Forest products exporting and the Internet: Current use figures and implementation issues

This article examines Internet use by U.S. primary wood products exporters. The primary data come from a mail survey administered in Spring 1999 to 32 4 firms. The study included Internet use figures, issues, and benefits asso ciated with its use. It was found that the Internet has become strongly ent renched as a business tool for wood products exporters, with over 80 percen t of respondents using the Internet. The benefits most likely to be achieve d by becoming Internet capable are promotion benefits for the company and i ncreased operating effectiveness. Neither technical issues, internal factor s, nor acceptance of technology were found to present significant obstacles to becoming Internet capable.