E-commerce in developing economies: A review of theoretical frameworks and approaches

This chapter undertakes a meta-analysis of the published literature on e-commerce in developing economies (DEs). The aim is to take stock of the literature, identify enduring research themes, classify the existing work based on such themes and review the theoretical and conceptual approaches used. The analysis covers 245 articles published between 1993 and 2006 in 76 different journals on electronic commerce, information systems, global information technology, development and developing countries. The findings indicate that the research area is rapidly growing and relatively well-spread across the assessment of e-commerce potential and its adoption and implementation issues in DEs. We make a case for future research to focus on developing a broad development perspective of e-commerce benefits and a strategic understanding of how to achieve and sustain these benefits. The chapter thus serves both as a synthesis of current research, and as a road map providing future directions for both academics and practitioners.