Ict, e-business and Small and Medium Enterprises

Figure 3. Businesses using the Internet for purchasing and selling, 2001

1

 

Percentage of businesses with ten or more employees 

 

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Businesses using the Internet 

Businesses receiving orders over the Internet

Businesses ordering over the Internet 

 

  

Note: The results of the Eurostat survey are based on a selection of industries that changes slightly across countries. 

The main sectors covered are manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and 

communications, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities. The surveys of Denmark, Italy, 

Finland and Norway do not cover financial intermediation; those of Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, the United 

Kingdom and Norway also cover construction; Denmark and Norway also survey personal services. 

1. Beginning of 2001 for Internet use; purchases and sales refer to 2000, for Canada, purchases and sales refer to 

2001; for Denmark and Norway, Internet use refers to 2002 and purchases and sales refer to 2001.  

2. All businesses with 50 and more employees. 

3. Use, orders received and placed refer to Internet and other computer-mediated networks. 

4. All businesses. 

5. Orders received and placed over the Internet and other computer-mediated networks. 

Source: OECD, ICT database, August 2002; Eurostat, E-commerce Pilot Survey 2001. 

The situation is similar for SMEs, but they lag behind larger firms. The gap between SMEs and 

larger firms is greater for Internet purchases than for Internet sales. In Norway, for instance, more than 

70% of firms with 250 or more employees reported on-line purchases, as compared to about 30% of small 

firms (10-49 employees) and 50% of medium-sized firms (50-249 employees). In other OECD countries, 

Internet purchasing seems to be sensitive to firm size, with the largest firms having the highest percentages 

of purchases. However, the propensity to sell over the Internet seems less sensitive to firm size. The 

difference between large firms and SMEs is less than 10%, except in the United Kingdom. In Australia, 

Denmark and Sweden, smaller businesses that use the Internet appear to have roughly same propensity to 

sell over the Internet as larger ones (Figure 4). 

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