Internet Diffusion In Developing Countries

Whinston and Kalakota have proposed a layered architecture for E-commerce, analogous to the 7-layer OSI model. Some of its components are purely technical while others involve social and political elements. It explicitly recognizes that E-commerce is a socio-technical activity and suggests certain building blocks with which to structure the same. In this article we report initial efforts to develop a model, which takes a systems view to analyze how social and technical drivers are likely to interact and drive Internet diffusion in developing countries. These countries, in particular, need to understand the complex mechanics of this diffusion process in order to realize their potential for growth in the new world of E-Commerce based trade and business. The systems dynamics methodology is used to develop the model allowing for simulation of different growth scenarios and policy alternatives.