Socio-legal analysis of electronic commercial transactions in Nigeria

This paper explores the origin, development and growth of electronic commerce in Nigeria from a socio-legal perspective. Electronic commerce or e-commerce as it is popularly called has witnessed a tremendous increase in its adoption as a medium for commercial transactions in recent times. The paper adopts the doctrinal and analytical approach in its examination of the intricacies of this modern mode of doing business. It assesses the level of adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria for both domestic and cross border commercial transactions. The paper found that lack of the requisite and adequate telecommunication infrastructure was a major challenge to the consolidation of e-commerce in Nigeria. It further found that the legal framework for e-commerce transactions has not evolved sufficiently above its original provisions for traditional face to face commercial transactions. Socio cultural and socio economic hindrances to e-commerce transactions were also identified. Key words: “Electronic Commerce”, “Commercial Transactions”, and “Electronic Contract

Users' perception of selected e-commerce sites in Nigeria

Unprecedented growth in technology usage has led to the proliferation of e-commerce sites and their adoption globally. However, there are factors hindering the adoption and full exploitation of e-commerce sites in Nigeria. In view of this, this study examined users' perception of selected e-commerce sites in Nigeria, using students of the University of Ilorin as a case study. The population of the study comprised mainly of 5500 students from four faculties selected from the University of Ilorin using a simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection using descriptive statistics to analyze field data. A Purposive sampling technique was adopted in the selection of students for this study. The sample size comprised of 300 students selected purposively from the four Faculties. Findings revealed that the majority of users patronized e-commerce sites such as Jumia, Konga, OLX, and Jiji. However, users of e-commerce sites raised issues of privacy concerns, low-security awareness, and lack of user education. In conclusion, recommendations were made towards improving the adoption and use of e-commerce sites in Nigeria

M-Commerce Implementation in Nigeria: Trends and Issues

Nigeria was described as the fastest growing telecoms nation in Africa and the third in the World. The country had experienced a phenomenal growth from a teledensity of 0.49 in 2000 to 25.22 in 2007. This trend has brought about a monumental development in the major sectors of the economy, such as banking, telecoms and commerce in general. This paper presents the level of adoption of ICT in the banking sector and investigates the prospects of m-Commerce in Nigeria based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. Findings revealed that all banks in Nigeria offer e-Banking services and about 52% of the offer some forms of m-Banking services. The banks and the telecoms operators have enormous potentials and opportunities for m-Commerce but the level of patronage, quality of cell phones, lack of basic infrastructure and security issues pose a major threat to its wide scale implementation

Factors influencing the use of e-commerce by small enterprises in Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to assess the factors influencing the use of e-commerce by small enterprises in Nigeria. The study adopts a qualitative methodology which involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews and direct observation in order to derive answers to such questions as ‘why’ the system is adopted and ‘how’ the Nigeria economic conditions influence the system. The study suggests that the main factors which motivate the adoption of e-commerce by small businesses in Nigeria are market expansion and reduced market costs. The findings also indicate that increasing access to the Internet and changing lifestyle enable the success of e-commerce in Nigeria. The implications of the study are discussed

Factors influencing the use of e-commerce by small enterprises in Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to assess the factors influencing the use of e-commerce by small enterprises in Nigeria. The study adopts a qualitative methodology which involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews and direct observation in order to derive answers to such questions as ‘why’ the system is adopted and ‘how’ the Nigeria economic conditions influence the system. The study suggests that the main factors which motivate the adoption of e-commerce by small businesses in Nigeria are market expansion and reduced market costs. The findings also indicate that increasing access to the Internet and changing lifestyle enable the success of e-commerce in Nigeria. The implications of the study are discussed

E-COMMERCE ADOPTION AND SMALL MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce can be regarded as the utilization of electronic systems such as the internet and other computer networks to aid the sharing of business information among trading partners, coordination and implementation of business transactions. Existing studies in Nigeria concentrated on factors that limit Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in adopting e-commerce technology and most of these studies were examined from consumers perspectives, however, little or no study have examined the impact of e-commerce adoption on the performances of SMEs. This paper employed the use of a quantitative research approach to analyse the behavior, experience, perspective of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises operators towards electronic commerce adoption in Nigeria. Based on the quantitative approach imbibed in this study, questionnaire was used to capture data that examined the objectives of the paper. The questionnaire was distributed both manually and electronically to total sample of over 250 SMEs. Data collected were analysed using descriptive analysis. The study showed that e-commerce has potentials to improve the performance of SMEs operators if factors limiting the adoption of e-commerce like security issues, under developed infrastructures, poor delivery logistics and poor courier systems, infrastructure facilities, incompatibility of business with e-commerce etc. The paper recommended improved infrastructural facilities and better strategies that will improve consumers and business technological knowledge and ensure favourable environment for e-commerce adoption. JEL: O33, M113, M31  Article visualizations

Authentication technology methods for E-Commerce applications in Nigeria — a case for biometric digital security contactless palm vein authentication

