Turkey's access to internati̇onal e-commerce markets and the future of e-export

Classical trade, which has become international, has transformed into e-exportation through the adaptation brought by emerging technologies, enabling consumers from anywhere in the world to access products in a short time. In today's economy, businesses are turning to e-export to expand and compete with international companies under any circumstances, making e-exportation attractive with the pursuit of new markets. Improving themselves in every aspect related to the e-export process and taking precautions against potential challenges will provide all businesses aiming to be present in the global market with the key to accessing international markets. The main purpose of this research is to determine the level of access of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in international e-commerce activities or planning to do so in the future to international e-commerce markets. In line with this aim, potential barriers that businesses may encounter in their e-export activities are examined within the scope of the research, and their situations against these barriers are identified, which can be evaluated in terms of the said businesses' ability to access international e-commerce markets. The survey method was used as the data collection tool in the research. The created survey form was sent via email to 370 exporter businesses operating in the Kocaeli and Yalova provinces. Due to a low response rate via email, businesses were contacted by phone and asked to fill out the surveys. Out of 370 businesses, 143 returned the survey, and after examination, 132 surveys were found suitable for analysis. According to the research findings, it was determined that businesses face problems in their e-export processes due to factors such as market and product, logistics, and country-specific practices. The study revealed that the e-export problems of businesses differ based on independent variables at the factor level. Among these factors are the e-export rate in annual sales revenue, the presence of sales in international marketplaces, the channel through which marketing activities are conducted, and the geography where e-export is performed or targeted. Each of these variables showed differences in the perception of general e-export problems, logistics, market and product, or country-specific practices as sub-dimensions.