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Ma ke ing and T ade
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-4-011
In oduc ion
Elec onic comme ce (e-comme ce), as pa
o e-business, is s ill unde going dynamic
de elopmen and signi i can ly a ec s he
economic eali y in EU membe s a es.
E-comme ce ela es o he de elopmen o
in o ma ion and communica ions echnologies
(ICT). I has gone h ough de elopmen s ages
(de ailed below), and since 2010 (Schneide ,
2015) has been in i s cu en ma u i y s age in
de eloped coun ies and he Eu opean Union
(EU) (Qin e al., 2014, acco ding o whom he
ma u i y s age o e-comme ce da es back o
2004). This pape aims o p opose a ool o
assessing and compa ing he in ensi y o B2C
e-comme ce in EU membe s a es. Rega ding
his goal, he au ho s deal wi h he ollowing
esea ch ques ions: Wha is he posi ion o
indi idual EU membe s a es in e ms o he
in ensi y o B2C e-comme ce? Is he e a s ong
co ela ion be ween B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
and he le el o economic de elopmen o EU
membe s a es? Is he e a co ela ion be ween
B2C e-comme ce in ensi y and he leng h o he
coun ies’ EU membe ship?
In he i s sec ion o his pape , he e ms
e-comme ce and B2C e-comme ce, as well as
he de elopmen al s ages o B2C e-comme ce
a e de i ned. These de i ni ions a e ollowed by
an o e iew o he indica o s used in measu ing
B2C e-comme ce in ensi y in an economy
and he so-called B2C e-comme ce indices,
which in ecen yea s, ha e been c ea ed o
cap u e an agg ega e iew o a ious aspec s
o B2C e-comme ce. The empi ical sec ion o
ou s udy in oduces c i e ia o assessing he
in ensi y o B2C e-comme ce in EU membe
s a es and he p ocedu e o c ea ing he
B2C e-comme ce in ensi y index, which will
allow a comp ehensi e compa ison o B2C
e-comme ce in EU membe s a es based on he
selec ed c i e ia. Me hod TOPSIS was used in
designing he p oposed index. The assessmen
c i e ia e l ec he ele an publicly a ailable
da a on he B2C e-comme ce in ensi y in EU
membe s a es, which a e quan i i ed in he
o m o speci i c indica o s. The ou pu o he
empi ical sec ion consis s lis o EU membe
s a es in e ms o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y,
which conside all he selec ed assessmen
c i e ia. The applica ion o he esul s o his
s udy con ibu es o he de elopmen o he
heo y o e-comme ce, as well as ep esen s
a p ac ical con ibu ion. De e mining and
compa ing he posi ions o EU membe s a es
in e ms o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y allows
us o iden i y coun ies ha do no su i cien ly
u ilize he po en ial o B2C e-comme ce o
inc ease hei p ospe i y and achie e consume
u ili y. In he conclusion o his pape , he cu en
esea ch limi a ions a e discussed along wi h
a sugges ion o u he esea ch.
1. Theo e ical Backg ound
o e-Comme ce
O e he cou se o i s exis ence, e-comme ce
has become a phenomenon ha has been
de i ned in many ways (e.g. Ho e al., 2007;
Qin e al., 2014; Reynolds, 2010; Schneide ,
2015; Yada e al., 2013). The de elopmen
o ICT and i s implemen a ion in he sphe e o
e-comme ce has led o mo e speci i c de i ni ions.
The as g ow h o e-comme ce has c ea ed
he need o adop a uni o m and in e na ionally
accep ed de i ni ion o s a is ical moni o ing and
measu ing his new phenomenon in comme ce.
The analyses o scien i i c esea ch in o
e-comme ce (Ngai & Wa , 2001; Wang & Chen,
2010) sugges ha he i s s udies (e.g. T eese
& S ewa , 1998) we e published in specialized
jou nals in he ea ly 1990s. The apid g ow h
o elec onic ansac ions in he second hal
o he 1990s and he need o s a is ical
measu ing equi ed a p ecise, and o easons
EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF B2C
E-COMMERCE INTENSITY IN EU MEMBER
STATES
Hana Kunešo á, Lud ík Ege
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152 2017, XX, 4
Ma ke ing a obchod
o in e na ional compa ison, an in e na ionally
accep able de i ni ion o he e m “elec onic
comme ce” and i s dis inc ion om “elec onic
business” (e-business).
1.1 De i ning e-Comme ce
In 2009, he O ganisa ion o Economic
Co-ope a ion and De elopmen (OECD)
published a e ised de i ni ion, which is s ill
used in OECD documen s oday: “E-comme ce
ansac ions a e he sale o pu chase o
goods o se ices conduc ed o e compu e
ne wo ks by me hods speci i cally designed o
he pu pose o ecei ing o placing o o de s;
paymen and deli e y a e no conside ed.
