An Investigation of the Factors Affecting Consumers’ Adoption of E-commerce: An Empirical Study of Saudi Arabia

This study identified a gap in the adoption of electronic (e)-commerce in Saudi Arabia in particular and developing countries in general and hopefully, provides some useful insight regarding e-commerce in Saudi Arabia. This study is limited to a small nation or group which makes generalization not essential (Bryman 2008,p.391). But at the same time, it provides a good base for further work that can be based on the findings of this study. Businesses across the world are launching e-commerce to increase sales by reducing costs, and extending their activities to serve their clients anywhere in the world. The literature, however, shows that in many developing countries e-commerce projects have failed due to a lack of consumers' readiness to adopt it whereas consumers in the developed countries have already incorporated e-commerce into their daily lives. In order for e-commerce to be successful in developing countries, consumers need to accept and adopt this service. This gap is addressed by this study so that developing countries come to benefit from e-commerce and avoid possible failures. The study presents the key factors (enablers and barriers) that affect consumers’ adoption of e-commerce. It aims to understand consumers’ perspectives, move theoretically to obtain suppliers’ comments on consumers’ viewpoints, gather any new aspects mentioned by them and finally to combine the two perspectives together to arrive at the final findings. The researcher investigated a number of research methodologies to find the one appropriate for this study. As a result, a qualitative research approach was adopted, which was used to understand and explain the phenomenon under investigation. Grounded theory methodology (GT) was used since it uses theoretical sampling that helped to achieve the study’s goals by moving theoretically from the first empirical study to the second. The study used various techniques to collect evidence such as semi-structure interviews, observations and official documents. The two empirical studies of this research offered a good understanding and further insights into e-commerce adoption among consumers. It reveals a roadmap for suppliers and governments that enable them to adopt e-commerce among consumers in developing countries. The findings of this study are divided into the following dimensions: cultural, telecommunication infrastructure, technical, suppliers’ responsibilities, financial, awareness, legal, delivery, tangible and intangible end-user characteristics, security, geographical and government’s responsibilities dimensions. Government’s responsibilities have been found to be the core category that affects most of the factors that are germane to this study. These factors can help decision makers understand the issues that are involved and effectively address them. The final paradigm model presented in chapter 8 illustrates the phenomenon, its causes, conditions, specifications and the required strategies that help to increase e-commerce adoption among consumers

An Analysis of E-Commerce Adoption for Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia

The amount of small and medium enterprises (SME) is the largest number of business actor in Indonesia. But the contribution of SME is very small compared with large business. Some researchers found that the most influencing factor cause the condition is the use of information technology. May of the SMEs have not seen the power of information technology such as e-commerce. Author uses the qualitative method to gather deep information from informant that unfound in the recent quantitative research. This research will conduct how to implement the e-commerce based on some successful experiences in SME

Factors influencing the adoption of social media marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Business Studies at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

The COVID-19 outbreak led to a global economic slowdown that affected many countries including Saudi Arabia where trade, investment, employment, and travel have all been impacted by the lockdown, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The main purpose of the current study is to examine the factors that influence the adoption and use of social media marketing (SMM) in SMEs during the lockdown in Saudi Arabia. This study has used a combined developed model from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to examine whether SMEs in Saudi Arabia accept and use SMM effectively in the case such as COVID-19 pandemic, and to test its impact on improving the business performance through attracting new customers, sales, improved communication with customers, identifying customers' needs, and utilizing employees' creativity. This model succeeded to explain the Impact On Business (IOB) to a degree of 81%, since the coefficient of determination (R²) is 0.81. This study used a quantitative method by applying the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique to validate the conceptual model. The data was collected by using an online questionnaire of 146 participants from small and medium-sized enterprises. The results highlight that perceived usefulness (PEU), low cost (LCOS), and compatibility (COM) had a significant positive impact on SMEs to adopt and use SMM. The facilitating conditions and perceived ease of use had a non-significant impact on the adoption and use of SMM by SMEs. This study also found that small enterprises have been affected by the factors more than medium-sized ones. Another finding is that enterprises that were forced to close were more significantly affected by the factors (Low Cost and Compatibility) than the non-closed ones during the first lockdown starting from March 2020. In the same context, Facilitating Conditions (FCO) was not significant as 63 % of the participated enterprises were closed during the lockdown and could not use their infrastructure

Factors That Predict the Adoption of Online Shopping in Saudi Arabia

Despite the increased numbers of online consumers, e-commerce growth is slow in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this correlational study, the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework to examine whether perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms could predict consumers\u27 intention to adopt shopping online. A pre-existing TAM survey instrument was used to collect data from consumers (N = 95) who live in a City and have shopped at least once online. The regression analysis confirmed a positive statistically significant relationship between perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The results showed that perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms were statistically significant in predicting consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping, with F(2, 92) = 241.630, p \u3c .001, R2 = .840, and adjusted R2 = .837, and accounted for 84% of the variance in consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping. The correlation between perceived ease of use and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PEOU) r= .916, p \u3c .001 and the correlation significance between perceived usefulness and consumers\u27 intent to adopt online shopping was (PU) r= .591, p \u3c .001. Using study results, retailers may be able to develop improved strategies to increase profitability via online shopping. The implications for positive social change include the potential for improved quality of life for consumers in Saudi Arabia

