Moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between technology readiness, trust and diffusion of e-commerce (B2C) in Sultanate of Oman

Electronic commerce has tremendously revolutionized the global economic system. Notwithstanding it has been playing a catalytic role in strengthening economies of the developing states, many countries are lagging behind in practicing electronic commerce due to numerous factors including technology readiness and trust. This study aimed to investigate the nature of relationship that exists between technology readiness, trust and diffusion of electronic while focusing on the public sector higher education institutions of the Sultanate of Oman. Furthermore, the study indented to examine the moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between technology readiness, trust and diffusion of e-commerce. A structured questionnaire representing dimensions related to technology readiness, trust, religiosity and diffusion of electronic commerce was duly designed. Data was collected using survey method, through the distribution of the structured questionnaires to the public sector higher education institutions of Oman. The Partial Lease Square - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that technology readiness, trust and religiosity have positive effects on the diffusion of e-commerce. Additionally, the findings revealed that religiosity significantly and positively moderates the relationship between technology readiness, trust and the diffusion of electronic commerce. The results imply that all the stakeholders must call their attention to the core areas of e-commerce like technology readiness, trust and religiosity to ensure a brighter future in today’s fast moving and competitive environment. While contributing to the body of knowledge and highlighting the importance of technology readiness and trust in the diffusion process of electronic commerce, the study appropriately provides practical, managerial, educational and theological implications to the prospective consumers, governmental officials, policy- makers and the e-commerce global community. In terms of limitations, this study is confined to the impacts of technology readiness, trust and religiosity on the diffusion of (business to consumer) electronic commerce, and has targeted academicians from the public higher education institutions, as respondents. On the basis of this study, future research can be conducted in the perspective of developing countries other than the Sultanate of Oman. It would also be valuable to employ the framework in conducting comparative studies on the developing and the developed nation

Exploring the Attitudes and Intentions of Non-shoppers in the Acceptance of e-Commerce

Acceptance of online shopping adoption by individuals has been a concerning issue for researchers in the past decade. However, most research has focused in evaluating the attitudes and intention to use electronic commerce from the shoppers' perspective, neglecting to analyze the behavior and attitudes of those who have not adopted e-commerce yet: the non-shoppers. The objective of this study is to explore and evaluate the behavior and attitudes of the non-shoppers' segment towards the acceptance of business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C-EC). The theoretical foundations of the study are provided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Innovations Diffusion Theory (IDT), with the addition of a specific factor related to the nature of B2C-EC: product offering of the e-commerce channel. This framework leads to an attitudinal/behavioral model which seeks to identify the factors perceived by non-shoppers as the most important for the adoption of B2C-EC. The model has been validated with data from 995 Spanish non-shoppers using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Findings from the analysis results show that perceived usefulness, perceived compatibility and product offering affect positively the attitude of non-shoppers towards the adoption of B2C-EC and their intention to use it. Among these factors, perceived compatibility stands out as the most relevant factor to foster the adoption of B2C-EC among non-shoppers. Other implications for theory and practice are discussed in the final section

The moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between technology readiness and diffusion of electronic commerce

Developing states, following the theory of “the survival of the fittest”, are severely in need of building up their electronic commerce for their economic survival on the globe.Beside other challenges, developing states are lagging behind in terms of technology readiness (TR).Another leading factor, particularly within the practicing Muslim communities, could be the impact of religiosity that has been unanimously found playing an immense role in buyers’ buying attitude, judgment of product price and quality. Having an immense influence, it affects both intra-personally and interpersonally.Furthermore, religiosity shapes consumers’ mind-set, learning and life style and is also considered as one of the significant factors with regards to hi-tech innovations adoption. This paper puts light on the relevant and valuable perspectives: technology readiness, religiosity and diffusion of electronic commerce, in the perspective of Muslim majority developing countries. While contributing to the field of knowledge, the study highlights the importance of technology readiness and trust in the diffusion process of electronic commerce. Looking into the moderating effect of religiosity in this regard, it underlines the unique features (completeness, universality, ever-greenness and applicability) of Islam including the moderate approach of Islam, toward technologies including e-commerce, thus boosting up electronic commerce trade.While, possessing the practical, educational and theological implications, the study will be helpful to all the stakeholders including; prospective consumers, governmental concerned authorities and e-commerce global community

Institutional Factors influencing E-Business Adoption

Studies of e-business adoption have generally been restricted to understanding organizational factors. Institutional factors provide an alternate explanation of the diffusion of e-business across organizations. We test the influence of coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures on first-time adoption of B2B and B2C innovations by organizations. We further propose that an organization’s response to institutional pressures may be affected by its distinctive organizational identity. Specifically, we hypothesize that those organizations that value innovation and customer service will be more likely to adopt e-business over time. We test the likelihood that the intensity of institutional pressures will vary over different time periods. Data are gathered from secondary sources and we use event-history techniques to test our model. We contribute to the IS literature by integrating institutional and organizational identity concepts to understand the adoption and diffusion of Type III innovations

