Critical Failure Factors That Discourage the Growth of Electronic Commerce

This study analyzes the factors that discourage the growth of electronic commerce even when rapid growth can be expected due to increased Internet use. The goal is to identify the critical failure factors (CFFs) that counteract the growth of E-commerce and suggest possible strategies to overcome them. The methodology for researching critical failure factors is very similar to the one used for researching critical success factors (CSFs) in MIS research. The paper investigates why electronic commerce sometimes fails to appeal to customers despite promising plans, analyzing the reasons through inverted critical success factors called critical failure factors. The authors examined every possible obstacle factor of E-commerce that is discussed in the literature, and performed a survey using questionnaires. Several hypotheses were evolved to determine which factors are the critical failure factors that discourage E-commerce growth. Finally, alternative strategies to encourage growth in electronic commerce are suggested.