T ansac ions can occu be ween en e p ises,
households, indi iduals, go e nmen s and
o he o ganisa ions. The de i ni ion includes
o de s made h ough web pages, ex ane
o EDI and excludes o de s by elephone
calls, ax o manually yped e-mail.” (OECD,
2013b, p. 226). A simila de i ni ion o elec onic
comme ce is ha by Eu os a (2015). Howe e ,
scien i i c sou ces indica e o he de i ni ions
o e-comme ce and de i ne e-comme ce in
a na owe and b oade sense.
De i ning elec onic comme ce in he na ow
and b oad sense ela es o ac i i ies ha a e
included in e-comme ce. Fo example, Lee
(2012) s a es ha , in he na ow sense o he
ph ase, e-comme ce is he p ocess o buying,
selling, o exchanging p oduc s, se ices
and in o ma ion ia elecommunica ions
ne wo ks. In he b oade sense, e-comme ce
also includes, apa om buying and selling
p oduc s and se ices, se icing cus ome s,
collabo a ing wi h business pa ne s, and
conduc ing elec onic ansac ions wi hin an
o ganiza ion.
The na ow de i ni ion o e-comme ce,
pe Tu ban e al. (2015, p. 7), means “using
he In e ne and in ane s o pu chase, sell,
anspo , o ade da a, goods, o se ices.”
A b oade concep is p esen ed by S allmann
and Wegne (2015, p. 6), acco ding o whom
e-comme ce is “ he sum o all digi al comme cial
ansac ions be ween economic en i ies,
conduc ed h ough he In e ne , mos o i being
he sale o goods and se ices.”
Issues wi h de i ning elec onic comme ce
do no include only he a ying scope o
de i ni ions used, bu also he unde s anding
o he ela ionship be ween e-comme ce
and e-business. In 2003, he OECD de i ned
elec onic business as “(au oma ed) business
p ocesses (bo h in a- and in e -company) o e
compu e media ed ne wo ks” (OECD, 2003,
p. 4). This de i ni ion was also adop ed by he
EU (Eu opean Commission, 2010, p. 174).
Using his de i ni ion, elec onic business
includes a ange o ac i i ies, including
elec onic comme ce. Howe e , acco ding
o some p o essional sou ces, he de i ni ion
o e-comme ce is i ually iden ical o ha
o e-business (e.g., Xu & Quaddus, 2010;
Schneide , 2015).
The non-uni o m app oach o unde s anding
elec onic comme ce also mani es s i sel
in Czech p o essional li e a u e. Machko á
(2009) uses he e ms e-comme ce and
e-business synonymously, saying: “Typical
o he second hal o he 1990s was he
g ow h in elec onic comme ce (e-comme ce,
e-business).” Suchánek (2012) and Machko á,
Če nohlá ko á, Sa o, Malý and Sedláček
(2014), on he o he hand, consis en ly
dis inguish be ween he e ms e-comme ce
and e-business. In ou s udy, we use he e m
e-comme ce pe he 2009 OECD de i ni ion (see
abo e).
1.2 Classi i ca ion o e-Comme ce
E-comme ce is classi i ed based on a ious
c i e ia. The basic ca ego ies o classi i ca ion
o he en i ies in ol ed include business- o-
business (B2B) and B2C. In e ac ions be ween
consume s media ed by a hi d pa y all unde
he consume - o-consume (C2C) ca ego y;
howe e , di ec in e ac ion be ween consume s,
e.g., on social media ne wo ks, wi hou he use
o a hi d pa y, a e e e ed o as pee - o-pee
(P2P). A ca ego y ha g ew in signi i cance la e
was consume - o-business (C2B), in which he
impe us comes om consume s who place
hei demand, o example, on he In e ne .
The numbe o e-comme ce ca ego ies has
inc eased wi h he inclusion o go e nmen
ins i u ions ha p o ide hei se ices o o he
en i ies online, which has gi en ise o he
ca ego ies G2B, G2C, G2G, B2G, and C2G
(Waghma e, 2012). The inclusion o employees
has led o he c ea ion o o he ca ego ies, e.g.,
B2E (Tu ban e al., 2015) o E2E, o med by
employees using a company ne wo k – in ane
(Cha ey, 2015). Acco ding o OECD da a,
app oxima ely 90% o he alue o e-comme ce
comp ises B2B ansac ions and 10% o
hose ansac ions a e o he B2C, B2G, and
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4, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
C2C a ie y (OECD, 2013a, p. 4). Fu he
classi i ca ion is, o example, based on he
openness o he medium used (OECD, 1999b)
o he deg ee o use o ICT (e.g., Suchánek,
2012; Tassabehji, 2003; Tu ban e al., 2015).
F om he geog aphical poin o iew, he e is
a dis inc ion be ween local, na ional, c oss-
bo de (Gomez He e a e al., 2014) and global
e-comme ce.
1.3 De elopmen o B2C e-Comme ce
Since he mid-1990s, B2C e-comme ce has
seen apid de elopmen . The signi i can
miles ones in e-comme ce include he launch
o he i s e-shops in 1995 (Amazon, eBay), he
so-called do com c ash in 2000, and he huge
inc ease in he sale o sma phones in 2013.
