Assessing the critical determinants of cross-border E-commerce adoption intention in Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises: PLS-SEM algorithm approach

Abstract

Cross-border e-commerce(CBEC) has created enormous economic benefits for consumers and vendors worldwide. Vietnamese Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) can enhance their competitiveness and facilitate their integration into the global market via cross-border e-commerce adoption. This study assesses the critical determinants of cross-border e-commerce adoption intention in Vietnamese SMEs. This study integrates the factors of the technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to construct a holistic framework to assess the critical determinants of cross-border e-commerce adoption intentions among SMEs in Vietnam. The research method utilised Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS (version 4.0) to evaluate the relationship between variables. The sample size consists of 400 respondents from Vietnamese SMEs. The results indicate that perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitudes toward CBEC adoption are the critical determinants of cross-border e-commerce adoption intention among Vietnamese SMEs. For the technological dimensions of the TOE framework, perceived benefits, perceived compatibility and perceived security positively relate to attitude toward CBEC adoption; perceived complexity and perceived cost negatively relate to attitude toward CBEC adoption and perceived behavioural control. For the organisational dimensions of the TOE framework, government support, customer pressure, and competitive pressure positively relate to subjective norms. For the environmental dimensions of the TOE framework, organisational readiness, organisational innovativeness, and e-commerce knowledge positively relate to perceived behavioural control. By integrating the constructs of TPB and TOE into a single framework, this study adds to current knowledge by addressing the literature gap on the significant role of organisational and environmental factors in the adoption of SMEs' CBEC in developing countries like Vietnam. The managerial implications provided a holistic view of SMEs' perspectives and practices on promoting the CBEC adoption intention.