Factors Affecting E-commerce Adoption Research Articles

Exploring factors affecting E-Commerce Adoption of SMEs in Sri Lanka

This paper seeks to investigate the factors that impact the adoption of E-commerce by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka. Explores the impact of various determinants, including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, perceived risk, and adoption intention on the adoption of e-commerce in Sri Lankan SMEs. The study is based on SMEs in the country. The study encompasses Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from four provinces across the country, spanning ten different industries. A sample of 252 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across 10 industrial sectors in 4 regions was selected using a simple random sampling technique.The results indicated that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, and Perceived Risk as major influences on the adoption of e-commerce significantly influenced the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in Sri Lanka. However, it was observed that comparatively reduced influence of Social Influence on E-commerce adoption among SMEs.

Factors affecting e-commerce adoption in Zanzibar: From buyers’ perspectives

Factors affecting e-commerce adoption in Zanzibar: From buyers’ perspectives

Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption: A Conceptual Model and Research Propositions

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, e-commerce is also becoming many small businesses' only means of survival (International Trade Centre, 2020). Now, more than ever, it is essential that women entrepreneurs are able to operate in a digital environment and engage in e-commerce, and that economies remove barriers to the growth of their firms. The goal of this study is to investigate how the key factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce are influenced by the elements of technology, organization, and environment (TOE). The conceptual framework will be used in future study in order to identify the elements that led to the rise in popularity of e-commerce.

Adoption of electronic commerce by individuals in Bangladesh

With increased use of Internet and information technology platforms, e-commerce has experienced tremendous growth worldwide in the recent years. Although growing steadily in various digital services, Bangladesh has not been able to gain full advantages and benefits of e-commerce due to its poor adoption rate. This study aims at exploring the factors affecting e-commerce adoption in Bangladesh by applying an extended version of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model which includes perceived risk, perceived cost and personal awareness with perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, and facilitating conditions. This study applies a mixed methods research approach by combining qualitative field study and quantitative survey. A PLS based structural equation modeling is employed to a dataset of 253 individuals which are collected by applying a convenient sampling technique. The study results reveals that perceived usefulness, perceived cost, personal awareness and facilitating conditions affect consumer behavioral intention while facilitating conditions as well as behavioral intention have positive influence on actual use of e-commerce. This study also provides several implications that might be useful for the academic proponents, decision makers, and various stakeholders.

Information culture effect on e-commerce adoption in small and medium enterprises: a structural equation modelling approach

For several years, great effort has been devoted to the study of e-commerce adoption. However, studies on the effect of information culture as internal organisational factors on e-commerce adoption are still lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose a model to examine the information culture factors affecting e-commerce adoption. To achieve this, the study used a survey that administered to 250 managers of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) in Palestine. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the help of the SmartPLS 3.0 software was employed to validate the developed model and hypotheses. The empirical results revealed that information control and information integrity were significant factors in predicting e-commerce adoption. However, information formality and information proactiveness failed to predict e-commerce adoption. The factors presented in this study can be adopted by SMEs in assessing and forecasting the success of e-commerce adoption.

Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption by Handicraft SMEs of India

This study empirically investigates the factors affecting e-commerce adoption by small and medium-size enterprises producing handicrafts in India. The study is motivated by the fact, that even though the handicraft sector plays a vital role in the Indian economy in terms of exports and employment, it has not adopted e-commerce as one of the prominent sales channels. Survival in this new economy requires handicraft organizations to learn and adopt new technologies. Those who cannot or do not adopt this new business practice will become obsolete and will be left behind. This study proposes and utilizes technological, organizational, environmental and strategy model based on TOE (Technology, Organization and Environment) model. From a survey of 163 Indian small and medium-size enterprises, findings reveal that awareness, human resources, strategy and market forces e-readiness are the prime influencing constructs towards adoption of e-commerce by Indian small and medium-size enterprises.

Comprehensive Framework of E-commerce Adoption in Indonesian SMEs

The use of Internet has been growing rapidly in the last decade. One of the popular uses of Internet is e-commerce which gives changes in the market and forces companies to adapt to survive, including small-medium enterprises (SMEs). As one of developing country, e-commerce adoption among Indonesian SMEs is still low with only 8\\% of SMEs has adopted e-commerce. Despite many researches regarding e-commerce adoption, the topic still needs a comprehensive study on internal and external factors affecting e-commerce adoption. This study aims to fill these gaps by developing a comprehensive framework on e-commerce adoption among Indonesian SMEs. The originality of this study resides in managerial demography and company’s knowledge management as additional factors to the model proposed by previous studies. This study concludes four external dimensions and five internal dimensions affecting e-commerce adoption. The external dimensions are institutional environment, economic environment, socio-cultural environment and technology environment. While the internal dimensions consist of managerial demography, company’s size, company’s capabilities, corporate strategy and company’s knowledge management.

