United States, Canada, And Britain Are Best Places For E-Commerce

Crediting state-of-the-art communications infrastructures and strong political leadership, the United States, Britain, and Canada have created the best environments for E-commerce to flourish among the top industrial nations, a study by a leading management-consultant firm said on Tuesday.

"A supportive environment is the single most critical factor for a successful E-economy," says Barrie Berg, a VP at management-consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, which conducted the study. "It's the foundation for all other aspects of the E-economy. This includes a country's regulatory system, political leadership, and communications infrastructure."

Among other key findings:

--Residents of Canada, Sweden, and the United States are more likely to be involved in E-commerce.

--Business E-maturity, the adoption and use of online technologies to change the way businesses work, is most developed in the United States and Sweden.

--Sweden, the United States, Canada, and Australia have the strongest E-government development, driven by their early initiatives and a sustained commitment.

The British government and the Information Age Partnership, a group of 30 CEOs and senior executives from leading European IT and telecom companies, commissioned Booz Allen last March to conduct the study of the G7 countries--Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States--plus Australia and Sweden to assess Britain's level of progress toward its target of becoming "the best environment in the world for E-commerce."

"The countries with the most advanced E-economies got an early start and haven't looked back," Berg says. "They've succeeded by maintaining their commitment to drive E-access into all aspects of society."