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How the Internet Lessen Barriers to E-Commerce

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Submitted By OGhollyhood
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How has the Internet helped to lessen or eliminate barriers to international e-commerce for small businesses?

AMBA 600: MBA Fundamentals

Executive Summary

With the birth of the Internet and the trend of globalization, small businesses are now able to reach beyond their immediate neighborhoods for both a captive market base and increased access to global manufacturers. Gone are the days when customer interactions were limited to face to face and supply resources were limited to goods purchased within driving distance of your hub. The introduction of the Internet has made our world a much smaller place to conduct business. I started an online business that primarily uses suppliers based in China and India, while our client base mostly hails from the Western hemisphere. Without the internet, we would have grossly reduced access to affordable wholesale goods and would have been limited to a local customer base to survive. It has expanded our reach far greater than we could have ever imagined. It is amazing to have customers in a country that neither of our company’s founders have ever visited. Throughout this paper, I will examine how the Internet has helped small businesses compete on a global scale through its impact on customer interactions, communication and competitor research.

Creating and sustaining a company is a very rewarding, but challenging experience. The statistics are daunting; U.S. Census data reports that almost 50% of all businesses fail within their first five years. And while the reason for those failures vary greatly, a large portion can be attributed to the limited resources available to small business owners. Obstacles such as limited customer interaction, internal communication barriers, and limited knowledge of competitors all help to aid in the downfall of an otherwise sustainable start-up. Additionally, “as

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