Fo example, Schneide (2015) de i nes B2C
e-comme ce in con ex wi h he de elopmen
o online business in he USA and iews i as
a long- e m p ocess di ided in o h ee s ages.
The i s s age was he pe iod be ween 1995
and 2003; he second s age las ed be ween
2004 and 2009, and he hi d s age has been in
p og ess since 2010. The miles ones be ween
he indi idual s ages a e ep esen ed by he
beginning o he apid de elopmen o e-shops
in he USA in 1995, e mina ion o he second
wa e o in es men s in e-comme ce and
e-business in he USA in 2003 ollowing he
do com c ash, and he pa allel appea ance o
new ac o s in 2010, which had a signi i can
impac on u he de elopmen o B2C
e-comme ce.
Simila ly, Qin e al. (2014) cha ac e ize he
de elopmen o e-comme ce du ing he pe iod
om 1995 o 2000 as a Phase o e-comme ce
based on he In e ne . Du ing his phase, B2C
e-comme ce wen h ough he ge mina ion
s age (1995-1997) and he inno a ion s age
(1997-2000).
The pe iod a e 2000 is e e ed o by
he au ho s as he s age o e-concep -based
e-comme ce, du ing which e-comme ce
expe ienced a c isis ollowing he do com
c ash. In 2004, e-comme ce en e ed i s ma u i y
s age, which has las ed o his day. Fu he ,
hey claim ha a e 2004 e-comme ce ceased
o be a phenomenon con i ned o he USA and
became a business model ha has sp ead o
an inc easing numbe coun ies.
In he mos ecen pe iod, since 2010
(Schneide , 2015), se e al new e-comme ce
models ha e apidly become widesp ead:
mobile comme ce (m-comme ce), social
comme ce (s-comme ce), and he elec onic
sale o mobile apps, ollowing he “App S o e”
model. The massi e inc ease in he numbe
o use s o he social ne wo k Facebook and
i s use o B2C e-comme ce has gi en ise
o he e m -comme ce (Tu ban e al., 2015,
p. 13). Social ne wo ks also ep esen a new
phenomenon in e-comme ce (Khan & Saga ,
2015).
2. Measu ing B2C e-Comme ce
S a ing in 1999, an OECD ask o ce deal
in ensi ely wi h ques ions o how o measu e
e-comme ce. Thei ask was o sugges
an in e na ionally accep ed de i ni ion o
elec onic comme ce and a se o indica o s
o measu ing and compa ing in e na ionally
elec onic comme ce and i s economic and
social impac s (OECD, 1999a). The basis o
iden i ying e-comme ce indica o s was he
S-cu e, ep esen ing h ee s ages in he li e
cycle o e-comme ce (e-comme ce eadiness,
e-comme ce in ensi y, and e-comme ce impac )
and i s measu emen p io i ies. A di e en ype
o in o ma ion is gi en p io i y in each s age o
he li e cycle o e-comme ce. Some esea ch
s udies (e.g., Cha ey, 2015; Gomez He e a e
al., 2014; Ho e al., 2007; Ka iwi & MacG ego ,
2007; Kshe i, 2007; Sa ul e al., 2014; Sing
e al., 2001; Sp emic & Hlupic, 2007; Zhu
e al., 2003) sea ch o ac o s suppo ing
he de elopmen o B2C e-comme ce o , on
he o he hand, ep esen ing obs acles in
i s de elopmen , and hus con ibu e o he
de elopmen o he me hodology o measu ing
e-comme ce.
In his s udy, we ocus on he second s age
o B2C e-comme ce, e-comme ce in ensi y,
which comes a e e-comme ce eadiness, and
is ollowed by he hi d s age, ocused on he
u u e, e-comme ce impac . In he second s age,
ha is, e-comme ce ma u i y, he in ensi y o he
use o e-comme ce is acked, and he cu en
ques ion is: Wha e ec does e-comme ce ha e
on he economy and socie y? (OECD, 1999a;
OECD, 2011)
2.1 Measu ing B2C e-Comme ce In ensi y
The use o B2C e-comme ce includes he
in ensi y and g ow h o B2C e-comme ce, he
na u e o ansac ions, he selle s’ ac i i ies, he
consume s’ beha iou , and o he aspec s (see
Tab. 1). S a is ical acking o he aspec s lis ed
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154 2017, XX, 4
Ma ke ing a obchod
abo e makes i possible o iden i y sec o s,
indus ies, and whole economies ha do o
do no use he possibili ies o B2C e-comme ce.
Indi idual indica o s measu e only
selec ed aspec s o B2C e-comme ce.
Fo a comp ehensi e assessmen o B2C
e-comme ce, he no only he choice o
indi idual indica o s, bu also hei agg ega ion
in o an o e all indica o , which can exp ess
a global iew o B2C e-comme ce based on he
e alua ion c i e ia, is impo an . The agg ega e
indica o s o B2C e-comme ce ( e e ed o as
indices in o eign sou ces) a e ela i ely new.
