICT is defined as IT hardware, software and services, and telecommunications equipment and services Part I of the report assesses the economic impact of
ICT, and is primarily based on empirical research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It includes the results of a cross-section examination of
the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statisticsâ€*.*Most economists believe this productivity surge can be traced in part to the benefits of ICT
that buying a new computer instantly has a positive impact on productivity†a notion that seems at odds with
looks at data for a set of different countries at a single point in time, or over an average time-span (as
phones, personal computers (PCS) and the Internet appear to achieve the greatest economic benefit from ICT.
based on a combination of data and qualitative assessments that reflect each country†s level of
broadband access lines, mobile phones, PCS, Internet users and Internet servers per million population†with four qualitative variables:
quality of Internet connections and levels of e-business development, of online commerce, and of Internet/web literacy.
The ICT enablers index takes into account affordability of Internet access, telecoms market competition, security of the Internet infrastructure, government support for ICT development, laws governing the
Internet, ICT skills of the workforce and quality of ICT supporting services. When combined, these indices provide a
good measure of a country†s readiness to reap the benefits of technology Continued on page 14
12  The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004 Reaping the benefits of ICT Europe†s productivity challenge
Software Communication equipment IT equipment  The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004 13 Reaping the benefits of ICT
manufacture large quantities of ICT hardware and software Total factor productivity (TFP) growth, an important
broadband adoption and home of some of its software giants†currently ranks in the middle of EU countries
The importance of software in the ICT mix In the US, software has attracted the largest share of
ICT investment since the technology boom began in the early 1990s. By 2000, it accounted for about 14%of
Software nonetheless accounted for one -third or more of ICT investment in the UK, France and
Software investment tends to lag purchases of hardware. This may explain the more rapid growth of
software investment relative to total investment in the US, where firms made an early start in deploying IT and
networking infrastructure. Assuming that Europe is playing catch up to the US in overall ICT investment and
has invested heavily in hardware since the late 1990s software vendors can probably look to good times ahead
in their European markets. Software markets in western Europe proved relatively resilient during the technology
slump of 2000-02, continuing to expand at moderate rates, whereas hardware sales declined. IDC, a
technology consultancy, projects that the west European software market will expand at a respectable 6. 6
%compound annual growth rate over the 2003-07 period to a volume of â 57. 5bn
for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard, a breakthrough that enabled the growth of the region†s
highly competitive mobile services and equipment industry. Europe†s liberalisation of its telecoms markets, although patchily implemented, has also
encouraged competition and made voice, Internet and data communications more affordable to many businesses and households.
Boldness and imagination in other key areas will be crucial to Europe†s attempts to win further economic rewards from ICT in the future
director of government practice for Nokia Enterprise Solutions, â€oethe technology is available today to create
graduates trained in software programming, network design and other technical aptitudes, and these are well represented in IT departments throughout
not enough to deploy new enterprise software or a What proportion of your ICT projects meet their business objectives
and harness data effectively 23 Flawed project planning or implementation 23 Lack of ICT skills in workforce 22
data network and ensure that it operates properly Today†s managers need to be able to understand a
1. A deregulated and competitive telecoms sector 37 33 19 8 3 2. Government policies to promote diffusion
can be seen in Europe†s liberalisation of its telecoms markets, initiated in the late 1990s across the EU and
Availability of specialist high tech qualifications in further and higher education 10 Policies to redress under-representation of women in ICT jobs 2
Government schemes to promote universal access to PCS and Internet 41 Development of e-democracy 15
providers big and small to Internet service markets and embarked on initiatives to give alternative
significantly lower costs of telephony and data services for end-users, as well as wide-scale deployment of broadband access networks. •OECD, 2003
across Europe, be they ICT producers or users. â€oefirms must be allowed to achieve European scale,
and to give users employees, suppliers and customers) the confidence to use them. Elie Simon, president EMEA of Sun
development of the GSM standard, and the rewards that accrued to consumers and mobile industry firms
uniformity of standard on the GSM model will not be feasible, but a technology†s ability to connect
industry groups, entrepreneurs and software developers around the ability to patent software Many large ICT companies (including Microsoft, the
sponsor of this report) favour the extension of patents to cover software as a way to strengthen IP
protection across Europe and thereby create greater incentive for innovation. For their part, independent software developers view software patents as a
weakening of copyright protection, and thus no less of a threat to innovative activity in this field.
