A delphi of expert perceptions of problems in implementing electronic commerce for horticultural products

The objective of the study was to identify the major problems facing electronic commerce (EC) implementation in horticultural products. To accomplish this objective the Delphi method of obtaining group consensus was employed. The study used a series of four mailed questionnaires. The first round of the study used a questionnaire with an open-ended question. In the second questionnaire, respondents were asked to rate the items identified in round one on a five-point Likert-type scale. In the third round, panel members were asked to indicate the importance of problems from round two, and to provide comments if they could not agree with the summary findings. The fourth and final round produced consensus on 46 of the problems from round three. The major problems identified by the Delphi method in the EC implementation in horticultural products were: E-government growth (Ebanking, E-transactions, E-insurance, E-customs), telecommunication infrastructures, quantity and quality of advertising, perceived opportunities, managerial skills, political pressures on economy, economic stability, electronic banking infrastructures, unity of directing, entrepreneurship culture and resistance to change.