SMEs and e-commerce. Why or why not?

Abstract

E-commerce plays an important role in many organizations and businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the body of scientific knowledge carries significant research in addressing the main drivers and challenges of e-commerce among SMEs, the Saudi market was untouched, especially after the official Saudi government classification of SMEs back in December of 2016. Therefore, this study aims to explore the most common factors and challenges of SMEs when utilizing e-commerce in Saudi Arabia. It focused on Jeddah City as the second-largest city and the main seaport of the country. This research is based on a quantitative survey carried out among 63 firms, due to the difficulty in reaching a larger number of participants who had dedicated time and budget. The examined factors were collected from the literature and classified using the Technology, Organization, and Environment Model (TOE). Out of 63 firms, only six were adopting e-commerce. This led us to focus more on the challenges that hindered the remaining 57 from utilizing e-commerce. The analysis results uncovered the status of e-commerce among a sample of Saudi SMEs and showed that the knowledge and awareness level of e-commerce potential for businesses play a significant factor in reaching this incredibly low number.