Diffusion of E-business Technology In Russia: Results of an Empirical Study

Abstract

The article studies the expansion determinants of three different types of the e-business tools as well as the speed of their implementation at the Russian companies. An approach proposed by Karshenas and Stoneman based pon a combination of a few analysis models has been applied in the work. Assumptions are tested basing on the statistical data of Russian companies of 12 industries. The research results allow one to make a conclusion about the existence of the epidemic spreading effect and competition effect. Among the factors causing the effect of choice, the most important ones have turned out to be the following: the size of the company, the existence of broadband access to the Internet network and the level of the companies’ innovative activity. According to the performed analysis, the hierarchical model of expansion — “from the main centers to periphery” — prevails inside the industry; herewith, the largest companies with the leading positions in the industry are understood to be the centers. Instead of the single-stage model of Karshenas and Stoneman, a two-stage model has been proposed in the work; beside the impact of the spreading effects, it enables one to evaluate the timing of the peak of accepting the electronic business tools, the number of companies at the time of such a peak, and thus to estimate the speed of the technology expansion.