Filipinos spend most time on e-mail, says study

11.04.2005
Von Lawrence Casiraya

Filipino entrepreneurs spend the most time checking e-mail on a day-to-day basis, according to a recent survey of business owners in 24 countries by U.K.-based Grant Thorton International.

According to the study, Filipino business owners spend an average of a little more than two hours checking e-mail everyday, a few minutes more than entrepreneurs in highly-progressive countries like Hong Kong, India, US, Australia and even Singapore.

The study pegs the global average at one and a half hours of email time. At the other end, businessmen in Russia, where Internet penetration is low, and Greece spend the least amount of time (48 minutes) checking e-mail.

What"s more surprising, however, is that business owners in tech-savvy countries Japan and Taiwan are even below the global average, which could indicate business relations of a more conservative nature.

In Taiwan, the study said 7 percent of business owners still do not use e-mail.

Positive results

More importantly, Filipino entrepreneurs believe all that time checking e-mail generates positive results, business-wise.

The Philippines has the most number of respondents who agree that e-mail has played a significant role in increasing company revenues, followed by India and Spain. Filipino respondents also agree that businesses depend generally on the Internet for research.

Moreover, the survey also indicated that Filipino business owners depend on the Web for ordering supplies. On a worldwide basis, the survey noted that businesses are generally not dependent on ordering supplies or taking orders from customers over the Internet.

E-commerce is still nowhere near its potential on a global basis, according to Wendy Hart, who heads Grant Thornton"s Technology Industry Group.

"Business owners in general remain skeptical about advertising, marketing, buying and selling online. Some emerging economies like the Philippines, Turkey and Mexico, are leading the way," Hart said.

Grant Thornton International is an international membership organization composed of independently owned and operated auditing firms.