At the time of writing, the revised European commission directive appeared to weaken the applicability of
patents to software  The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004 23 Reaping the benefits of ICT
We†ve highlighted the benefits that telecoms market liberalisation has brought to European businesses and consumers in the form of reduced costs and better
in the telecoms industry, for two main reasons â First, to prevent the rebuilding of virtual
Informatics, stresses that connectivity and cost†of IT systems as well as telecoms services†remain barriers to productive ICT use in accession
countries. Liberalisation, and later local loop unbundling (LLU), helped to kick-start broadband adoption in the EU. With the possible exception of
two important roles as as an ICT user. The first is by demonstrating the benefits of ICT use through
Patrick de Smedt, chairman of Microsoft EMEA, puts â€oeleading by example†at the top of his prescriptions for
and vote online using flat-screen computer terminals Digital documentation has replaced paper in preparations for cabinet sessions,
and an Internet-based system has been launched to enable cabinet meetings to be conducted online Meanwhile, an e-democracy website (dubbed â€oetoday
I'm Decidingâ€) has been in place for citizens for several years. The portal allows Estonians to comment on draft
the web Case study e-government†from the East 26  The Economist Intelligence Unit 2004
president EMEA for Sun microsystems, places great store in the concept of â€oeniche ecosystemsâ€. These ecosystems bring together research excellence and
firms such as Nokia, Ericsson and Philips have been extremely supportive of community-based pilot projects and often play prominent roles in them
important indicators of ICT diffusion, such as Internet use, are not relevant or available for earlier periods
Ln GDP pc-0. 9022-2. 5293-0. 9697-3. 6772-2. 0894-5. 6645
It is constructed on the basis of data for 1. Fixed telephone lines penetration (lines per 100 population
2. Mobile phones penetration (per 100 population 3. Personal computers (number per 100 population 4. Internet users (per 100 population
Each indicator is transformed into an index scaled 1-10 (using minimum and maximum values of the indicator in our country sample.
The com -posite ICT infrastructure/use index, on a 1-10 scale, is a simple average
Ln GDP pc-2. 1840-3. 6787-2. 6461-4. 0388-2. 1148-3. 9894
Initial GDP pc-0. 62 INV-0. 24 DEMOGRAPHY 0. 08 BUSENV 0. 47 SCHOOL 0. 69
the number of Internet servers per million population, broadband penetration and four qualitative variables from the e-readiness
rankings, based on a 1-5 scoring system. The qualitative variables are transformed to a 1-10 scale
quality of Internet connections, the development of e -business, the development of online commerce and the exposure of the population to the Internet
"Internet literacy "We also construct an index of †ICT enablers†(on a 1 -10 scale), indicators that are likely to be closely
associated with or conducive to ICT development These include â Affordability. The cost of 20hrs of Internet access
telecoms market â A qualitative indicator of the security of the Internet infrastructure â An indicator of the government's role
government encouragement and financing for ICT, and extent of censorship â An indicator of laws covering the use of the
Internet â An indicator of the ICT skills of the workforce â A measure of the quality of ICT supporting services
Information technology Explain Why Productivity Accelerated in the US but not the UK? â€, NBER Working Paper, No. 10010
Brynjolfsson, Erik and Lorin Hitt, 2000, â€oebeyond Computation Information technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performanceâ€, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14, p. 23
-48 Colecchia, Alessandra and Paul Schreyer, 2002, â€oethe Contribution of Information and Communication Technologies to Economic growth
Daveri, Francesco, 2001, â€oeis Growth an Information technology Story in Europe Too? â€, IGIER Working Paper No. 168
Microsoft, seeks to answer these crucial questions Demographics Which of the following job titles describes your role best
Telecoms, software and computer services 14 Professional services 12 Construction and real estate 8 Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology 8
1. A deregulated and competitive telecoms sector 37 33 19 8 3 2. Government policies to promote diffusion
and harness data effectively 23 Flawed project planning or implementation 23 Lack of ICT skills in workforce 22
Availability of specialist high tech qualifications in further and higher education 10 Policies to attract ICT skilled immigrants 10
Government schemes to promote universal access to PCS and Internet 41 Schemes to promote access to higher bandwidth services 36
Integration of existing data/technologies 33 Remote/mobile working 23 Enterprise resource planning 21 Technologies for knowledge capture and dissemination 21
Outsourcing of IT services 20 Supply chain integration 19 Online sales and marketing channels 14
Integration of existing data/technologies 29 Technologies for knowledge capture and dissemination 25 Remote/mobile working 23
Online sales and marketing channels 21 Enterprise resource planning 16 Outsourcing of IT services 14 On average how long does it take your company to achieve return on investment from ICT projects
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