Building Virtual SMEs: Ghanaian Firm Level Perspective
- 발행기관 아주대학교
- 지도교수 Kang Ju Young
- 발행년도 2014
- 제출일 2014-06-16
- 학위수여년월 2014. 8
- 학위명 석사
- 학과 Graduate School of International Studies 국제경영학과
- 실제URI http://www.dcollection.net/handler/ajou/000000016936
- 본문언어 영어
- 저작권 아주대학교 논문은 저작권에 의해 보호받습니다.
초록/요약
E-commerce today is increasingly widening the concept of business from a simple transactional approach to a more complex and wider concept of inter-firm co-operation. Amidst globalization of markets, growing interpenetration and increased interdependence of economies, e-commerce adoption by organisations still remains a complex, elusive, yet extremely vital phenomenon and very little is known about its determinants. This study therefore aims at identifying the major determining factors that drive e-commerce adoption by Ghanaian SMEs and essentially develop practical implication for required action. The research integrated technological, organizational and environmental determinisms with social constructivism to build a practical framework for understanding adoption behaviour of SMEs in Ghana. Questionnaires were distributed to SME operators in Ghana with the aid of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The data was analyzed based on a sample of one hundred and fifty-four out of two hundred questionnaires distributed. The study adopted the purposive sampling technique to gather the needed data for the analysis, but the probability of each of the respondents was not premeditated. In exception of the demographic and firm physiognomies, all the variables in the study were measured with numerical interval scales. With the aid of a seven point Likert scale, each construct was measured with multi-item scales. The variables included relative advantage, perceived credibility, management support, CEO self-efficacy, government support, enabling conditions, mimetic pressure, perceived behavior control, subjective norm, attitude and intention towards usage. Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) with the aid of smartpls was employed for the analysis, and twelve out of seventeen hypotheses were confirmed. Government support was seen to have the greatest direct impact on intentions to use e-commerce. Managerial support and presence of enabling and regulatory conditions were also seen to play a vital role in SME e-commerce adoption. Furthermore, the results also showed that Ghanaian SMEs have the tendency to imitate successful first-movers to avoid the risks attendant with the technology.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
TABLE OF CONTENT iii
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii
LIST OF ACRONYMS viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Research Background 1
1.2 Research Objectives 5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 E-Commerce: Definition and Main Concepts 6
2.1.1 Types of E-Commerce 6
2.1.2 Driving Forces of E-commerce 9
2.1.3 Brief Overview of Global E-commerce 9
2.1.4 E-commerce and Economic Development 11
2.2 SMEs and Economic Growth 11
2.3 SMEs in Ghana: Definition and Significance 12
2.4 Overview of Internet Connectivity in Ghana 13
2.4.1 Population and Internet Usage in Ghana 14
2.4.2 Mobile market 15
2.5 E-commerce in Ghana 17
2.6 Theoretical Background of the Study 18
2.6.1 Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) 19
2.6.2 The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) 20
2.6.3 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) 22
2.6.4 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) 23
2.6.5 The Technology Organization Environment Framework (TOE) 24
2.6.6 The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) 26
2.6.7 Summary of Previous Theories and Models 28
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 30
3.1 Research Model 30
3.2 Hypothesis Development 32
3.2.1 The TPB Dimension 32
3.2.2 Technical Context 34
3.2.3 Organizational Context 36
3.2.4 Environmental Context 38
3.3 Operationalization of Constructs 42
3.4 Sampling Procedures and Data Collection 44
3.5 Data Analysis and Estimation Methods 45
3.5.1 Structural Equation Modeling 45
3.6 Validity and Reliability 46
3.6.1 Validity 46
3.6.2 Reliability 47
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 48
4.1 Demographics of Respondents 48
4.2 Internet Access and E-commerce use. 50
4.3 Measurement Model 51
4.4 PLS Model Analysis 52
4.4.1 Measurement (Outer) Model Assessment 52
4.4.2 Reliability 52
4.4.3 Convergent Validity 54
4.4.4 Discriminant Validity 54
4.5 Structural/Inner Model Assessment 55
4.6 Hypothesis Testing 59
4.7 Analysis of Hypothesis Testing 61
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 67
5.1 Research Implications 74
5.1.1 Theoretical Implications 74
5.1.2 Practical Implications 75
6.1 Limitation and Suggestions for future Research 77
REFERENCES 79
APPENDIX 1: Survey Questionnaire 99
APPENDIX 2: Indicator Cross-Loadings 104
APPENDIX 3: Outer Model Loadings 105
APPENDIX 4: PLS Bootstrapping and Algorithm Results 106
