电子商务与中小型企业---需要谨慎外文翻译.docVIP

外文翻译 原文 E-commerce and SMEs—The Need for Caution Material Source: Prometheus, Vol. 27, No. 2, June 2009 Author: Noor Azuan Hashim ‘Electronic commerce’ (e-commerce) has emerged as a significant topic in the literature only since the Internet started to be used commercially in the 1990s.Many authors insist that e-commerce has a significant and positive impact on businesses everywhere. Policymakers and managers seem certain that e-commerce conveys undisputed benefits, insisting that companies which eschew e-commerce will be left behind in the global marketplace. Yet, e-commerce is not being adopted readily by small and medium-sized enterprises. In the US, e-commerce use among SMEs is generally limited to e-mail and the company webpage. Few SMEs engage in online transactions. In the UK, trading online in small businesses is stalling and in some cases has declined. Elsewhere, too, few SMEs have adopted e-commerce and very few have ever traded online. This result is surprising and important, given the role that SMEs play in all economies. They are considered to be the life blood of modern economies. The disinclination of SMEs to adopt and use e-commerce deserves serious attention;yet, there is little systematic research that explores the relevance of e-commerce to SMEs. E-commerce and SMEs E-commerce There is no consensus on the definition of e-commerce. However, there are two common elements to most definitions. First, e-commerce concerns business activities that occur by electronic means, such as sharing business information, and buying and selling. The second element is the technological means that enable these activities. The difference lies in how some researchers define these two elements. Some define e-commerce broadly, including all business activities carried out over any electronic media. Others define e-commerce more narrowly by focusing on certain business activities or technological means. In this study, Zwass’s definition of e-commerce is used, focusing on