Transfer of Electronic Commerce to Small Firms. The Role of Innovation Centres in the E.U

Despite the potential ascribed to Electronic Commerce (Ecom), the diffusion among SMEs is still low. Electronic transactions require appropriate solutions for the automation of business procedures and the management of electronic markets, and this requires highly specialised knowledge that SMEs may find it difficult to acquire or apply. To facilitate the use of Ecom by SMEs, several projects have been promoted by local innovation centres, that in many European countries have often played a key role in the transfer of tech-nology. However, the success of such Ecom projects are controversial. After characterising Ecom as innovation and the conditions for its effective transfer, the paper analyses the role of local innovation centres in Ecom transfer to SMEs by means of empirical case-study research in Italy and UK.