Evaluation and comparison of B2C e-commerce intensity in EU member states

151 4, XX, 2017 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 EM_4_2017.indd 151EM_4_2017.indd 151 13.12.2017 12:53:5113.12.2017 12:53:51 152 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 EM_4_2017.indd 152EM_4_2017.indd 152 13.12.2017 12:53:5113.12.2017 12:53:51 153 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 EM_4_2017.indd 153EM_4_2017.indd 153 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 154 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 EM_4_2017.indd 154EM_4_2017.indd 154 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 155 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, EM_4_2017.indd 155EM_4_2017.indd 155 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 156 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) EM_4_2017.indd 156EM_4_2017.indd 156 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 157 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 EM_4_2017.indd 157EM_4_2017.indd 157 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 158 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 EM_4_2017.indd 158EM_4_2017.indd 158 13.12.2017 12:53:5213.12.2017 12:53:52 159 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 EM_4_2017.indd 159EM_4_2017.indd 159 13.12.2017 12:53:5313.12.2017 12:53:53 166 2017, XX, 4 Ma ke ing a obchod Qin, Z., Chang, Y., Li, S., & Li, F. (2014). E-comme ce s a egy. Be lin, Ge many: Sp inge . Schneide , G. P. (2015). Elec onic Comme ce (11 h ed.). S am o d, CT: CENGAGE Lea ning. Sa ul, M., Inceka a, A., & Sene , S. (2014). 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Re ie ed Augus 28, 2016, om h p://unc ad.o g/en/ Publica ionsLib a y/ n_unc ad_ic 4d07_en.pd . Wang, Ch-Ch., & Chen, Ch-Ch. (2010). Elec onic comme ce esea ch in la es decade: A li e a u e e iew. In e na ional Jou nal o Elec onic Comme ce S udies, 1(1), 1-14. doi:10.7903/ijecs.898. Waghma e, G. T. (2012). E-comme ce; A business e iew and u u e p ospec s in Indian business. Indian S eams Resea ch Jou nal, 2(4). Xu, J., & Quaddus, M. (2010). Founda ion o e-business and e-business echnologies. In J. Xu, & M. Quaddus (Eds.), E-business in he 21s cen u y: Reali ies, Challenges and Ou look (pp. 3-34). Singapo e: Wo ld Scien i i c Publishing. Re ie ed June 10, 2016 om h p://www.wo ldscien i i c.com/ wo ldscibooks/10.1142/7097. Yada , S. M., de Valck, K., Henning- Thu au, T., Ho man, D., & Spann, M. (2013). Social Comme ce: A Con ingency F amewo k o Accessing Ma ke ing Po en ial. Jou nal o In e ac i e Ma ke ing, 27(4), 311-323. doi:10.1016/j.in ma .2013.09.001. Yoon, K. P., & Hwang, C. L (1995). Mul iple A ibu e Decision Making: An In oduc ion. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publica ions. Zhu, K., K aeme , K., & Xu, S. (2003). Elec onic business adop ion by Eu opean i ms, ac oss-coun y assessmen o he acili a o s and inhibi o s. Eu opean Jou nal o In o ma ion Sys ems. 12(4), 251-268. doi:10.1057/palg a e.ejis.3000475. 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] EM_4_2017.indd 166EM_4_2017.indd 166 13.12.2017 12:53:5413.12.2017 12:53:54 167 4, XX, 2017 Ma ke ing and T ade 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 EM_4_2017.indd 167EM_4_2017.indd 167 13.12.2017 12:53:5413.12.2017 12:53:54