Exploring the factors affecting the use of C2C in Colombia

This study analyses the factors that users of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) commerce value as direct influences in the intention to use and the acceptance of a marketplace. An empirical model is formulated, which integrates three variables that evaluate trust and, in turn, other variables that influence C2C intention and purchases, taking a sample of 686 surveys gathered using the Internet in Colombia. The results show that trust is a fundamental factor in this type of electronic commerce in Colombia, given that C2C users seek intermediation pages with third-party recognition (TPR) and high web quality; similarly, key variables in the adoption of this type of commercial platform include finding low prices and social influence. The perception of trust in this type of electronic commerce is a broader concept that requires the analysis of psychosocial factors. For companies that manage marketplaces, this study allows them to focus on key actions and tools in their websites. This study allowsone to get to know the users of this transactional system, specifically for the Latin American region, highlighting the variables that they most consider when engaging in direct commerce between people. The results show that C2C requires marketplaces that guarantee the necessary conditions for a purchase/sale transaction with trust and quality

The nature and extent of internet-enabled e-business adoption by Australian wineries, and factors affecting this adoption

This research investigates the nature and extent of e-business adoption by Australian wineries in order to describe the activity and increase understanding of the factors influencing the behaviour. Pilot study interviews grounded the research and provided industry-based direction for the survey. A census survey of the 2003 population of Australian wineries, excluding micro-wineries, used a self-administered mail questionnaire. Response rate varied by winery size, from 15% of small wineries up to 46% of very large wineries. Data was collected in five e-business process domains: e-mail, external web sites, and winery B2C web sites, extranets, and intranets; on perceptions of influence of four factors in each process domain: 1) relative advantage, 2) resource capacity, 3) supply chain activity, and 4) government activity; and on barriers to further adoption. Analysis of the survey responses supported the proposition that the nature and extent of adoption varies significantly by winery size. In general, small wineries find less benefit than larger wineries. Customer type and level of customer power also vary by winery size with winery B2C web strategies differing as a result. The proposition that the factors influencing e-business adoption vary between different types of e-business was also supported. This finding indicates that customised frameworks for particular e-business process domains will have increased relevance, and generalisations regarding the level of influence individual factors have on e-business adoption per se are inappropriate. Influence from the activities of supply chain and government organisations, the subject of the third and fourth propositions, was also found. The impact level of these external environment factors increased with winery size. In particular it is the powerful business customers and the Australian Government that drive some of the e-business adoption by wineries. Criticism of low levels of adoption by Australian small and medium sized enterprises in government funded reports appears harsh when applied to small and medium wineries after findings demonstrate that they derive less benefit from e-business than larger wineries. Reduction of the most common barriers to increasing adoption - the high cost and low quality of network connections in regional locations – remains the responsibility of government

Organizational, Technological, and Environmental Determinants of Electronic Commerce Adoption in Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan

In the Internet age, the development of electronic commerce (EC) was considered a major indicator of the overall competitiveness of organizations. Moreover, the EC marketing channel can bring customers more benefits, such as greater shopping convenience and potentially lower prices. In Taiwan, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 98% of the total number of business. Today, most SMEs were forced to adopt EC by their major suppliers and value chain partners in order to carry out business processes more efficiently. Hence, the purpose of this study is to seek the determinants of the extent of EC adoption by SMEs in Taiwan. This study presents a framework based on Tornatzky and Fleischer\u27s (1990) OTE model that includes organizational context, technological context, and environmental context, which have been widely used to examine the factors that influence organizational technology adoption. According to the OTE model, the research model of this study identified nine determinants, including (1) organizational size, (2) CEOs\u27 attitudes toward EC adoption, (3) CEOs\u27 innovativeness, (4) CEOs\u27 technology knowledge, (5) CEOs\u27 perceptions of EC on relative advantages, (6) CEOs\u27 perceptions of EC on compatibility, (7) CEOs\u27 perceptions of EC on complexity, (8) information intensity, and (9) competition intensity. A quantitative, correlational, non-experimental and explanatory research design based on a questionnaire survey was used to collect data, test hypotheses, and answer research questions in this study. 1,500 CEOs of Taiwanese SMEs were randomly selected from the database of E-Volunteer and invited to participate via email on a hyper-link provided to the survey web site. A total of 219 usable questionnaires were obtained for data analysis. The results of this study indicated that all three contexts were important in the decision of EC adoption by Taiwanese SMEs. The findings also supported significance of five determinants that had a positive relationship with the extent of EC adoption. These determinants were organizational size and CEOs\u27 attitudes toward EC adoption, CEOs\u27 perceptions of EC on relative advantage and compatibility, and information intensity. No statistically significant relationship with the extent of EC adoption was established for CEOs\u27 technology knowledge, CEOs\u27 perception of EC on complexity, and competition intensity. This study may not only expand the current body of EC knowledge, but also contribute to the knowledge of CEOs concerning SMEs, EC consultants, suppliers or value chain partners, and government agencies

Extent of Adoption as Opposed to Adoption: Case of E-Procurement

Existing literature has given much attention to e-procurement adoption, rather than to the extent of e- procurement adoption. In most countries, e-procurement is being adopted at a slow pace by the corporate world, especially by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have traditionally been late adopters of any advanced technologies, due in large part to their resource constraints. This paper describes a project which aims to develop a measure of the extent of e-procurement adoption and to examine the key factors that influence the extent of e-procurement adoption in New Zealand SMEs. An integrated model of the Technology-Organization- Environment (TOE) framework and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory is described and a cross-sectional survey is discussed. The model will be tested using data from the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the SMEs