E-commerce Adoption and Sustainability with SMEs – An Advanced Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Integrating technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship has been pivotal in reducing business costs and fostering global connections between producers and consumers. E-commerce has become a fundamental part of the modern business landscape, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With its unique and innovative approach of conducting a bibliometric analysis of the existing research on e-commerce adoption and sustainability within small and medium-scale industries, this study aims to fill a gap in the current literature. The analysis focuses on identifying critical success factors, assessing the relationship between SME characteristics and e-commerce adoption, and examining the organisational implications of e-commerce in SMEs. The findings of this study, presented with all the scientific data, offer insights that can shape the future of SMEs in e-commerce adoption. Bibliographic data was collected through the Web of Science and Scopus databases between 1999 and May 2024. Both databases were combined using the R-studio application, and Biblioshiny was used for the bibliometric analysis. The bibliometric study of data from 1187 related scientific publications was performed using a structured search algorithm in Scopus and Web of Science databases. Research on adoption factors in specific industries has not been extensively explored, making it a promising area for further research. The implications of this study present a bibliometric analysis of the dimensions of SMEs' e-commerce adoption strategy and propose future research directions. Findings highlight the main authors, publications, and productive countries that can be used for research collaborations. This analysis of e-commerce adoption concludes with some limitations, suggestions, and a research agenda for future research.