Abstract
With the availability of the Internet as an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool, electronic commerce (e-commerce) has received much attention in many Western and developed countries. However, it has been given little attention in emerging economies, and therefore e-commerce adoption has been particularly difficult for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this review paper is to explore several types of barriers that influence the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in emerging economies. An exhaustive review of the literature was conducted on the subject. It further evaluates and extends Tornatzky and Fleischer’s (1990) Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework by adding a micro-level context - that of the ‘entrepreneurial (individual) characteristics of owner-managers’ to examine various contextual challenges SMEs face in adopting e-commerce in emerging economies. The paper examines a number of new dynamic and contextual barriers identified in the study, grouping them into four themes: technological, organizational, environmental and extended ‘entrepreneurial (individual) characteristics of owner-managers’. The paper sets up a new conceptual framework and has established a holistic view of contextual barrier themes for the coming years. In addition, this theoretical model provides us with the new barriers related to ‘entrepreneurial (individual) characteristics of owners/managers’ and ‘local business institutions in supporting e-commerce’ that influences the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in emerging economies. Based on this extended framework, future areas of research can be determined, and owner-managers of SMEs, new entrepreneurs and government authorities in emerging economies will be able to identify emerging concepts in e-commerce.
Highlights
The Internet is regarded as one of the most crucial networking tools and techniques
Very few literature studies have applied the Tornatzky and Fleischer‟s (1990) (TOE) framework and identified the barriers linked to the adoption of ecommerce in emerging economies in three original dimensions, notably technological, organizational and environmental
We suggested that a lack of financial resources was probably the main reason for not having an adequate website with payment functions that support e-commerce services in emerging economies
Summary
The Internet is regarded as one of the most crucial networking tools and techniques. According to the latest report (2018) of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body - emerging economies should adopt e-commerce as a new technology without reservations because this new technology will improve their business, economic, social and human development This will lead to higher business productivity, reduce business operating costs, and improve the level of integration with international markets. Many researchers have further concluded that, the accessibility of e-commerce resources in developed economies has contributed significantly to e-commerce adoption and its integration as an innovation in the business processes of those organizations (AlQirim, 2007; MacGregor and Kartiwi, 2010) They found, that emerging economies experience a challenge in obtaining e-commerce resources and using them successfully, and the overall cost of acquiring ecommerce projects is very high. Emerging economies are still in their infancy and have tried to launch campaigns for SMEs and individuals to expand the opportunities offered by ecommerce via the Internet at different economic levels
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