Enacted Capabilities on Adoption of Information Systems: A Study of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

An increasing number of studies into the adoption behaviour of Information systems (IS) have focused on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These past studies provide an understanding of the contextual factors offering a simple dichotomous measure such as adopters and non-adopters rather than the manner of usage (from adoption to utilisation). This study introduces the construct of enacted capabilities and examines the enacted capabilities that activate and stimulate SMEs to use an IS to it fullest potential. The construct is derived from the resource-based view of the firm and allows the integration of the technology acceptance model with diffusion of innovation theory. A model of how enacted capabilities affect IS adoption behaviour through perceived net benefits is developed. Results indicate that enacted capabilities possessed by SMEs play a prominent role in determining the adoption behaviour by these enterprises (i.e. active adopters and non-active adopters)

Electronic government procurement adoption behavior amongst Malaysian SMEs

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between a model of electronic procurement (e-procurement) adoption behavior and the level of Government e-procurement adoption amongst Small Medium Enterprise (SME) in Malaysia. Data was collected through questionnaires that were distributed to SME selected randomly in all SME in Malaysia.The data were analyzed using factor analysis, reliability analysis, independent-sample t-test, descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation and multiple regressions. Regression results reveals that ‘power’, ‘trust’ and ‘value’ have a positive relationship with the level of e-procurement adoption amongst SME in Malaysia.All dimensions, namely; the power of supplier, power of procurement, trust on supplier, trust on information technology, value of implementation system efficiency and value of cost efficiency were also correlated with the level of e-procurement adoption amongst SME. Past studies on e-procurement are beset by problems of buyer-seller relationship perspective.In addition, these studies are skewed towards Government-SME relationship perspective which the Government possesses more power than SME and provide a better incentive to educate and influence SME to adopt e-procurement.In investigation the relationship between a model of e-procurement adoption behavior and the level of Government e-procurement adoption amongst SME in Malaysia, this study also tries to provides recommendation to Malaysian government for improving the level of e-procurement adoption amongst SME

A success model for the Malaysian government e-procurement system: the buyer perspective

In Malaysia, there has been a tremendous effort in implementing e-government as a national agenda with the aims to increase public transparency, improve the sector efficiency and effectiveness and reduce public expenditure through lower operational costs. One of the e-government applications is the ePerolehan, a government-to-business (G2B) system that enables online public procurement coordination and transaction between government and businesses. However, there has been a lack of empirical research findings in evaluating the success and actual value of the system, and understanding the usage factors among government users. Hence, this research was undertaken to investigate the level of ePerolehan system success and the factors that contribute to this success, as perceived by the government users. The structural equation modeling results suggest the use of the Malaysian public e-procurement system has significant and positive influence to success, measured as transparency, service performance, efficiency and information quality The results also indicated that the main significant success factors of the ePerolehan system are found to be system compatibility, user attitude, organizational learning, mimetic pressure and supplier expectation. The findings provide several important implications not only for the government-to-business discipline, but also for e-government research and practice

Antecedents and impact of AIS usage amongst Jordanian SMEs : moderating effects of environmental uncertainty and firm size

An effective use of the Accounting Information System (AIS) facilitates firms to sustain their competitiveness by providing timely, accurate and reliable financial information for more informed business decisions. Despite extensive government efforts, the usage of AIS amongst the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan is relatively low and thus limiting the impact on firms‘ effectiveness. Furthermore, previous studies regarding the antecedents and impact of AIS usage are somewhat inconsistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to propose an integrated model utilizing the Technological, Organizational, and Environmental (TOE) framework and the Resource-based View (RBV) theory to better explain the antecedents affecting AIS usage and its impact on AIS effectiveness amongst Jordanian SMEs. This study hypothesized seven factors affecting AIS usage based on the TOE framework. Meanwhile, RBV explained the relationship between AIS usage and AIS effectiveness as well as the moderating effects of environmental uncertainty and firm size on such relationships. Using the quantitative approach, this study employed a self-administered questionnaire survey on 741 owners of SMEs listed in the Amman Chamber Industry, of which 186 responses were usable for analysis (25% response rate). The Partial Least Squares (PLS) results revealed significant influence of compatibility (technological factor), owner/manager commitment and organizational readiness (organizational factors), as well as competitive pressure and government support (environmental factors) on AIS usage. Furthermore, compatibility demonstrated the strongest influence on AIS usage followed by competitive pressure. The results further demonstrated a positive and significant effect of AIS usage on AIS effectiveness. Finally, the findings only ascertained considerable moderating effect of firm size. Apart from extending the body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive model to explain how several interrelated factors influence AIS usage and its impact on AIS effectiveness, the results offer insights on how firms could improve the use of AIS for better firms‘ performance