The e a e cu en ly se e al B2C e-comme ce
indica o s, each o which ocuses on acking
B2C e-comme ce om a di e en poin o iew,
howe e , none o hem indica es he in ensi y o
B2C e-comme ce and i s use.
Since 2012, he ATKea ney consul ing
company has been publishing “The Global
Re ail E-comme ce Index” (ATKea ney,
2013), which exp esses he a ac i eness o
economies o in es men s in B2C e-comme ce
on a 100-poin scale. In 2014, The Economis
In elligence Uni published “The G20 e-T ade
Readiness Index” (The Economis In elligence
Uni , 2014), which exp esses he condi ions
o engagemen in c oss-bo de B2C
e-comme ce in G20 coun ies. I is e iden
ha i does no comp ehensi ely compa e he
use o e-comme ce in he a ea ha we a e
conce ned. Since 2015, he “The UNCTAD
B2C E-comme ce Index” (UNCTAD, 2016) has
been published, which compa es economies
based on ou c i e ia: he sha e o indi iduals
using he In e ne , he numbe o secu e
In e ne se e s pe 1 million people, he sha e
o indi iduals wi h a c edi ca d, and he pos al
eliabili y sco e. This index allows us o compa e
economies in e ms o hei eadiness o B2C
e-comme ce and o iden i y hei s eng hs and
weaknesses in his a ea. Apa om he indices
lis ed, he e is also “The Readiness Index
Fo es e ,” pu o h by he Fo es e Company
(2016). This index assesses he condi ions o
he de elopmen o B2C e-comme ce based
on 25 indica o s. I is a ailable only o clien s
o Fo es e , and in o ma ion ega ding i s
s uc u e o alues is no publicly accessible.
2.2 Issues wi h Measu ing B2C
e-Comme ce
Al hough B2C e-comme ce has been a ound
o mo e han 20 yea s, measu ing and
s a is ically acking i is s ill p oblema ic. In he
ea ly s age o i s exis ence, B2C e-comme ce
was di i cul o measu e and he s a is ical da a
ob ained wasn’ compa able, as he e was
nei he a uni o m de i ni ion o B2C e-comme ce
no any me hodology o how o measu e i
(c . Hawk, 2004). In oducing an in e na ionally
accep able de i ni ion o B2C e-comme ce and
de elopmen o a me hodology o measu e
i ha e con ibu ed o esol ing he ini ial
p oblems. Howe e , he p oblem wi h he
objec i i y and accessibili y o da a on B2C
e-comme ce ansac ions p o ided by business
en i ies con inues o his day (mainly ega ding
e enues om online sales, he a e age alue
o an online pu chase, he numbe o o de s,
he a e age alue o an o de , and o he s).
Howe e , he ewes p oblems conce n he
a ailabili y o da a ega ding he eadiness o
he economy o B2C e-comme ce.
P oblems wi h measu ing B2C e-comme ce
ansac ions a e due o se e al ac o s, which
include: a la ge numbe o companies engaged
Indica o s o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y Selec ed da a sou ces
(da a published wi h a ying pe iodici y)
Companies selling online. Indi iduals shopping
online. Tu no e o B2C e-comme ce. A e age
alue o an online o de . F equency o online
shopping. S uc u e o goods and se ices
sold online. Paymen me hods used. Ways o
deli e ing p oduc s.
The Czech S a is ical O i ce
The Eu os a da abase
Ecomme ce Eu ope.
Wo ldpay. Global paymen s epo .
Comme cial and esea ch o ganiza ions
Domes ic and c oss-bo de online pu chases,
sales.
The Czech S a is ical O i ce
Eu os a da abase
Sou ce: own
Tab. 1: Indica o s o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y and selec ed da a sou ces
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155
4, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
in B2C e-comme ce; he ac ha a numbe
o companies engage in bo h elec onic and
adi ional (b ick-and-mo a ) sales, ye hei
eco ds do no make a dis inc ion be ween
he wo sales me hods; he igh compe i ion
in he i eld o B2C e-comme ce, which leads
o he concealmen o dis o ion o da a; he
dynamic de elopmen o ICT and he esul ing
new ends in B2C e-comme ce; and las ly, he
ongoing me hodological issues wi h measu ing
B2C e-comme ce.
A la ge obs acle in measu ing B2C
e-comme ce objec i ely is compe i ion, which
was men ioned by he OECD in he 1990s
(OECD, 1997) as an obs acle in gaining
business da a o measu ing B2C e-comme ce,
bu i is men ioned by o he p o essional sou ces
as well. Gomez He e a e al. (2014) poin ou
ha da a on B2C e-comme ce a e gene a ed
mainly by p i a e companies in ol ed in online
e-comme ce; howe e , comme cial in e es s
s op hem om publishing his da a. Ca dona
e al. (2015) and simila ly Duch-B own and
Ma ens (2015) poin o he p oblem wi h
s a is ical da a on e-comme ce in he EU. The
p oblem wi h da a a ailabili y also applies o he
Czech economy (e.g., Hla enka, 2011).
