Factors influencing the adoption of ICT for remote work among Zimbabwean SMEs: A case study of Bulawayo Metropolitan province

Abstract

The study’s purpose was to evaluate factors that influence Information and Communication Technology adoption to support remote working by SMEs in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean economy is excessively informal and has the largest informal economy globally, contributing 60.6 percent of the country’s national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Small and medium-sized enterprises are vital economic drivers in the developing world. Today’s knowledge society demands firms to intensively apply ICTs for competitive advantage and market share. SMEs face many challenges during the current COVID-19 lockdown, and their survival depends on how they can adopt ICT for remote work. COVID-19 disruptions are being counteracted by e-commerce applications across all other sectors of the global economy. The study adopted a quantitative approach, where a questionnaire was used to gather views from 145 SMEs randomly selected in Bulawayo metropolitan province. From the samples, 113 questionnaires were completed. The study found that ICTs play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of remote working programs. Results indicated that ICT support services positively correlate with remote working and that most SMEs lack appropriate ICT tools to support remote working. Furthermore, SMEs face poor and expensive Internet and erratic electricity supply challenges. The study deduced that firms owned or run by young people promoted ICT adoption for telework. The study recommends improved government support by lowering Internet tariffs and supporting SMEs’ ICT acquisition through import duty exemptions. Future work can evaluate the impact of ICT on the financial performance of SMEs after adopting various teleworking schemes.