ICT – enabled market freedoms and their impacts in developing countries: Opportunities, frustrations, and surprises

Abstract

One of the freedoms that Sen says promotes development is economic freedom – access to markets. ICTs can facilitate that access to markets by breaking down barriers of distance. But for all the promise that ICTs create, much research has found that small businesses in developing countries are not finding as much success through e-commerce as had been hoped. A longitudinal study of 23 Caribbean companies helps illustrate the specific experiences of small business people in developing countries. While they have found some success in reaching out to additional markets, they have also encountered many of the frustrations found by others: difficulty with shipping, inadequate local banks, and invisibility amongst a sea of web sites. Additionally, Caribbean businesses are encountering growing competition from the Amazon.coms of the world, companies that can now target small pockets of demand via their web sites. This study describes some of the responses these companies are taking, and proposes responses their governments might also take to increase their chances of success.

Keywords:

• Caribbean business
• e-commerce
• developing countries
• Amartya Sen
• ICTs