Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are unable to integrate with e-commerce platforms may find it increasingly difficult to access the market as the technology represents a 'survival threat' to them, says a latest study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). In contrast, units that have integrated with the e-commerce platforms have witnessed significant gains. "Firms also reported that they had launched new products and made improvements since they integrated with e-commerce platforms. This suggests that integration with platforms may have fostered investment and innovation at the firm level," the study said. However, the decision of a firm to join e-commerce platforms is not simply a function of whether it has knowledge and information about the platform but also of the firm's own internal capabilities, which determine whether it stands to benefit from joining e-commerce platforms.