Use of Hierarchical Clusters Analysis in Identification of Obstacles to Introduction of e-Commerce in European Countries

e-Commerce has become extensively used across the globe with the purpose to simplify the process of communication between sellers and buyers. The objective of the paper is to investigate to what extent European companies use e-Commerce and what are the obstacles that they encounter. The analysis will be conducted by means of hierarchical cluster analysis. Results indicate that European countries can be divided into groups with similar characteristics regarding e-Commerce usage. On the other side, the intensity of e-Commerce usage in European countries is not linearly related to the level of economic development, measured by GDP and GDP change. In addition, companies in those countries which are leading by the usage of e-Commerce also perceive that the level of barriers towards e-Commerce is the highest. A possible conclusion is that companies which do not use e-Commerce stick to the old business model, and they do not perceive barriers as important simply because they are just not trying as hard as they could.