Measu ing B2C e-comme ce is also a ec ed
by me hodological p oblems, e.g., di e en
p ocedu es in da a collec ion, in measu ing
c oss-bo de B2C e-comme ce, o in measu ing
B2C e-comme ce in mul ina ional co po a ions
(OECD, 2015). Some o hese p oblems can
be elimina ed by in e na ional s anda ds o
acking and measu ing B2C e-comme ce.
An example o such a s anda d is he Global
Online Measu emen S anda d o E-comme ce
(GOMSEC), adhe ed o by he in e na ional
associa ion o B2C e-comme ce, Ecomme ce
Eu ope, including i s na ional associa ions, and
o he coope a ing o ganiza ions (Ecomme ce
Eu ope, 2016). Among o he hings, GOMSEC
has de i ned he ca ego ies o p oduc s and
se ices included in B2C e-comme ce (e.g.,
Media and en e ainmen , Fashion, Toys,
Elec onics, and o he s), and de e mined which
i ems will be excluded om epo s on B2C
e-comme ce (e.g., he sale o mo o ehicles,
eal es a e, s ocks and bonds, and o he s).
Since Janua y 1, 2008, he Czech S a is ical
O i ce has been using he NACE in e na ional
classi i ca ion, which has conside ed
echnological de elopmen and s uc u al
changes in he economy, and made i possible
o compa e he s a is ical da a om he Czech
Republic wi h hose o he EU as well as globally
(Czech S a is ical O i ce, 2008). In ecen yea s,
da a on he de elopmen o B2C e-comme ce
has also been published by Eu os a in
connec ion wi h he goals o he Eu ope 2020
s a egy. The OECD publishes s a is ical da a
o all e-comme ce ca ego ies wi hou he
dis inc ion o B2C e-comme ce. In o ma ion
on selec ed B2C e-comme ce indica o s,
wi hou an ex ensi e ime se ies, is published
on a limi ed scale by a ious o ganiza ions
(e.g., Ecomme ce Founda ion, S a is a.com,
Fo es e , Bos on Consul ing G oup), which
p o ide he ull e sions o documen s only o
hei membe s. In he Czech Republic, apa
om he Czech S a is ical O i ce, e-comme ce
is moni o ed mainly by e-comme ce consul ing
companies APEK and ACOMWARE.
3. Compa ison o EU Membe S a es
in Te ms o B2C e-Comme ce
In ensi y
The goal o his s udy is o p opose a ool o
assessing and compa ing he in ensi y o B2C
e-comme ce in EU membe s a es and, in
ela ion o his, answe he ollowing esea ch
ques ions: Wha is he posi ion o indi idual EU
membe s a es in e ms o B2C e-comme ce
in ensi y? Is he e a s ong co ela ion be ween
B2C e-comme ce in ensi y and he le el o
economic de elopmen o EU membe s a es?
Is he e a co ela ion be ween B2C e-comme ce
in ensi y and he leng h o he coun ies’ EU
membe ship?
3.1 Me hod
To assess and compa e B2C e-comme ce
in ensi y in EU membe s a es, me hod o mul i-
c i e ia e alua ion o al e na i es, ha all in o
he ca ego y o mul i-c i e ia decision analysis
me hods, was chosen. Me hods o mul i-c i e ia
e alua ion o al e na i es allow he agg ega ion
o pa ial e alua ion based on selec ed c i e ia
in o an agg ega e assessmen , which conside s
all he assessmen c i e ia. The mul i-c i e ia
e alua ion o he al e na i es used esul s in
he compila ion o an o de o al e na i es (EU
membe s a es) om “ he bes ” o “ he wo s ”
al e na i e (Kunešo á, 2016).
Mul i-c i e ia decision analysis is bo h an
app oach and a se o echniques, wi h he
aim o p o iding an o e all o de ing o op ions,
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156 2017, XX, 4
Ma ke ing a obchod
om he mos p e e ed o he leas p e e ed
op ion (Dinçe , 2011). Mul i-c i e ia decision
p oblems a e cha ac e ized by a se o decision
al e na i es, a se o e alua ion c i e ia, and
a numbe o links be ween he c i e ia and
he al e na i es. The decision-make inpu s
in o ma ion on he al e na i es and e alua ion
c i e ia, which helps o o mula e he mul i-
c i e ia model. Mul i-c i e ia e alua ion o
al e na i es makes i possible o assess a i ni e
numbe o al e na i es based on he i ni e
numbe o c i e ia. The numbe o al e na i es
can ange om se e al o housands o
al e na i es. The al e na i es a e “sc eened,
p io i ized, selec ed and/o anked” (Yoon &
Hwang, 1995, p. 2).
C ucial o he e alua ion o al e na i es is
he choice o e alua ion c i e ia, speci i cally,
a ibu es acco ding o which he al e na i es
a e assessed. Yoon and Hwang (1995, p. 2)
s a e ha he numbe o e alua ion c i e ia
depends on he na u e o he p oblem. The
c i e ia mus be independen , should co e all
he e alua ion a ibu es, should no be oo many
in numbe o a oid making he p oblem chao ic
(Šub e al., 2015), and mus be quan i i able.
