Title: The importance of e-commerce adoption to boost small enterprise growth in the South African tourism industry

Authors: Boris Urban; Willem-Friso van der Putten

Addresses: Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, P.O. Box 98, Wits 2050, South Africa ' Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, P.O. Box 98, Wits 2050, South Africa

Abstract: Over the past two decades e-commerce has received significant attention with several studies centred on the adoption of e-commerce in large firms in developed countries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate which of the technology-organisation-environment framework factors influence e-commerce adoption amongst small and medium enterprises in an emerging country context. The study takes place in South Africa and is focused on the tourism industry. Study results partially support the hypotheses insofar organisational resources in terms of communication and commitment, and environmental resources in terms of market e-readiness, significantly and positively influence e-commerce adoption. Additionally, findings highlight that the size of the enterprise was a significant indicator of e-commerce adoption across all of the study factors. These results have policy implications where decisive government actions are required to promote e-commerce adoption and establish an e-commerce enabling environment for smaller enterprises. By applying an empirical and theoretical lens this study has increased the relevance of the technology-organisation-environment theory, by expanding it to an investigation that examines important relationships between various factors and e-commerce adoption in an emerging African market context.

Keywords: e-commerce; adoption; technology; organisational; environmental; small and medium enterprises; tourism; South Africa.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2023.133479

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2023 Vol.50 No.1, pp.1 - 22

Received: 25 Nov 2019
Accepted: 10 Jun 2020
Published online: 18 Sep 2023 *

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