Development of e-commerce in Sarawak's SMEs

In an effort to advance the development and adoption ofe-commerce by SMEs in Sarawak, this study is an attempt to provide an overall view on e-commerce adoption, e-commerce application, possibilities and avenues in relation to local SMEs. It identifies the barriers and obstacles which inhibit the adoption ofe-commerce. It also highlights the critical success factors regarding the development of ecommerce. It has been observed that the political, economics, social and technological issues affocted e-commerce adoption. Conclusive evidence from the survey established the fact that using e-commerce to open up wider market share can be achieved by providing online services and advertisement, the establishment and promotion of internet culture, upgrading securities, mapping global market accessibility, and the building ofinformation centres to address gaps in promoting the use ofe-commerce. The provision ofthe supporting services and the related measures taken will give SMEs a better understanding of the benefits of using e-commerce resulting invariably in more participation and ultimately adoption. Finally, this study also provides suggestions and recommendations to individual SMEs and governmental bodies to facilitate them to carry out Research and Development studies or programmes in due course.