To esol e p oblems o mul i-c i e ia e alua ion
o al e na i es, i is impo an whe he and how
ce ain c i e ia a e gi en p e e ence.
In he s udy, he p e e ence o c i e ia is
exp essed by c i e ia weigh s. Gene ally, c i e ia
weigh s a e alues in he in e al 0, 1, which
exp ess he ela i e impo ance o indi idual
c i e ia in compa ison wi h o he s. The sum o
all c i e ia weigh s is equal o 1. The g ea e he
impo ance o a c i e ion, he bigge i s weigh .
The ela i e impo ance o an indi idual c i e ion
is exp essed by he c i e ia weigh ec o (Fiala,
2013).
This s udy uses he poin me hod, which
is based on he supposi ion ha he decision-
make is able, no only o de e mine he o de
o c i e ia based on hei impo ance, bu also
quan i y he impo ance o each c i e ion by
a numbe o poin s on a p e-selec ed scale.
This me hod is sui able e en o e alua ion
by mul iple expe s (Šub e al., 2015). The
assigning o poin s o c i e ia by a la ge numbe
o expe s (e.g., h ough ques ionnai es)
inc eases he le el o objec i i y in de e mining
c i e ia weigh s. The calcula ion o c i e ia
weigh s ( he no maliza ion o weigh ec o
alues) om he poin e alua ion was done
using he ollowing o mula:
(1)
whe e bj is he sum o all poin s assigned by he
indi idual expe s o c i e ion j, and j = 1, 2, …., n.
In ou s udy we used he TOPSIS me hod
( he Technique o O de o P e e ence by
Simila i y o Ideal Solu ion – TOPSIS), which
was de eloped by Hwang and Yoon (1981)
and ep esen s me hods based on he p inciple
o minimiza ion o he dis ance om he ideal
solu ion and maximiza ion o he dis ance
om he nega i e-ideal solu ion. The TOPSIS
me hod allows us o de e mine he o de o all
he al e na i e solu ions. The equi ed inpu
da a include ca dinal in o ma ion ( he ac ual
alues o he al e na i es based on indi idual
c i e ia in di e en uni s) and indi idual c i e ia
weigh s. The TOPSIS me hod e alua es he
decision ma ix which e e s o p al e na i es
which a e e alua ed in e ms o k c i e ia. The
TOPSIS me hod consis s o he ollowing six
s eps ( o example Dinçe , 2011; Fiala, 2013;
Šub e al., 2015; T ian aphyllou e al., 1998).
S ep 1: Cons uc he no malized decision
ma ix
This p ocess ies o con e he a ious
a ibu e dimensions in o non-dimensional
a ibu es. Fo he no maliza ion o inpu alues,
he TOPSIS me hod uses an app oach based
on he Euclidean dis ance ( o mula 2). The
elemen ij o he no malized decision ma ix R
can be calcula ed as ollows:
(2)
whe e yij is he inpu alue o he i al e na i e
assessed by he j c i e ion; p is he numbe o
al e na i es, i = 1, 2, …. p, j = 1, 2, ….k.
S ep 2: Cons uc he weigh ed no malized
decision ma ix
The weigh ed no malized c i e ia ma ix
W = (wij) is based on he no malized c i e ia
ma ix R = ( ij) in such a way ha each elemen
ij o he R ma ix is mul iplied by he app op ia e
weigh j ( o mula 3):
(3)
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4, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
whe e j is he weigh o c i e ion j, and ij a e
he ma ix elemen s o he no malized c i e ia
ma ix R.
S ep 3: De e mine he ideal and he nega i e-
ideal solu ions
The elemen s o he ma ix W de e mine he
ideal solu ion Hj wi h c i e ia alues (H1, H2,
…., Hk) and he nega i e-ideal solu ion Dj wi h
c i e ia alues (D1, D2,…., Dk), gi en he alues
in he weigh ed c i e ia ma ix W. The ideal
solu ion deli e s he bes alues based on each
c i e ion; he nega i e-ideal solu ion deli e s
he wo s alues based on each c i e ion.
S ep 4: Calcula e he sepa a ion dis ances
o each al e na i e o he ideal solu ion and
he nega i e-ideal solu ion
(4)
whe e is he sepa a ion (in he Euclidean
sense) o each al e na i e om he ideal
solu ion.
(5)
whe e is he sepa a ion (in he Euclidean
sense) o each al e na i e om he non-ideal
solu ion.
S ep 5: Calcula e he ela i e dis ances o
each al e na i e om he nega i e-ideal
solu ion
(6)
whe e ci is he indica o o he ela i e dis ance
o an al e na i e om he nega i e-ideal solu ion.
S ep 6: Rank he p e e ence o de
Rank he al e na i es, so ing hem by he alue
o he indica o ci, in dec easing o de . The
bes al e na i e is he one ha has he longes
dis ance om he nega i e-ideal solu ion.