Electronic Government Adoption Model Among Business Organizations in Jordan

E-government adoption involves a significant change in the way government administrative operations with its stakeholders are being conducted. Past studies have tended to view e-government adoption in terms of a dichotomous outcome; either e-government is adopted, or it is not. Such studies give little indication of the diffusion of e-government applications. The aim of this study is to address this gap in existing research by investigating both the level and extent of usage of e-government applications. In so doing, the study draws on research in the area of innovation diffusion theories. The population of this study consisted of firms listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) that have adopted B2G (business-to-government) e-government. The main objective of this study is to characterize B2G e-government adoption among businesses listed in ASE. It also aims to identify factors associated with the adoption of B2G e-government and to determine the impacts of its adoption on these businesses. A total of 113 usable responses were generated for further analysis. Based on two parts, the level of e-government adoption and the extent of usage for each application, two groups of adopters were identified and labeled as basic-adopters and advanced-adopters. Technological, organizational and external factors were found to have influenced e-government adoption among businesses in ASE. It was also found that advanced-adopters had gained more significant benefits from e-government adoption than basic-adopters. In particular, advanced-adopters achieved time saving, lower cost and efficiency as well as gaining strategic benefits such as better work efficiency, lower operational cost, and reduced work-process time

Identifying Facilitators and Challenges for IT Adoption at a Local Malaysian Retail Company: The IT Management Perspective

Substantial research that examines the adoption of IT-enabled initiatives by organisations has been conducted in the context of western countries. Existing research shows that IT systems and their adoption are largely shaped by the characteristics of organisations, organisational culture, and business environment. To address the limited understanding of IT adoption practices in developing countries, this paper investigates facilitators and challenges related to technological, organisational and environmental contexts for IT adoption. For this purpose, a case study was conducted with a local Malaysian retail company which experiences enormous competitive pressure from influential international retail giants operating in Malaysia. The findings of the study offer important lessons for organisations operating in developing countries

The moderating role of power exercise in B2B E-commerce adoption decision

B2B E-commerce (B2B EC) is a technology that supports relationship between business partners.In adopting such technology, power exercise plays a crucial role. Misunderstood power exercised within B2B EC may generate unrealistic or inaccurate outcomes. Unfortunately, the role of power exercise is nearly ignored in B2B EC adoption literature.In response, using the Resources-Dependency-Theory (RDT) and Diffusion-Innovation-Theory (DIT), this paper argues on the interaction between the influence of innovation characteristics and power exercise, so as to explain B2B EC adoption.This proposition could improve understanding B2B EC adoption and help to resolve inconsistency of findings in the literature

E-commerce and small and medium enterprises (SME) in least developed countries : the case of Tanzania

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of the study was to investigate the E-Commerce phenomena in Tanzania with the goal of understanding how E-Commerce is typically made sense of by Tanzanian SMEs and how the sense making is produced, sustained and affected by environmental and organisational conditions. Structuration theory was used as a theoretical lens from which the social construction of the E-Commerce phenomena could be understood. The study primarily adopted a subjective interpretive stance. A preliminary quantitative study using questionnaires and interviews was done to gain an initial understanding of the E-Commerce status quo in Tanzania. The main study was qualitative in nature and used interviews with 33 Tanzanian SMEs as the data collection method

The Role of Institutional Pressures in the Adoption of e-Procurement in Public Institutions in Developing Countries: The Case of Lesotho

Benefits of E-Procurement are now well documented as experienced by both public and private organizations. Yet, in developing countries, and more so in Africa, few organizations have reported benefits of E-Procurement. Whilst institutional pressures are instrumental in shaping organization’s actions and outcomes with regard to technology adoption, few studies have examined their role in E-Procurement adoption in African public sector organizations. This study situated in Lesotho, seeks to examine the rational for E-procurement adoption in the public sector and identifies institutional pressures that affect successful adoption. Following an interpritivist approach, this study identifies (1) perceived benefits of efficiency and transparency from the use of E-Procurement in the public sector; and (2) coercive and normative pressure as being instrumental in the adoption of E-Procurement. Contextual barriers are reported which are as a result of institutional pressures. Recommendations are provided to organizations in developing countries on how they should respond to institutional pressure

New directions for research on SME-eBusiness :insights from an analysis of journal articles from 2003-2006

Previous research which consolidates the growing body of academic literature on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and electronic business (eBusiness) has taken the form of meta-analyses which focus on analysing adoption factors, pre-2000 articles and a small number of journals. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the analysis of SME-eBusiness research by addressing the limitations of past literature analyses because it presents an extensive literature review of 120 SME-eBusiness journal articles published between 2003 and 2006 in 53 journals. This paper is unique, when compared to meta-analyses of adoption factors, because it analyses the SME-eBusiness literature broadly on the basis of the data collection approaches used, countries and eBusiness technologies studied, and the primary research objective of each article. This approach to the analysis revealed a number of limitations in the existing research such as the tendency: to treat SMEs and eBusiness applications homogeneously rather than as highly diverse, complex entities; to repeat adoption factor studies which have now reached saturation point; and to focus on SMEs themselves without considering the complexity of relationships which many SMEs have with family, friends, other businesses and eBusiness solution providers. These limitations highlight the need for new research directions which move beyond identifying and evaluating adoption factors. The paper concludes by outlining a number of broad research directions which might help overcome the limitations with the existing body of SME-eBusiness research. <br /