Session 8 -
Organizing for “e” - A “Best
Practice” Approach
The
Issue:
Developing countries continue to face significant deep–rooted
infrastructural barriers to the adoption of electronic commerce. Many
of these barriers are the responsibility of national governments. The
national e-trade performance of countries hinges upon the development
of solid telecommunications infrastructures as well as solid trade
infrastructures (eg transport, distribution and customs clearance).
Infrastructural barriers which companies face in adopting e-trade
include:
-
continued protectionist practices in the telecommunications sector
-
a
tendency to “legislate” for, rather than “facilitate” solutions
-
weak physical distribution systems
-
inefficient and corrupt customs practices
-
lack of inter-ministerial co-operation to promote the use of ICT
for trade
The
debate involving the key actors, however, needs to move from access
to application. What should national governments do to promote the
adoption or application of e-working practices to improve
international trade competitiveness?
The
Proposition:
Countries don’t export, companies do. The role of national
governments and the trade support network is to create an enabling
environment for e-trade and the tools to support the trade ambitions
of companies, particularly SMEs. This requires two perspectives: 1)
the enterprise perspective (bottom-up) which examines the genuine
needs, fears, and constraints of enterprise managers, 2) the
perspective of national trade policy makers (top-down) which focuses
upon policies to improve trade performance, create wealth, and
distribute wealth equitably. Often these two perspectives do not
converge either because of poor communication or because the
cost-benefit arguments have not been made in both directions.
Organizing effective national e-trade solutions requires an
integrated approach which bridges the gap between these two
perspectives, linking e-trade policy with actions addressing
enterprise needs. If this gap exists between policy and practice,
then there is also a gap in understanding between stakeholders in ICT
and stakeholders in trade. Government policy statements must feature
concrete, achievable targets which lead to enterprise level e-trade
performance improvements.
Focus of the debate:
Is
the glass half-empty or half-full? If we assume that connectivity
and access are not issues, what would be the characteristics of a
high performing e-enabled trade economy? What e-trade policy goals
would we establish in clear, quantifiable terms? What services would
be required from the public and private sectors to deliver enterprise
level performance impacts? In short, how should governments organize
themselves to deliver e-trade impact?