3.2 C i e ia o E alua ing B2C
e-Comme ce In ensi y
Fo he pu pose o compa ing EU membe
s a es in e ms o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y,
wo c i e ia we e selec ed ha ela e o he
engagemen o consume s and selle s in
B2C e-comme ce, and one c i e ion ha
ela e o comme cial ansac ions wi hin B2C
e-comme ce ( ela i e size o he u no e o
B2C e-comme ce). Following esea ch in o he
po en ial sou ces o da a on he use o B2C
e-comme ce, he Eu os a da abase (2017)
was chosen o p o ide s a is ical da a o hese
c i e ia. Tab. 2 de ails he selec ed c i e ia, hei
quan i i ca ion in he o m o a speci i c indica o ,
and he da a sou ce. The s udy uses he la es
da a om he sou ces lis ed.
All he c i e ia in Tab. 2 a e maximiza ion
c i e ia, i.e., he highe he alue o he
pa icula c i e ion, he be e he esul o he
coun y in he a ea ha is being e alua ed. In
connec ion wi h he abo e-men ioned c i e ia
and selec ed me hod o mul i-c i e ia e alua ion
o al e na i es, he au ho s ha e sugges ed he
ollowing hypo heses:
H1: The e is a s ong co ela ion be ween
he o de o EU membe s a es in e ms o B2C
e-comme ce in ensi y and hei o de in e ms o
hei economic de elopmen .
C i e ion No. C i e ion Quan i i ca ion o he c i e ion Da a sou ce
1In e ne pu chases
by indi iduals
The pe cen age o indi iduals (aged 16-74)
who made las online pu chase in he pas
12 mon hs, da a ob ained in 2016
Eu os a (2017)
2En e p ises selling
ia a websi e - B2C
The sha e o en e p ises ha sold online
on he B2C ma ke in 2016 (% o en e p ises
excluding hose in he i nancial sec o )
Eu os a (2017)
3
Rela i e size o he
en e p ises‘ u no e
om web sales - B2C
The sha e o he u no e om web sales
– B2C in he o al u no e o en e p ises
in 2016 (in %)
Eu os a (2017)
Sou ce: own
Tab. 2: C i e ia o e alua ing B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
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158 2017, XX, 4
Ma ke ing a obchod
C i e ion No. 1 2 3
Type o c i e ion max. max. max.
Pe iod 2016 2016 2016
Al e na i e / uni % % %
Aus ia 58 12 1
Belgium 57 17 3
Bulga ia 17 6 0 (n)
C oa ia 33 11 1
Cyp us 29 12 1
Czech Republic 47 17 2
Denma k 82 15 2
Es onia 56 12 2
Finland* 67 13 2
F ance 66 12 2
Ge many 74 18 1
G eece 31 10 3
Hunga y 39 11 1
I eland 59 22 12
I aly* 29 7 0 (n)
La ia 44 7 1
Li huania 33 15 2
Luxembou g** 78 8 3
Mal a 48 18 1
Ne he lands 74 14 3
Poland 42 8 1
Po ugal 31 10 2
Romania 12 4 1
Slo akia 56 9 1
Slo enia 40 12 1
Spain 44 11 2
Sweden 76 15 3
Uni ed Kingdom 83 15 4
Sou ce: Eu os a (2017) and au ho s’ own elabo a ion
No e: (n) no signi i can
* Fo coun ies ma ked wi h an as e isk, da a o c i e ion 3 o he yea 2016 we e no a ailable and he las known da a
we e used ins ead (Finland: 2015, I aly: 2014).
** In he case o Luxembou g, he e we e no da a o c i e ion 3 a ailable o any yea (acco ding o Eu os a , da a o
Luxembou g a e con i den ial). The missing alue o c i e ion 3 o Luxembou g was se as he a e age o he alues o
c i e ion 3 o Belgium and he Ne he lands (coun ies o he Benelux).
Tab. 3: The decision ma ix o e alua ing B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
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4, XX, 2017
Ma ke ing and T ade
H2: The highes B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
can be ound in coun ies ha ha e been
membe s o he EU he longes .
H3: The lowes B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
can be ound in new EU membe s a es wi h
low economic de elopmen .
The inpu da a con ained in Tab. 3 shows
ha none o he al e na i es assessed a e
he bes o wo s in all c i e ia. Using he
poin me hod, a weigh was assigned o each
c i e ion, based on a ques ionnai e su ey
conduc ed among expe s on B2C e-comme ce.
The c i e ia weigh s a e calcula ed acco ding o
o mula (1). The poin s assigned by he expe s
and he calcula ion o c i e ia weigh s a e shown
in Tab. 4. The expe s include ep esen a i es
o h ee Czech uni e si ies, who ha e been
engaging wi h he opic o online ma ke ing
and e-comme ce o a long e m ( i e yea s
expe ience minimum), ep esen a i es o majo
companies, such as Google Czech Republic,
ACOMWARE, Ma ke UP, and ep esen a i es o
egional p o essional agencies ha adminis e
a numbe o e-shops, such as ANT S udio and
P oSEO Media, and i nally ep esen a i es
o e-shop owne s. These expe s make up
a ep esen a i e sample o he pu pose o
de e mining he weigh s o selec ed B2C
e-comme ce c i e ia.
