The determinants of adoption of e-commerce by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kampala central division

Abstract

This study investigated the factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in Kampala Central division. The study specifically looks at the reasons and processes that determine e-commerce implementation in context. There exist several best practice models on the factors influencing ecommerce adoption. In this research report, these models are applied to SME firms in the Kampala Central division and the results show that several common promoters and inhibitors of e-commerce adoption are recognized. This study will utilize a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. A sample of 99 respondents participated in the study. A structured questionnaire with a mix of both open and closed-ended questions was utilized for data collection within Kampala Central division. Chi-square correlation values and multivariate analysis were used to establish relationships between the independents variables and dependant variable. Two factors emerged as the significant predictors of the adoption of ecommerce by SMEs and these were; - the availability of a workforce with e-commerce skills (with a pvalue of 0.000 which is less than 0.05) and the availability of e-commerce ICT infrastructure (with a pvalue of 0.000 which is less than 0.05). These findings reveal that the availability of a workforce with ecommerce skills and the availability of e-commerce ICT infrastructure are the factors which have a strong influence adoption of e-commerce by SMEs within Kampala Central division. The study recommends that; SMEs should prioritize having a workforce with e-commerce skills and ensure the presence of ecommerce ICT infrastructure and those SMEs must take e-commerce adoption as a priority if they are to realize continuous growth. The researcher established that there was a lack of awareness of the benefits of e-commerce among most SMEs and this creates a barrier towards the adoption of e-commerce.