scholarly journals Barriers to the Take-Up of Electronic Commerce among Small-Medium Sized Enterprises

10.28945/2662 ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Stansfield ◽  
Kevin Grant
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Context ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk

Since small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role within many major economies throughout the world, their ability to successfully adopt and utilize the Internet and electronic commerce is of prime importance in ensuring their stability and future survival. In this paper, initial findings will be reported of a study carried out by the authors into the use made of the Internet and electronic commerce and key issues influencing its use by SMEs. In order to broaden the scope of this paper, the results gained from the study will be compared with figures relating to businesses in the rest of Scotland and the UK, as well as the US, Canada and Japan, and European countries that include Sweden, Germany, France and Italy. The issues raised from this study will be compared with similar studies carried out in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and British Columbia, as well as countries within the European Union in order to provide a wider meaningful international context for the results of the study.

Germany's relations with the United States and China from a strategic triangle perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Biba
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Puzzle Piece ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Angela Merkel

Abstract As the Sino-American Great Power competition continues to intensify, newly-elected US President Joe Biden's administration now seeks to enlist the support of its allies and partners around the world. As Europe's largest economy and a, if not the, leading voice within the European Union, Germany represents an important puzzle-piece for Biden. But Germany, at least under outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel, has been reluctant to take sides. It is against this backdrop that this article looks into Germany's past and present trilateral relationships with the US and China through the theoretical lens of the so-called strategic triangle approach. Applying this approach, the article seeks to trace and explain German behaviour, as well as to elucidate the opportunities and pitfalls that have come with it. The article demonstrates that Germany's recently gained position as a ‘pivot’ (two positive bilateral relationships) between the US and Chinese ‘wings’ (positive bilateral relations with Germany and negative bilateral relations with each other) is desirable from the perspective of the strategic triangle. At the same time, being pivot is also challenging and hard to maintain. Alternative options, such as entering a US–German ‘marriage’ directed against China, are also problematic. The article therefore concludes that Germany has tough decisions to take going forward.

European Union and China Relations in the Light of Changing Global Order

2020 ◽  
pp. 417-434
Author(s):  
Sedef Eylemer ◽  
Elif Cemre Besgur
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Relationship Context ◽  
Normative Identity ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Normative Basis ◽  
Strategic Perspective ◽  
Trade Wars ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU), United States (US), and China are the main global drivers of the international trade system. However, trade wars between them create tensions in the world. As the world is facing increasing neo-protectionist trade applications of the Trump administration, this chapter analyses whether a greater convergence between China and the EU is possible for protecting multilateralism through two case studies, namely (1) market conditions and discrimination, (2) cybersecurity. In this context, the chapter argues that although the US pressure has led the EU to rapprochement with China, this situation creates a dilemma for the EU in terms of the fears about the problems of alignment with the normative identity of the EU. Whereas the EU aims at regulating the global trade on a normative basis originating from its acquis, China has a more strategic perspective based upon specific relationship context. It is difficult to take a side for the EU due to its different standpoint compared to China in defending the multilateral trading system.

Introduction: Or, Why Fat is a Paranoid Issue

Paranoia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Freeman ◽  
Jason Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Ready Meal ◽  
The Uk ◽  
At Will

Over the past few years, a new and deadly epidemic has stalked the land. Britain and the US, just like much of the rest of the world, are getting fat. Around 60 per cent of adults in the UK are heavier than they should be. It’s a similar story in the US, where two-thirds of adults are overweight or extremely overweight (obese). That’s a pretty shocking statistic, but we all know that keeping in shape when you’re trying to balance the demands of work and family life is tough. Who’s got time to get to the gym? Who has the energy to do more than heat up a ready meal after ten hours in the office? Besides, we all get bigger as we get older, don’t we? It’s a metabolism thing—isn’t it? But if you think the statistics for adults are alarming, wait till you find out how our kids are faring. In 2003, 27 per cent of children under 11 in England were either overweight or obese. In the US, where different methods to measure obesity are used, nearly 20 per cent of children aged 6 to 11 were classified as overweight or obese in 2004. The numbers have almost doubled in a decade. How did so many children get to be overweight before they’ve even reached the ripe old age of 11? How do you become overweight when so much of your day is taken up with charging round a playground or park, when you can’t drive, and when you’re not free—like the rest of us—to stuff your face at will with chocolate, crisps, and alcohol? The answer, of course, is a complex one. If adults are eating much less healthily than they used to, so are their kids. Instead of spending their evenings playing outside, children now have the delights of multi-channel television, computer games, and the Internet to choose from. And then there’s the fact that increasing numbers of us just won’t let our children outside on their own. Back in the mid 1970s, we were 6 years old.