The ollowing ex p esen s he ou pu o
he selec ed me hod o mul i-c i e ia e alua ion
o al e na i es ha was applied o he selec ed
e alua ion c i e ia and hei p e e ence gi en
by he c i e ia weigh s. All he calcula ions we e
pe o med in MS Excel.
4. The O de o EU Membe S a es
De e mined by he TOPSIS Me hod
The decision ma ix o e alua ing B2C
e-comme ce in ensi y (Tab. 3) was con e ed
acco ding o he o mula (2) o a no malized
c i e ia ma ix (Tab. 5).
Based on he no malized c i e ia ma ix
in Tab. 5 and he c i e ia weigh s (Tab. 4),
he weigh ed c i e ia ma ix was cons uc ed
acco ding o he o mula (3). Using i s elemen s,
he hypo he ical nega i e-ideal solu ion Dj was
de e mined wi h he c i e ia alues (D1, D2, …,
Dk) and he hypo he ical ideal solu ion Hj wi h
he c i e ia alues (H1, H2, …, Hk) wi h espec o
he alues in he weigh ed c i e ia ma ix. Using
he o mulas (4) and (5) o calcula ing he
dis ance o indi idual al e na i es om he ideal
and nega i e-ideal solu ions, he coe i cien di
+
was de e mined, which exp esses he dis ance
o he al e na i e i om he ideal solu ion, and
he coe i cien di
-, which exp esses he dis ance
o he al e na i e i om he nega i e-ideal
Expe s C i e ia
123
Expe 1 988
Expe 2 585
Expe 3 786
Expe 4 10 7 10
Expe 5 769
Expe 6 1098
Expe 7 10 10 8
Expe 8 9510
Expe 9 433
Sub o al 71 64 67
To al No. o poin s assigned: 202
C i e ion weigh 0.351 0.317 0.332
Sou ce: own
Tab. 4: De e mining c i e ia weigh s o e alua ing B2C e-comme ce in ensi y
by he poin me hod
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Ing. Hana Kunešo á
Uni e si y o Wes Bohemia
Facul y o Economics
Depa men o Ma ke ing, T ade and Se ices
[email p o ec ed]
doc. PaedD . Lud ík Ege , CSc.
Uni e si y o Wes Bohemia
Facul y o Economics
Depa men o Ma ke ing, T ade and Se ices
[email p o ec ed]
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Abs ac
EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF B2C E-COMMERCE INTENSITY IN EU
MEMBER STATES
Hana Kunešo á, Lud ík Ege
Elec onic comme ce in he business- o-consume sphe e (B2C e-comme ce) ep esen s
a signi i can ac o in he compe i i eness o companies and en i e economies. The pu pose o
his pape is o p opose a ool o e alua e and compa e B2C e-comme ce in ensi y in economies.
The au ho s add ess he ollowing esea ch ques ions: Wha is he posi ion o indi idual EU
membe s a es in e ms o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y? Is he e a s ong co ela ion be ween B2C
e-comme ce in ensi y and he le el o economic de elopmen o EU membe s a es? Is he e
a co ela ion be ween B2C e-comme ce in ensi y and he leng h o he coun ies’ EU membe ship?
F om a heo e ical backg ound, key indica o s o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y a e selec ed,
which a e agg ega ed in o he B2C e-comme ce in ensi y index using he TOPSIS me hod. The
esul s o he mul i-c i e ia e alua ion and he posi ions o indi idual coun ies in he o e all o de
indica e ha in e ms o B2C e-comme ce in ensi y, EU membe s a es a e a a he he e ogeneous
g oup. The o de o coun ies based on he alue o he B2C e-comme ce in ensi y index exhibi s
a s ong and s a is ically signi i can co ela ion wi h he o de o he coun ies in e ms o he le el
o hei economic de elopmen . Howe e , he di e ences in he coun ies’ economic de elopmen
do no su i cien ly explain he di e ences in he use o B2C e-comme ce. The esul s indica e ha
he e is a la ge unused po en ial o B2C e-comme ce in he EU, no only in coun ies wi h weake
economies, bu also in highly de eloped coun ies. The co ela ion be ween B2C e-comme ce
in ensi y and he du a ion o EU membe ship is mode a e. I would be bene i cial o u he esea ch
o ocus on he ques ion o which ac o s ha e boos ed he ela i ely high use o B2C e-comme ce
in some new EU membe s a es wi h lowe le el o economic de elopmen (Es onia and Li huania)
and wha obs acles p e en mo e in ensi e use o B2C e-comme ce in I aly and Aus ia, whose
le el o economic de elopmen signi i can ly exceeds ha o he a o emen ioned coun ies.
Key Wo ds: B2C e-comme ce, e-comme ce in ensi y index, Eu opean Union, mul i-c i e ia
decision analysis, TOPSIS.
JEL Classi i ca ion: L81, M21, C44.
DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2017-4-011
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