The effect of technological developments on international competitiveness in new economy: SWOT analysis of e-commerce in Turkey

In order to talk about developing and developed countries today, countries must have reached a certain level of economic and social development. In the current information age, the rapid development and changes of the developing technological developments in the social and economic sphere reflect the importance of technology-based infrastructure. Based on these developments, it is seen that the effect of technological developments is very important in the competitiveness of countries and enterprises. Although it was difficult to access information when e-commerce was not developing, it has become easy to reach with the increase of technological factors and options in recent years. Societies that can use knowledge and produce new information have managed to enter the developed set of societies by reaching the level of economic prosperity in technology. The rapid spread of technological developments and knowledge ensures that competition in the international field reaches the global level. It is seen that technology is effective in developing marketing and business structure and gaining competitiveness nationally and internationally. The aim of this study is to show the impact of technological developments on competitiveness, emphasize that the share of e-commerce volume in total trade is increasing rapidly and examine the effects of e-commerce on the Turkish economy in this context. SWOT analysis was carried out for the e-commerce sector in Turkey, strengths and weaknesses were uncovered and opportunities and threats were identified. When we examined the strengths of e-commerce in Turkey, it was seen that the enterprises that attach importance to information and communication technologies and enter e-commerce have large market shares. In addition, in countries with large market or price volumes such as Turkey, the possibility of comparing prices to the consumer has made e-commerce more attractive and made e-commerce more used. In the weaknesses of the e-commerce sector in Turkey, the time it takes for the cargo to be delivered to the customer and the cost of the cargo after the product is ordered from the e-commerce site has been observed. Another weakness is Turkey's internet infrastructure. Internet infrastructure needs to be improved for better and faster e-commerce service. In addition, in order to develop e-commerce and gain international competitiveness in Turkey, it is important to make arrangements and state subsidies for e-export applications. As a result of the study, it was concluded that e-commerce is necessary for enterprises to gain competitive advantage in Turkey and that with the development of internet infrastructure, Turkey will increase its competitiveness and reach higher ranks in The Global Competitiveness Index 4.0.