483 research outputs found

    The Influence of Values on the Intention and Usage of Mobile Phone Technology:a Case of Tanzanian SMEs

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    Mobile phone technology has been relied upon in performing a number of activities in the SMEs. In less developed regions, computing infrastructures are very poor thereby depending highly on mobile phones. The improvement of technology in the mobile phones has seen more applications and services being accessed through them. This gives SMEs, especially in developing countries, a preferable alternative to desktop computing technology. However, to maximise the usability of mobile phone technology in SMEs context, key factors which influence users’ perception on its acceptance need to be explained clearly. This study explains the factors influencing employees’ intentions and use of mobile phone technology in SMEs, by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with values. The analysis results show that the values of mobile phone technology in SMEs have an impact to the behaviour intention to use. This suggests that stakeholders specifically vendors, policy makers, managers and mobile network operators should take their part in handling the challenges and enforcing the benefits of mobile phones since they constitute to the overall intention and usage. This study uses SEM with 459 employees including managers and ordinary employees in different sectors which perform tourism activities in Tanzania. Data analysis was performed by using SEM through AMOS. Implications of the research and future studies are also highlighted in this pape

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

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    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 the transaction assurance, perceived cost and the perceived innovation in the decision to continue using mobile money services among small business owners

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    The motive of this study is to assess the role of the perceived transaction assurance, perceived transaction cost, and anticipated future innovations to predict the intention to continue using mobile money services. Currently, many models on the intention to continue using the technology are based on frameworks for general technology adoption. This study acknowledges the value of these frameworks, but extended the analysis to include the perceived transaction assurance and the perceived innovation upon testing. Other variables included in the study are as follows: the influence of the customer support, the ease of correcting mistakes, and the comfortability with transaction steps. Moreover, this study draws its relevance from the literature, where models on the intention to use the technology provided the basis for conceptualization. Furthermore, the study adopted the survey strategy, where a closed-end questionnaire was used to extract data from 110 small business owners. Additionally, the study adopted the ordinal regression model in making decisions about relationships proposed through different hypotheses. Generally, the perceived transaction assurance and the perceived innovative future significantly predict the intention to continue using mobile money services among small business owners

    Determining ICT Use Level from Use Pattern: ICT Use Level of Malaysian Agribusinesses

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    The research was financed by Universiti Putra Malaysia (Putra Grant) No. GP-IPS/2014/9433928 (Sponsoring information) Abstract There has been a continuous commitment of policymakers in Malaysia to support information and communication technology (ICT) adoption in small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). For these novel and innovative policy initiatives to be successful, an understanding of the SMEs’ ICT use pattern and use behaviour is required. In this study, the focus is upon the pattern of the use of ICT in agribusiness enterprises and the use level, which could explain the role that ICTs play in the performance (processing and production) of agro-based products by Malaysian agro-SMEs and give insight into the factors that influence their ICT use. The study adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and focused on model’s independent variable, i.e., ICT use. Using data obtained from randomly sampled 400 workers (both managers and employees) of 43 agribusiness enterprises that were also randomly selected, the study ran factor and descriptive analyses to determine the most important items in the questionnaire that determine the ICT use level in the scale. The findings have shown that the prevalent patterns of ICT use among the agro-SMEs are in entrepreneurial (organisational) business communication and product processing and production line, though the use of ICT in the latter purview was rather still low. Some recommendations for policy-makers and a suggestion for future research were provided. Keywords: Agribusiness Enterprises, ICT use behaviour, ICT use level, ICT use pattern, SME

    Determinants of Mobile Marketing Adoption among SMTEs in Tanzania.

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    This study aimed to assess the determinants of Mobile Marketing Adoption (MMA) among Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) in Tanzania. The study used three constructs: attitude, subjective norm and perceived behaviour control from the original Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The study adopted a quantitative explanatory research design and utilized a survey strategy. A stratified sampling technique was used to sample three tourist regions: Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Unguja. From these three strata, random sampling was used to select 344 decision-makers in the Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs from the respective stratum. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed in data analysis using IBM AMOS version 20. The findings revealed that attitude and perceived behaviour control positively and significantly influence MMA among SMTEs in Tanzania, while subjective norm showed an insignificant effect. Based on the findings, the study recommends that SMTEs have to adopt mobile marketing. The enterprises should also develop a mobile marketing platform that will be compatible with their daily business operations. Likewise, the government should develop a regulatory framework that could speed up the adoption of mobile marketing by increasing trust, technological knowledge, and security in this technology. Thus, this study concludes that attitude (compatibility, trust, ease of use, clarity and understandability) and perceived behaviour control (regulatory framework, financial structure) in which tourism enterprises operate have a positive and significant influence on the MMA. Keywords: Mobile Marketing, Adoption, SMTEs, Tourism, Tanzania, TP

    Application of the Technology Acceptance Model and the Technology–Organisation–Environment Model to examine social media marketing use in the South African tourism industry

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    Abstract: Background: In tourism globally there is a growing interest in social media marketing research. However, most previous research on social media marketing has focused on large tourism enterprises such as chain hotels, leaving out small tourism businesses such as travel agencies and tour operators. Objective: The aim of this research was to establish factors that influence attitude towards the use of social media marketing by travel agencies and tour operators in South Africa. Method: The study adopted a quantitative approach through the use of questionnaires. Data used in the analysis was collected from a total of 150 travel agencies and tour operators by means of a structured questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis and one‐way ANOVA were used for data analysis..

    Factors influencing electronic commerce adoption in developing countries: The case of Tanzania

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    Electronic commerce is rapidly replacing the old ways of doing business. Although many studies have been conducted on the adoption of various forms of e-commerce, there are few on this topic in African countries; in particular, there is no research on Tanzania. Therefore, this paper analyzes the factors determining e-commerce and their impact on its adoption in Tanzania. This paper extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) to an empirical study analyzing the factors influencing e-commerce adoption in Tanzania. A survey involving 111 respondents including Tanzanian government officers was conducted, and structural equation modeling was used to assess the model for the influence of three new factors: national policy initiatives, technology infrastructure, and trust in e-commerce adoption. The results show that technology infrastructure is an important factor in e-commerce adoption, and national policy initiatives are important in building online trust and improving technology infrastructure in Tanzania. Therefore, government policy makers need to encourage the presence of good technology infrastructure and build trust in e-commerce through national policy initiatives such as e-commerce promotion. Limitations of this paper are that the respondents are limited to people who have access to the Internet and some might not have enough knowledge about e-commerce. Further, the survey is conducted only in Tanzania; therefore, the results may differ in other African countries
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