Title: E-commerce adoption in ASEAN: testing on individual and country-level drivers

Authors: Abu H. Ayob; Noor Azuddin Yakob; Roslan Ja'afar

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Management, The National University of Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Business, The National University of Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Business, The National University of Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: E-commerce adoption is one core strategic measure of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community Blueprint 2025. However, such an effort faces great challenges due to the socio-economic heterogeneity across the member states. This paper integrates individual and country-level drivers to empirically test the model of e-commerce adoption among citizens in ASEAN. The model examines the relationships between four key drivers: demand, supply, infrastructure and regulation, on individual online purchasing behaviour. To advance, we embed and we examine the role of national trust in the model. Using data from 5,883 individuals in six ASEAN countries in 2017, the findings show, ceteris paribus, demand, supply, infrastructure and trust are positively associated with e-commerce adoption. This study sends a strong signal that e-commerce adoption in ASEAN can be enhanced through improvements in the institutions of each member country.

Keywords: e-commerce adoption; Association of Southeast Asia Nations; ASEAN; institutions; national trust.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2021.112108

International Journal of Business Environment, 2021 Vol.12 No.1, pp.18 - 36

Received: 15 Feb 2020
Accepted: 12 May 2020
Published online: 04 Jan 2021 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article