Digital Technology for Saudi Arabian Fashion Shows

Saudi fashion designers have encountered numerous challenges promoting their designs to the public in Saudi Arabia, especially women’s wear, due to religious and cultural regulations. The primary regulatory barrier is that women are not permitted to expose their bodies in the presence of men. Therefore, Saudi designers must deliver their fashion shows to a single gender audience. Furthermore, because there is no governmental process granting permission for these events, fashion designers are forced to take the risk that fashion shows at which they are exhibiting may be shut down. Therefore, this research investigated whether technology could assist fashion designers in promoting their designs, by replacing live fashion shows with digital versions. In order to evaluate the practicality of using technology developed for fashion shows in the context of Saudi Arabia, it is necessary to first resolve any religious, cultural and technical barriers that might restrict the potential acceptability of digital versions of live fashion shows. In this research, a mixed methods approach to data collection was employed, consulting stakeholders including cultural leaders, fashion designers, and consumers. The quantitative data instrument was a three-stage questionnaire, and the qualitative data collection involved two stages, i.e. interviews and observations. The data collected was used to create a framework to establish an outcome based on both a visualisation and a guideline. The visualisation covered the multitude of religious, cultural, and technical issues identified by the study. In addition, a guideline to recreate the fashion show method was developed for fashion designers to follow. The outcome of the framework was then evaluated to examine its validity. The visualisation was evaluated by focus groups, comprising consumers, cultural leaders and fashion designers, while the guidelines themselves were evaluated by fashion designers only. The results obtained from the research clarified that fashion designers are dissatisfied with the current fashion show options, because vital components that would support their success are not present. Therefore, the researcher navigated practices and behaviour in reference to cultural expectations, explored acceptable representations of female in public, developed an approach to modifying this and explored a variety of approaches to creating a visualisation, including using a bodysuit to permit exposure of certain areas of the body. This enabled the development of a replicable and relatively low-cost approach to creating a digital fashion show with guidelines to recreate it. The research concluded with a set of recommendations for fashion designers, allowing them to benefit fully from the digital fashion show. It also helped them to utilise the benefits of using a framework and guidelines to promote their collection in Saudi Arabia.Jeddah university represented by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Londo

An examination of the impact of foreign and local managers on firm resources: A case of micro and small serviced apartments in Riyadh - Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia (the largest oil exporting country in the world) is making an effort to diversify its economy, to decrease their dependence on the oil sector. The tourism market in Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest in the region and one of the most profitable sectors in the Middle East. The government has made a strong effort to improve and expand the tourism sector (e.g. introducing electronic visas). Accommodation is a vital element in the tourism sector, and it is very important to a destination’s image and competitiveness. As a part of the Saudisation policy, the Government has decided to localise the managers of hotels and serviced apartments by the end of 2020. This means hotels are more likely to be managed by local managers rather than foreign managers which has been the norm in Saudi Arabia. The Saudisation policy could have either a negative or a positive impact on firms’ performance. Riyadh is one of main cities to attract tourists and is dominated by micro and small serviced apartment enterprises. This decision might affect these enterprises since they depend on managers’ actions which, in turn, will affect the tourism industry. Therefore, it is important to investigate how local and foreign managers manage firm resources so that appropriate business support policy can be developed. The Resource-Based View has been the dominant theory for studying the relationship between firm resources and business performance. Existing studies have investigated the impact of different entrepreneurial characteristics of managers, and general traits such as age, gender and level of education on firm resources. However, no previous study examines the impact that managers’ background (local vs foreign) has on the development of firm resources. This research will be applying the concepts of Resource-Based Theory to examine the role played by local and foreign managers on firm resources. In doing so, this study will extend the boundary of Resource-Based View framework. To understand the different roles of local and foreign managers, it is also necessary to identify the key resources of micro and small serviced apartments. In order to accomplish this objective, existing studies related to local/foreign managers, micro and small enterprises, serviced apartments and four of the firms’ resources were critically analysed. I found that finance, human resources, technology and collaboration are critical for self-catering apartments and have a strong propensity to influence business performance. Following that, seven in-depth interviews were conducted at public institutions and nineteen interviews were conducted with local/foreign managers of micro and small serviced apartments. This study found that local and foreign managers take different approaches in developing firm resources and also face different sets of challenges while consuming them. The findings of this study provide useful recommendations to owners and managers of micro and small serviced apartments and to policy makers