Level of Internet use by Chinese businesses: A preliminary study

A preliminary study of the level of Internet use by Chinese firms was carried out. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey of a convenience sample of Chinese managers. The major finding is that firm size plays a role only in influencing a firm’s decision regarding whether or not to have Internet access. Within the Internet-using sub-sample, firm size is not significantly related to the overall level of Internet use, or to the use of individual Internet features. In addition, the data reveal that there are a high proportion of Chinese businesses that have Internet access. Chinese Internet using firms use an average of three features, with e-mail and buying and selling online being the two most widely used features. The results are also compared to similar studies in other countries. The limitations of this study and future research are discussed.