Title: Acceptance and use of e-commerce technology among female entrepreneurs of micro and small businesses in India: analysis of determinants

Authors: Sraboni Dutta; Shradha Shivani

Addresses: Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India ' Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India

Abstract: In spite of the e-commerce revolution creating immense growth opportunities for Indian SMEs, reports suggest that women entrepreneurs in the micro and small sector demonstrate low adoption of e-commerce. This research applies a technology acceptance perspective to analyse the determinants, which drive the behavioural intention to accept and use e-commerce among these women entrepreneurs of West Bengal and Jharkhand, India. The UTAUT model of technology acceptance was employed to assess the relative impact of the core determinants and the influence of age and experience as moderators. Structural equation modelling was employed and the findings confirm the positive influence of the four core determinants. It is suggested that weak penetration of e-commerce in the population can be improved if campaigns are re-designed and implemented to induce the women entrepreneurs to perceive that investment in ICT for e-commerce will be useful for their firms and that the technology is easy to use.

Keywords: information and communication technology; ICT; e-commerce; unified theory of acceptance and use of technology; UTAUT; women entrepreneurs; micro and small enterprises; SEM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2023.132898

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2023 Vol.31 No.3, pp.356 - 377

Received: 09 Jun 2020
Accepted: 10 Mar 2021
Published online: 16 Aug 2023 *

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