Information Culture Effect on E-Commerce Adoption in Small and Medium Enterprises: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

For several years, great effort has been devoted to the study of e-commerce adoption. However, studies on the effect of information culture as internal organisational factors on e-commerce adoption are still lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose a model to examine the information culture factors affecting e-commerce adoption. To achieve this, the study used a survey that administered to 250 managers of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) in Palestine. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the help of the SmartPLS 3.0 software was employed to validate the developed model and hypotheses. The empirical results revealed that information control and information integrity were significant factors in predicting e-commerce adoption. However, information formality and information proactiveness failed to predict e-commerce adoption. The factors presented in this study can be adopted by SMEs in assessing and forecasting the success of e-commerce adoption.

E-Commerce Adoption Research: A Review of Literature

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive literature review of the e-commerce adoption studies. This paper investigated the papers that have been published and indexed in the Scopus database for the period from 2012-2017. This study found that e-commerce adoption studies can be classified into six themes: factors affecting e-commerce adoption, barrier of e-commerce adoption, implication of e-commerce adoption, e-commerce adoption process, improvement of e-commerce adoption and e-commerce web attraction. It is found that existing literature has given considerable attention to the drivers that facilitate e-commerce adoption while other themes have received far less attention from researchers. The significant factors that influence e-commerce adoption includes management’s support, the role of government, perceived benefits, external pressures, organizational readiness, IT-related skills, capabilities and infrastructure, among others. Such limited scope of study efforts could only provide a stagnant view towards partial understanding of the dynamic diffusion process of e-commerce. Future research shall be extended to explore e-commerce adoption from the process perspective and investigate the post-adoption stages of e-commerce to observe how e-commerce adoption evolves over time.

E-Commerce Adoption and Growth of SMEs in Uganda

Information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly e-Commerce, are considered very important to the growth and competitiveness of businesses globally. SMEs too need to embrace innovative e-commerce strategies if they are to stay competitive, profitable and successful in local and global markets. Increased use of the Internet offers potential benefits to SMEs, such as cost reduction, improved operational efficiencies, access to new customers and enhanced business growth. However, SMEs, particularly in Uganda, have generally been slow in adopting e-commerce. Empirical research into the challenges SMEs in Uganda face in adopting electronic commerce is also limited. This study sought to explore the factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs; and to establish the influence of e-commerce adoption on SMEs’ growth in Uganda. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 172 owners/managers of SMEs in the Kampala District in Uganda. The empirical results of this study indicate that e-commerce adoption significantly influence the growth of SMEs.

An empirical study on factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in west Malaysia

An empirical study on factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in west Malaysia

Factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is widening the concept of business from a simple transactional approach to a broader and more complex concept of inter-firm co-operation. Amidst market globalization, growing interpenetration of national economies and the increased interdependence of national economies, e-commerce adoption remains a vital yet complex and elusive phenomenon, with very little known about its determinants. This study identifies the major determining factors in Ghanaian small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) e-commerce adoption, offers practical implications, and indicates the actions required. This research integrates technological, organizational, and environmental determinisms with social constructivism to build a practical framework for understanding e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. The results indicate that government support has the greatest direct impact on intentions to use e-commerce. Managerial support and the influence of enabling and regulatory conditions also play a vital role in stimulating SME e-commerce adoption in Ghana. The results also show that Ghanaian SMEs tend to imitate successful first-movers to avoid the risks that attend e-commerce technology.

A conceptual model of factors affecting e-commerce adoption by SME owner/managers in Jordan

Since the internet revolution, internet usage in business environment e-commerce has changed the way of doing business in SMEs. It is well known that e-commerce is essential for SMEs in enhancing their competitiveness, productivity, enlarge market and cost reduction. However, Jordan is facing slow adoption of e-commerce by SMEs. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the major models and theories relevant to technology adoption: technology acceptance model, theory of reasoned action, technology-organisation-environment, diffusion of innovation and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Also, the literature review shows the most common sequences in level of e-commerce adoption in SMEs: Rao model; Daniel model; Rayport and Jaworski model; Lefebvrea et al. model and leadership typologies. On the bases of these theories and models, a conceptual framework for SMEs' e-commerce adoption level in Jordan is suggested. This conceptual framework can be tested empirically for SMEs in Jordan as well as other Arab countries.

The factors affecting e-commerce adoption by Jordanian SMEs

Purpose – This paper aims to explore internal and external organizational factors affecting electronic commerce or e-commerce systems adoption by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach – The authors developed a model containing factors that might support e-commerce adoption. The model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and then used to explore the relationships between factors. The authors used qualitative and quantitative approaches, including interviews, to explore awareness and adoption of e-commerce systems by Jordanian SMEs. SMEs in Jordan were identified from the Annual Handbook Index of 2012, compiled by the Jordanian Chamber of Commerce, and 500 in the industrial and services sectors were randomly selected as the study sample. Findings – The effect of the adoption of e-commerce systems by SMEs is affected by both internal and external organizational factors, particularly readiness, strategy, managers’ perceptions and external pressure by trading partners. Readiness and external pressure are most important for achieving maximum benefit from e-commerce adoption. Research limitations/implications – The relative importance of factors affecting e-commerce adoption may vary depending on local business conditions. SME managers in Jordan who wish to benefit from e-commerce introduction must therefore invest in activities to improve SME readiness, especially information technology infrastructure. Originality/value – This study is the first to explore both internal and external organizational factors important for e-commerce adoption by Jordanian SMEs. It tells SME managers which factors are likely to affect e-commerce adoption.

