Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Ecommerce Small, Medium, And Micro-Enterprises

Assignment Task

1. Introduction

In Gauteng province, small and mainly informal retail businesses are offering basic products and services to a relatively low-income consumer market dominated the pre-2000 era, which has been now replaced by the development of large shopping malls catering to a sizeable market (Njiro, Mazwai, and Urban, 2010).

Using books, online articles, and journals, the researcher will conduct a critical review of the research literature on E-COMMERCE adoption in South Africa to identify the barriers and opportunities that small, medium and micro-businesses (SMMESS) may encounter when implementing E-COMMERCE concepts, as well as to become acquainted with current thinking and research on E-COMMERCE in developed and developing countries. All businesses must reassess how they conduct their operations if they are to remain relevant and gain a competitive advantage in today's marketplace

According to (Da Silver, 2003:201), the deployment of e-commerce initiatives will be a major potential problem for companies in the next years. Increased e-commerce activity enhances value chain integration, allows for customization, and offers smaller businesses the chance to access consumers across the globe.

The purpose of this research is to examine the variables that influence the adoption of E-COMMERCE by small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises and SMMEs in the Gauteng City area. Following that, it will attempt to assess the ongoing performance and viability of SMMEs in their efforts to embrace E-COMMERCE as a business model.

2. Background to the study

The scope of this study is limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in Gauteng, South Africa which are important drivers of economic development, innovation, and job creation. These businesses contribute substantially to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) and have proven to be important employment creators (The DTI, 2008). In this context, the researcher is attempting to contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying the variables that prevent the widespread adoption of E-COMMERCE practices.

In addition, according to (Nze, 2016), emerging countries depend on the optimum functioning of SMMEs to enhance economic stability and development, and one of the difficulties in mainstreaming SMMEs into the economy is ensuring that resources are freely available and easily accessible to them.

Since the South African economy is in a state of decline, this study is very important in providing information that may help to unlock barriers to economic development and the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs).

As a result of globalization, there are also government plans that indicate that the development of technology and the adoption of digital innovation will generate significant economic success for the nation (Ivanov and epel, 2018), as technology is one of the major driving forces behind globalization.

In developing countries where e-commerce is still in its infancy, Sim Shagaya, the founder and chief executive of DealDey and Konga in Nigeria, suggested that companies need to do things differently for consumers (Media24 nd. 2014). To build trust and create brand awareness, Konga and DealDey rely on social media and word-of-mouth, which is significant in Nigeria (Media24 and 2014).

Finally, (Cilliers, 2018) asserts that e-commerce is critical to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which governments are beginning to include in their economic narratives. Africa, in particular, with its fast-rising population, is said to stand to benefit the most from this time if handled properly. However, even in established countries such as the United States, where customers are usually used to the practice of online purchasing, trust problems are still prevalent among consumers (Alyoubi, 2015).

a. Problem statement

Even though E-COMMERCE is expanding quicker in developed countries, and is mostly adopted by larger companies in developing countries, the adoption rate for SMMEs in South Africa is still at a very low level. What are the factors that prohibit the adoption of e-commerce in South Africa?

b. Literature review

The extensive literature review showed both barriers and opportunities in the areas of regulatory frameworks, the kinds of innovative E-COMMERCE solutions that have been implemented, and technical and internal factors affecting SMMEs. The researcher will also cover a variety of topics such as E-COMMERCE theories, cooperation, information communication literacy, infrastructure, culture, and trust.

These are just a few of the topics that came up throughout the study and will be covered in the section below. The researcher adopted the affinity methodology to organize the enormous quantities of data to gather research ideas that would be used to influence the problem-defining phase. Connections were established and deeper insights were collected to arrive at more penetrating specific questions for the research interviews as well as a better knowledge of the subject matter.

E-commerce Concepts

In E-COMMERCE, there are many categories and kinds to choose from, including Business to Business (B2B), Business to Government (B2G), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Consumer to Consumer (C2C) Even though all the categories are addressed in detail below, the emphasis of this research is focusing on B2B and C2C E-COMMERCE.

B 2 C refers to consumer-to-business interactions in which customers engage with a company (such as a store) through electronic platforms and buy products, services, or commodities via a secure network. B2C is the second largest and most-established E-COMMERCE sector (Zorayda, 2003:11; Schneider, 2013:11).

c. Objective

The objective of the study is to determine the factors affecting the non-adoption of E-COMMERCE by SMMEs.

1. To Analyse the barriers and opportunities facing SMMEs when adopting E-COMMERCE.

2. Legislative framework supporting SMMEs E-COMMERCE adoption.

3. To investigate technological factors that affect the adoption factors of E-COMMERCE.

4. To investigate internal factors that affect the adoption factors of E-COMMERCE.

d. Research Question

The research questions which provide focus to the study include:

1. have opportunities influenced E-COMMERCE adoption?

2. What policy prevents or facilitates the advancement of SMMEs in underdeveloped countries?

3. How have the achievements of E-COMMERCE adoption influenced the performance of SMMEs?

4. What leadership style promotes the advancement of e-commerce adoption?

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