E-COMMERCE IN ITALY: SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS E-COMMERCE IN ITALY: SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS. From Case Studies To Statistical Surveys Fabiola Riccardini ISTAT-National Statistical Institute ELECTRONIC COMMERCE BUSINESS IMPACTS PROJECT WORKSHOP Rome, October 2001 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE BUSINESS IMPACTS PROJECT WORKSHOP Rome, October 2001

Introduction n Aims of the presentation: u finding a way to go from case-studies to statistical surveys for supporting generalisation of behaviours and motivations of the case studies to the sector as a whole u supporting further researches

Outline n The National project n The statistical surveys n Future research

The National Project n The EBIP team: the National Statistical Institute, Business Association (ABI, TELECOM ITALIA LAB, ASSINFORM), Ministries, and Experts n 3 sectors analysed: Textile-clothing, Banking sector, IT Distribution with EBIP methodology n Findings from case-studies: other presentations in the workshop n Statistical surveys: an overview on all economic sectors n Output: A National Report (still in progress)

The ISTAT Statistical Surveys on E-Commerce on Businesses n Annual survey on SMEs (less then 100 employed) with a module on ICT usage and e- commerce. First time year 2000 n Ad hoc survey on businesses (from 10 and over employed) on ICT usage and e-commerce. First time year 2001

Annual survey on SMEs (less then 100 employed) n definitions harmonised with others European countries and in the context of the Structural Business Statistics Regulation. n in year 2000 the survey covered beside other economic variables a specific module for: u level of diffusion of: – IT equipment –electronic mail –businesses presence on the Web with their own web-sites u information on: –on-line purchases –on-line sales

Empirical evidences: size does matter n 48,7% of businesses on average have IT equipment (personal computer) u class 1-4 employed 44,1% u class 5-9 employed 77,1% u class employed 89,5% u class employed94,8% u class employed98,2% n 39,9% of businesses provided with IT equipment have an u class 1-4 employed 36,6% u class 5-9 employed 43,7% u class employed 59,2% u class employed73,5% u class employed84,4% n 13,9% of businesses provided with IT equipment have a web site u class 1-4 employed 10,8% u class 5-9 employed 19,6% u class employed 27,7% u class employed43,8% u class employed56,9%

Empirical evidences: size/sector does matter n 8,7% of businesses on average provided with PC have made at least one on-line purchases (BtoB) in the last two years u class 1-4 employed 8,3% u class employed16,9% n 9,5% of businesses on average provided with PC have made at least one on-line sales (BtoB and BtoC) in the last two years u class 1-4 employed 8,5% u class employed27,9% n in manufacturing sector there is on average a higher inclination towards on-line sales transactions n in services sector there is on average a wide intense use activity on-line purchasing n high intensity R&D sectors of manufacturing sector are those with higher inclination for on-line purchases n services to enterprises show also high probability of purchasing through the net,follow hotel and restaurants sector n traditional sectors of the manufacturing industry present an inclination towards sales on the net higher than that for purchasing n high intensity R&D sectors of manufacturing sector and hotel and restaurant sectors present higher inclination than traditional manufacturing n geographical locations does not influence so much the attitude towards the use of the net for purchases and sales

Ad Hoc Survey on Businesses (From 10 and Over Employed) on ICT Usage and E-Commerce. (1) n Variables and definitions harmonised with others European countries plus others adaptations to national needs (also from EBIP project) n in year 2001 the survey covered: u module on use and degree of diffusion of ICT ( IT, Intranet, EDI, internet, Web, type of internet connection: mobile, modem, ISDN,XDSL,other broadband….. u module on use of e-commerce for purchases (BtoB) : F make on-line purchases by type of protocols (internet, other protocols) F barriers: type of goods and services needed, too few suppliers,delivery costs,logistics, uncertainty in making payments, skills F perceived benefits: cost savings, speed of processing,simplification of processes,large offer available F channels for purchases on lines (marketplaces, portals…) F estimation of e-purchases on total purchases u module on use of e-commerce for sales F make on-line sales by type of protocols (internet, other protocols) F barriers F perceived benefits F channels F estimation of e-sales on total purchases

Ad hoc survey on businesses (from 10 and over employed) on ICT usage and e-commerce. (2) u module on use of intermediaries and general appraisals on internet use and e-commerce : (use of specialised intermediaries for purchases and for sales) u first empirical evidences (preliminary results): F size e-commercedirect intermediaries F class >1016,76%9,58%10,76% F class ,28%8,74%9,82% F class ,76%14,71% 15,09% F class ,55%14,99%19,34% F class >25039,48%21,83%24,53% F sector F manufacturing15,33%7,70%10,07% F trade14,26%7,95%9,37% F hotel and restaurant22,16%17,06%11,60% F transport13,99%8,07%10,08% F financial services30,06%17,65%18,76% F services to enterprises 27,54%20,05%16,88%

Ad hoc survey on businesses (from 10 and over employed) on ICT usage and e-commerce. (3) n 0,59% of total turnover derives from on-line sales : n millions of liras are e-turnover n 0,75% of total purchases derives from on-line purchases: n millions of liras are e-purchases n we are in an embryonic stage

Future Research n Verifying over the time the impacts seen in early stage n Enlarge number of case studies on different sectors for value-chain analysis n Unit of analysis: from enterprises versus group of enterprises n Evolution of statistical surveys: monitoring of type of impacts