The European e-Business Report The European e ... - empirica

The European E-Business Report 2005
Main results
According to the CUTS 2003, nearly 80% of corporations surveyed had established a website in 2003.
Positive responses were comparatively higher in the service industries, including financial and
insurance services.
30% of corporations responded that they had implemented B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce,
while 11.5% said they practised B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce. From a sectoral
perspective, manufacturing firms were most likely to use B2B (34%), while financial and insurance
firms were leaders in B2C use (26%). While the percentage of companies that used B2B e-commerce
increased in most sectors from 2002 to 2003 (with the exception of financial services), the share of
firms that engaged in B2C had stagnated or even slightly decreased. In financial services, for
example, the percentage had dropped from 31% to 26% (rounded), in 'services and other services'
from 17% to 14%.
75% of corporations said they had invested in computers and other ICT equipment over the last year
(i.e. in 2002). The most common purpose of IT investment given was "to improve business efficiency
and speed" (85%). Out of the companies that had made investments, 71% observed a positive effect
on their business.
B2B was projected to account for close to 90% of total e-commerce sales in 2005, down from 99% in
1998, B2C was estimated at roughly 10% (up from a 1% in 1998). In B2B trade, electronic commerce
already accounts for about 14% of total revenues. In B2C markets, e-commerce is estimated to
account for 4.5% of revenues.
Broadband adoption: At the end of 2004, about 74% of companies (with 100 or more full-time
employees) that used the internet had introduced Cable TV lines, DSL lines, optical lines or wireless
access. The maximum bandwidth exceeded 1.5 Mbps in 61% of companies. 42
1.8.4 E-business monitoring in Korea
Institutional background and main surveys
The Korean National Statistical Office (KNSO – http://www.nso.go.kr/english) collects, monitors and
disseminates data and information on ICT adoption. However, it is not the only relevant source for
information on e-commerce and e-business. Various organisations are involved in promoting e-
commerce through research and project implementations in co-operation with the Korean government.
KNSO has developed a set of indicators measuring changes of the knowledge and information society
and is monitoring and measuring changes in e-business at a national scale. Its definition of e-
commerce coincides with that of the broad OECD definition. KNSO monitors the adoption of e-
business in Korea mainly by means of two dedicated surveys:
• a monthly B2C survey, called ‘Cyber Shopping Mall Survey’, and
• the quarterly B2B and B2G survey, which is called the ‘e-Commerce Survey’.
Both surveys measure the type of e-commerce, the amount of e-commerce sales/purchases, and the
number of business establishments involved. The monthly ‘Cyber Shopping Mall Survey’ (B2C) was
first released in August 2000. The ‘E-commerce Survey on Enterprise’ (B2B) was first released in June
2001, and the ‘E-Commerce Survey on Government’ (B2G), being incorporated into the B2B survey,
was first released in September 2001. The two surveys were approved as designated statistics in
February 2004 by the Korean Statistics law.
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Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2005). Information and Communications in Japan. Stirrings of
u-Japan. White Paper 2005.
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