Factors of the Adoption of O2O Service Platforms: Evidence from Small Businesses in Korea

Abstract

O2O service platforms, which combine online and offline channels to provide more convenient services, are drawing attention as a new way of commerce that can revitalize small businesses that are losing competitiveness and struggling due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In this study, we investigated and empirically analyzed the factors affecting the adoption of O2O service platforms in small businesses. We developed a research model that combines the technology acceptance model (TAM), an individual-level theory of IT acceptance, and the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, an organizational-level theory of information systems adoption. Data from 279 valid questionnaires were collected from small business owners and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that the technical characteristics of the TOE framework, namely, relative advantage, compatibility, and trialability, and small business owners’ characteristics, namely, innovativeness, risk-taking tendency, and IT knowledge, affect the adoption of O2O service platforms through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The environmental variables of the TOE framework, namely, government support, digital environment change, and competitive pressure, affect the adoption of O2O service platforms through subjective norms. We identify practical implications for the adoption of O2O service platforms by small businesses.