Factors Affecting e-Commerce Adoption in SMEs in the GCC: An Empirical study of Kuwait

Factors Affecting e-Commerce Adoption in SMEs in the GCC: An Empirical study of Kuwait

An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting e-Commerce Adoption among Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in a Developing Country: Evidence from Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine determinants of e-commerce adoption among Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study tested eight hypotheses on determinants affecting e-commerce adoption with empirical data from several survey instruments: an online questionnaire-based survey, mailed survey and questionnaire collected in-person from a sample of 307 SMEs in Malaysia. The findings show that e-commerce adoption within Malaysian SMEs is affected by perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, managers/owner's knowledge and expertise, management characteristics and external change agents. This study contributes to enhancing the understanding of the determinants of adopting e-commerce in SMEs and provides some interesting perspective from Malaysia. Those parties interested in promoting their business online may find these results helpful in guiding their efforts.

Explaining contextual factors affecting e-commerce adoption progression in selected SMEs: evidence from Botswana

This paper provides an interpretive account of contextual factors that affect the progression of e-commerce in six Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a developing country context of Botswana. The methodology followed multiple in-depth case studies, using semi-structured face-to-face interviews, website analysis, observation and document analysis. Results show that contextual factors peculiar to each SME provide better explanations on how SMEs progress in e-commerce adoption. At the high level of adoption, managerial innovativeness and the nature of the external e-commerce market has contributed to success in two SMEs, whereas the local business environment in combination with some organisational factors can explain the low-level and non-adoption in the other four SMEs. Future implications indicate that managers need to pay particular detail to the unique and idiosyncratic nature of SMEs in guiding decisions for e-commerce adoption in their firms.

Factors Affecting E-commerce Adoption and Implementation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

E-commerce has become increasingly popular in our everyday business and personal lives. For many organizations, competitiveness in e-commerce requires a successful presence on the web. This paper provided an insight about factors affecting business-to-business e-commerce adoption and implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises. The research is based on a wide literature review, focused on proposing a theoretical model of technological, environmental and organizational factors influencing e-commerce adoption and implementation. The results of the empirical research provided indication to small and medium-sized enterprises interested to adopt business-to-business ecommerce, large companies interested to conduct e-commerce transactions with small and medium sized companies and policy makers.

Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption by Small Businesses in a Developing Country

Internet use has grown and spread rapidly around the world during the last decade. Today, computers and the Internet have become an integral part of modern societies. The Internet has created a new medium for communication and commerce for businesses. It is hard to imagine a business working without using a computer. These technological advances have also largely affected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While large companies have been quick to adopt the information and communication technologies (ICTs), SMEs have been slow to adopt these technologies in general for various reasons, especially in developing countries. This study explores the factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce by small businesses in a developing country. To attain this purpose a case study was conducted in a small hotel, which is using its website to keep up with customer expectations and competition in a small Turkish city. Conclusions and suggestions derived from this study provide a meaningful contribution to the understanding of e-commerce adoption among small businesses in developing countries.

Organizational Factors Affecting E-commerce Adoption in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The use of e-commerce in SMEs has become an important topic in information systems research. Despite the enormous attention given to encourage SMEs to adopt e-commerce by governments, research undertaken to identify strategies of e-commerce adoption for SMEs in developing countries, especially in Sri Lanka is minimal. The primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational factors and ecommerce adoption to understand the factors that contribute to e-commerce adoption. Quantitative approaches were considered in this research. The study draws on the data obtained from a sample of 200 SMEs in Colombo District using a postal survey. The sample was chosen using a stratified random sampling technique based on business type of the SMEs. Based on correlation, regression and cluster analysis, the findings of this research were revealing and facilitated the understanding of certain organizational factors that influence the level of e-commerce adoption. The main factor identified was organizational culture. The results of this study show empirical evidence that there is a positive correlation between the adhocracy cultural characteristics among the SMEs and the level of e-commerce adoption. Also, hierarchy cultural characteristic showed a negative correlation with the level of e-commerce adoption in SMEs. An argument can be made out that a culture promoting innovation and risk acceptance would provide the needed support for higher levels of adoption of new technologies. Top managers’ opinion towards innovation also influences the way of doing business by the firm. Key words: e-commerce; e-commerce adoption; internet; organizational culture; Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) DOI: 10.4038/tar.v22i2.2829 Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 22 (2): 204-210 (2011)