E‐commerce and globalization: an exploratory study of Egypt

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address how cultures could affect the way different people use the internet. The study showed that there is a great potential for e‐commerce in Egypt in particular and Arab world in general. However, there are many challenges, where people are used to paying cash for what they buy, the credit or debit card as an instrument for buying things is not readily acceptable by public Egyptians. Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory study based on analysing secondary data and observation. The reason for choosing this approach in this stage of research is the lack of research that deals with this particular issue in the chosen case study. Findings – The results showed that e‐commerce has some merit in targeting global customers, if it considers cultural differences when adopting and applying global marketing strategy. Although there are many governmental initiatives to adopt ICT on all levels in Egypt, the reality still far behind and there is still a lot need to be done from both government and private sector to gain the benefits required. Research limitations/implications –Limitations include the use of secondary data and observation as the research method in this study. Empirical data and sampling will be required for further research. A comprehensive cross culture study among Arab countries and how a framework of culture could affect the online shopping behavior will be required for further research. Managerial implications are discussed with respect to formulating suitable marketing strategy to fit with the cultural differences of the Middle Eastern courtiers especially the language, values and religion. Originality/value – Provides insights for future researchers.