Discussion Committee:
Prof. Sameer Abu Eisheh/supervisor
Dr. Sabri Saidam / External Examiner
Dr. Omar Abdel-Raziq / Internal Examiner
Supervisors:
Prof. Sameer Abu Eisheh/supervisor
Abstract:
E-commerce is a global trend in the new digital economy, where selling or buying products or services, is conducted through the internet. It is considered one of the main tools for developing trade activities given its flexibility and efficiency to improve business productivity and effectiveness. Developing countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), realized the advantages of e-commerce quite late, as opposed to developed countries that have been focusing on e-commerce for the last decade. However, serious efforts have been made recently in the developing countries to advance Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, modernize legal framework, and introduce effective and reliable logistics services, and secured e-payment systems, in order to have successful e-commerce.
Palestine, one of the developing countries in the MENA region, has a modest ICT sector that places it in a good position among neighboring countries, thus indicating a potential for further growth. E-commerce is one of the tools to support this development and sustain its growth.
The aim of this research is to suggest strategies that would facilitate the development of e-commerce in the Palestinian market, and formulate a strategic framework for successful e-commerce activities. To these two ends, this research benefited from the international and regional e-commerce experience by exploring the critical factors for a successful e-commerce. Then, a strategic analysis of the Palestinian market’s current situation was made, by considering the critical factors for e-commerce adoption. The analysis was based on collected data from the private and public sector reports and documents, as well as on interviews with key figures in several relevant sectors. Subsequently, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis was performed to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the Palestinian market. This analysis was made in order to formulate e-commerce’s vision, mission, and strategic short- and long-term objectives. The strategic framework was summarized through a SWOT matrix, which suggested feasible strategic solutions for e-commerce by capitalizing on the Palestinian strengths and opportunities to minimize threats and weaknesses thus achieving the suggested strategic goals.
The main suggested strategies focus on modernization of the Palestinian legal framework to create an attractive business environment, utilization of ICT technology in the industrial sector to enhance its productivity and efficiency, the speeding up of the implementation of e-government and its e-services, and the improvement of the management and ICT skills of the Palestinian people. The research concludes with some recommendations to get the strategic plan implemented properly. It recommends establishment of a special governmental unit to be fully in charge of regulating and supervising e-commerce in Palestine.