E-Commerce has become one of the most interesting and beneficial Internet-enabled systems for humanity. E-Commerce has served as an economic enabler and driver for developed countries because of the total adoption by their citizens. However, in Nigeria citizens have rejected E-Commerce due to a lack of trust and inadequate security. This research identifies several factors that lead to distrust of E-Commerce systems in Nigeria. These factors: perceived fear, security, perceived risk, trust, usability, perceived advantage, and use of web assurance seal services are very important for intention to adopt E-Commerce as an online transaction technology. This thesis uses a novel Design Fiction and E-Commerce website simulation methodology to show citizens how new and improved security in E-Commerce could increase those citizens' trust and thus increase their intention to adopt E-Commerce. The research surveys a broad demographic sample of citizens from Nigeria who completed a set of tasks associated with the novel Design Fiction and E-Commerce website simulation followed by a detailed questionnaire. The questionnaire, with associated items, was designed to answer the research questions and hypothesis based on the E-Commerce Adoption Model proposed in the thesis. This new E-Commerce Adoption model is based on the Technology Acceptance Model and uses to comparatively test Digital Signature, Finger Print Identification, and Contactless Palm Vein Authentication technologies in E-Commerce transactions. Results from the survey show that Contactless Palm Vein Authentication leads to greater trust in E-Commerce in Nigeria. The thesis research findings also indicate that new improved security authentication techniques are overdue. The research indicates that poor E-Commerce adoption in Nigeria is mainly due to a key identified factor, which is security. The conceptual model and trust model are developed for E-Commerce adoption in Nigeria. Therefore, it shows that citizens are willing to accept Contactless Palm Vein Authentication as a solution. In particular, the research results also show that there are strong relationships between all the identified factors and citizens’ intention to adopt E-Commerce in Nigeria thus rejecting all null hypotheses

Policy Issues of e-Commerce Technology Diffusion in Southeast Nigeria: The Case of Small Scale Agribusiness

The benefits brought about by the emergence of e-commerce, e-business and other Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) applications have not been fully explored in the developing economies of the world. The less developed economies are still struggling to catch up with ICT application as opposed to its heavy deployment in the developed economies. Empirical evidence suggests that ICTs and other related technologies are increasingly emerging in the communities of the developing economies such as Nigeria. Rural actors engaged in the Agricultural industries (Agribusiness) feel that the implementation of ICTs can influence the development of new business processes and the way existing processes are organised. In the Southeast of Nigeria, which is a typical example of a less developed community, the impact of e-business technologies has yet to be determined. This paper identifies two classical traditional agribusiness supply chains and hence reports on the impact of e-commerce technology diffusion along the equilibrium of the supply chains, focusing on the elimination of intermediary actors from the chain. It provides an assessment of the Governments’ policies and strategies on e-commerce adoption for the sustainability of small-scale agricultural businesses. The paper examines the politics surrounding ICT implementations by actors engaged in the agribusiness sector. This research has motivated The South East State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to give closer attention to their earlier policy of making Nigeria an ICT-enabled country

Factors that influence the successful adoption of m-Commerce via SIM-enabled devices in Nigeria

This research sought to identify the factors that influence m-Commerce adoption by micro and small businesses in Nigeria. However, considering that different categories of these businesses are likely to be influenced by different set of factors, depending on their level of exposure and adoption of m-Commerce, a stage model was designed. This stage model provided a prototype of the progression of m-Commerce adoption by micro and small businesses in Nigeria. Through the analysis of data collected from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, the stage model was confirmed. Also, unique factors that influence m-Commerce adoption by micro and small businesses in Nigeria were identified such as: Nigeria’s mobile phone culture, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulatory cashless policy, Nigeria’s ostentatious culture, and cultural emphasis on physical contact in the conduct of business activities. Within the thesis, recommendations for leveraging the presence of the identified factors were discussed. These recommendations include creating awareness of security features among customers and introduction of regulatory policies that can support increased adoption of m-Commerce such as money back guarantee. Theoretical implications of the research include contributing to the debate on the divide between m-Commerce and e-Commerce, providing an update to existing literature on m-Commerce adoption factors and presenting a stage model that can guide business adoption of m-Commerce. Practical implications of the research include highlighting opportunities to create additional sources of revenue for businesses, strategies towards optimising business processes, increasing brand or business awareness and inspiring customer loyalty. Practical steps towards leveraging Nigeria’s unique socio-cultural factors were highlighted including the use of Pay on Delivery service. Although this study focused on micro and small businesses in Nigeria, findings from the study may be generalised to countries that have similar socio-cultural contexts such as Pakistan and India

E-commerce as a Vehicle Towards Sustainable National Development in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges

The emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has created a lot of opportunities for its end users, globally. However, despite the recognized embedded benefits of e-commerce, its utilization for sustainable national development in Nigeria is still largely low. On this basis, this paper discusses the prospect of e-commerce as a vehicle towards sustainable national development in Nigeria, and the challenges militating against its adequate adoption. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory was employed as conceptual framework. The paper argues that e-commerce can contribute in multiple ways to the actualization of the Nigeria’s drive towards the attainment of sustainable national development through the improvement of the Nigerian banking sector, the promotion of indigenous entrepreneurship, increase in foreign exchange, and the development of small and medium scale businesses. However, despite its embedded advantages, digital divide, illiteracy, skepticism/distrust, fear of cybercrime exposure and poor access to relevant information are among the major challenges militating against the successful adoption of electronic commerce in Nigeria. The Nigerian Government should exert more efforts towards effective domestication of E-commerce because it is capable of contributing significantly to the successful actualization of the nation’s vision 2020 plan and the attainment of its sustainable development goals