23. Freedom of Establishment and to Provide Services

EU Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 832-888
Author(s):  
Paul Craig ◽  
Gráinne de Búrca
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Economic Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Freedom Of Establishment ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
General Economic Interest ◽  
The Uk

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has two separate chapters on self-employed persons who move on a permanent or temporary basis between Member States: the chapters on freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. The central principles governing freedom of establishment and the free movement of services are laid down in the TFEU and have been developed through case law. Important developments have also been brought about through secondary legislation in sectors such as insurance, broadcasting, financial services, electronic commerce, telecommunications, and other ‘services of general economic interest’. This chapter focuses on the broad constitutional principles applicable to every sector. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning freedom of establishment and the provision of services between the EU and the UK post-Brexit.

Business to Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce Decade Evolution

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios Drigas ◽  
Panagiotis Leliopoulos
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
B2c Electronic Commerce ◽  
The Way

This paper is a review on Business to Consumer (B2C) electronic commerce (e-commerce) and it studies its evolution over the last decade. The Internet characteristics that affect B2C are the Internet growth, which at first includes the number of Internet users and secondly, the infrastructure, which is basically the quality and speed of the lines. Moreover, the way the Internet growth has affected the B2C e-commerce growth over the last ten years is studied in three major countries-areas. The USA because it is an Internet developed country with vast e-commerce sales, China because it is a rapidly developing Internet country with a large number of users and fast e-commerce activity growth in the last decade and finally, the European Union, because of its diversity in Internet and e-commerce growth. This paper focuses on the aforementioned three geographic areas and extracts its conclusions from the observations of B2C behavior growth in these areas.

Factors for Global Diffusion of the Internet

2011 ◽  
pp. 1522-1526
Author(s):  
Ravi Nath ◽  
Vasudeva N.R. Murthy
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence ◽  
Internet Diffusion ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Diffusion Rates ◽  
The Uk

There is overwhelming evidence that the use of the Internetenabled applications and solutions provide unprecedented economic growth opportunities. However, the Internet diffusion rates remain low in many countries. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in 2004, less than 3% of the Africans used the Internet, whereas the average Internet subscription rate for G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US) is about 50%. Also, in nearly 30 countries the Internet penetration rates still remain below 1% (ITU, 2006). So, what are the key factors that explain this wide variation in Internet subscription rates in countries around the world? An understanding of these factors will be highly useful for policy makers, economic developmental agencies and political leaders in establishing and implementing suitable national developmental strategies and policies.

EU Tackles Cybercrime

2011 ◽  
pp. 431-438
Author(s):  
Sylvia Mercado Kierkegaard
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Communication Infrastructure ◽  
International Response ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Eu

The growing importance of information and communication infrastructure opens up new opportunities for criminal activities. The European Union has therefore taken a number of steps to fight harmful and illegal content on the Internet, protect intellectual property and personal data, promote electronic commerce and tighten up the security of transactions. However, in spite of the EU initiatives, many observers believe that cybercrime requires an international response that should include countries that are havens for cybercriminals.

The Euro Area In Crisis, 2008–18

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Hadjiemmanuil
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Euro Area ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Deep Recession ◽  
The Eu

In autumn 2008, just as the euro was approaching its tenth anniversary, the European Union (EU) became embroiled in the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Elsewhere in the world, including in the US, where it originated, the GFC caused a very deep recession but then receded, and was essentially over by the end of 2009. In the EU, however, it took a double-dip form, with the EU-28 area’s real gross domestic product (GDP) suffering a -4.4 per cent fall in 2009 and another -0.5 per cent fall in 2012. The timing and impact of the crisis differed significantly across Member States, and the recovery was uneven. Taken as a whole, the euro area (EA19) performed worse than the rest of the EU, especially in 2012–13, when it lost -1.3 per cent of GDP, and only returned to its 2007 GDP level in 2015.

23. Freedom of Establishment and to Provide Services

EU Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 861-920
Author(s):  
Paul Craig ◽  
Gráinne de Búrca
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Economic Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Freedom Of Establishment ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
General Economic Interest ◽  
The Uk

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has two separate chapters on self-employed persons who move on a permanent or temporary basis between Member States: the chapters on freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. The central principles governing freedom of establishment and the free movement of services are laid down in the TFEU and have been developed through case law. Important developments have also been brought about through secondary legislation in sectors such as insurance, broadcasting, financial services, electronic commerce, telecommunications, and other ‘services of general economic interest’. This chapter focuses on the broad constitutional principles applicable to every sector. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning freedom of establishment and the provision of services between the EU and the UK post-Brexit.

scholarly journals The Development of an Information Society and Electronic Commerce in the European Union in the Context of Selected Documents of the EU and International Organisations

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Jacek Hibner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Trade Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Aspects

Due to the rapidly growing use of the Internet, the development of electronic commerce (defined by the World Trade Organization as “the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means”1) has become one of the key aspects of today’s sustained growth. It influences productivity, facilitates the international movement of goods and services, and stimulates export and import trade. The European Union, as well as many multinational organisations, is working towards the harmonisation of their rules, and to facilitate and streamline this kind of international exchange. In this article, the author presents selected documents on electronic commerce published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Chamber of Commerce and the European Union since 1994.

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