Title: Barriers of digital transaction in rural areas: an interpretive structural modelling and MICMAC analysis

Authors: Ashulekha Gupta; Shalini Singh

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), 566/6, Bell Road, Society Area, Clement Town, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' IMS Unison University, Dehradun, 248009, India

Abstract: Digital transaction is the indispensable practice for all the household as well as commercial units in this era of digitalisation that is affected by pandemic too. Digital transaction stills a difficult task in the several rural areas. This study aims to identify the key barriers of digital transaction in rural areas and focus to explain the contextual interrelationship among these barriers. This study primarily focusing over the identification of key barriers of digital transactions in the rural areas from the extensive literature review. Secondly, it emphasises over the establishment of a hierarchical model using interpretive structural modelling (ISM). MICMAC analysis is further used to segregate these key barriers. Result revealed twelve key barriers of digital transactions in rural areas that further established a six-level hierarchical interpretive structural model. This paper provides the insights for the researchers, academicians, industry practitioners and policymakers to fill the theoretical and implication gaps.

Keywords: digital transaction; barriers; rural area; interpretive structural modelling; ISM; MICMAC analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2023.127541

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2023 Vol.18 No.1, pp.108 - 128

Received: 14 Aug 2021
Accepted: 18 Jan 2022
Published online: 07 Dec 2022 *