Fear of going out of business is driving many European companies to invest heavily in Internet and e-commerce technology and European firms overall are neck-and-neck with their US counterparts in developing Internet operations, says a new study by software developer Mori, Schaumburg, IL.
Survey respondents — 700 corporate board members on both continents — respondents generally forecast total e-sales averaging 13% of total sales, equivalent to $271 billion in the next two years ($118 billion in the US and $152 billion in Europe).
In addition, 56% of the respondents said e-business will become “essential/very important” in two years time in dealing with suppliers and customers versus 24% today who say it is important. By country, forecasts of its becoming essential/very important were highest in Sweden (66%), the UK (64%) and the US (60%), while expectations of its importance were lowest in Germany (53%), Spain (49%) and France (42%).
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