Business to Consumer Mobile Commerce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Case Study

摘要

The evolution of the Internet and the related technologies have changed the way business are transacted across the globe. Electronic commerce is the emerging technology through which online retailers are engaging consumers worldwide and achieving global expansion without moving to new geographic area. Although a new phenomenon, electronic commerce has revolutionized and change the way consumers make choices. The impact of these changes has created disparities between worldwide consumers shopping habits in markets where the technology is lagging. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is such a market. The purpose of the qualitative single case study was to gain insight into the feasibility of a business to consumer electronic commerce in DRC from the United States of America (USA) online retailers, managers or decisions makers. The study was centered around the technology, organization and environment context framework. Data were collected from a survey of 14 USA online retailers, managers and decisions makers who were engaged in online transactions with consumers in the USA, or emerging markets which included Africa. The findings revealed that USA online retailers lack knowledge and interest in the DRC market as current efforts have been directed toward assessing local markets. The implications of the findings show that more research involving larger samples is needed to access the full impact and potential of the DRC market.