The Role of the Internet in Overcoming Information Barriers : Implications for Exporting SMEs from the East African Community

Small and medium-sized enterprises play a significant role in the East African Community, contributing a significant percentage of national income and employing a significant number of people. Exportation provides greater opportunities for these enterprises to expand their businesses and improve their performance. However, they encounter a number of information-related barriers before and during exportation. This paper identifies these barriers and discusses how the internet can be used to overcome them. Based on the internet, international business and small business literatures, the paper suggests propositions and develops a model that will be useful for future studies in this area