A Country-Level Decision Support Framework for Self-Assessment of E-Commerce Maturity ()
ABSTRACT
Countries need to be aware
of the stage of their current e-Commerce maturity for choosing the right
strategy to move forward. For this purpose, we develop a country-level decision
support framework to determine maturation stage of e-Commerce in a country. At
first, e-Commerce maturity scores of local e-Markets in each regional e-Market
are calculated using a
fuzzy bi-level Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution
(TOPSIS) method. Then, e-Commerce maturity scores of regional e-Markets in the
country are determined based on a fuzzy bi-level fishbone diagram. After that,
national e-Commerce maturity level is assessed using a three-level decision
making model. The contribution of the proposed decision support framework is
four folds: 1) it develops a
fishbone diagram to a fuzzy bi-level environment; 2) it presents a
country-level decision making model with three levels of local, regional, international e-Markets to assess country’s e-Commerce
maturity level; 3) it considers interdependencies between local, regional and international e-Markets;
and 4) it synthesizes qualitative judgments and quantitative data of maturity
criteria and sub-criteria. The results of this self-assessment can be used to
analyze national e-Commerce strengths, weaknesses in e-Commerce development and
move to the next level of e-Commerce maturity. Furthermore, it can be used as a
device to transfer
knowledge to developing countries. We present a case study to determine US e-Commerce
maturity level.
Share and Cite:
F. Zandi, "A Country-Level Decision Support Framework for Self-Assessment of E-Commerce Maturity,"
iBusiness, Vol. 5 No. 2, 2013, pp. 43-54. doi:
10.4236/ib.2013.52005.