E-Business in Developing Countries: A Comparison of China and India

The Internet has changed the way many companies do business, but has also tended to increase the disparity between firms in developed countries and those in developing countries. As the digital divide seems to grow, the question becomes how will developing countries catch up? We examine two large developing countries, China and India, in an attempt to understand their approaches to developing e-business. While both countries had access to the technology at about the same time, each has taken a different path to utilizing it. These approaches are based on a number of factors, including government initiatives and focus, infrastructure building, experience and understanding of business operations, and culture, among others. China appears to be ahead of India in the mechanics and infrastructure, but India is ahead in e-readiness. Both countries are poised for rapidly increasing e-business, however, they have huge problems of poverty and inequality between urban and rural connectivity must be resolved to really take advantage of e-business.