Awiagah Et Al 2015 Factors Affecting e Commerce Adoption Among Smes in Ghana

Article
Information Development
2016, Vol. 32(4) 815–836
Factors affecting e-commerce ª The Author(s) 2015
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adoption among SMEs in Ghana DOI: 10.1177/0266666915571427
idv.sagepub.com
Raphael Awiagah
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana
Juyoung Kang and Jay Ick Lim

Ajou School of Business, South Korea
Abstract
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is widening the concept of business from a simple transactional approach
to a broader and more complex concept of inter-firm co-operation. Amidst market globalization, growing
interpenetration of national economies and the increased interdependence of national economies,
e-commerce adoption remains a vital yet complex and elusive phenomenon, with very little known about its
determinants. This study identifies the major determining factors in Ghanaian small and medium sized enter-
prises’ (SMEs) e-commerce adoption, offers practical implications, and indicates the actions required. This
research integrates technological, organizational, and environmental determinisms with social constructivism
to build a practical framework for understanding e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana. Structural equa-
tion modeling was employed for data analysis. The results indicate that government support has the greatest
direct impact on intentions to use e-commerce. Managerial support and the influence of enabling and regula-
tory conditions also play a vital role in stimulating SME e-commerce adoption in Ghana. The results also show
that Ghanaian SMEs tend to imitate successful first-movers to avoid the risks that attend e-commerce
technology.
Keywords
e-commerce adoption, government support, enabling conditions, managerial support, Ghana
Submitted: 2 July, 2014; Accepted: 14 January, 2015.
Introduction to companies and from companies to suppliers, while

The use of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in making marketing more flexible and accessible,
business transactions, now a priority for many firms, lengthening business hours across the world (Hagel
is attracting increasing attention. As the world econ- and Lansing, 1994). E-commerce offers many bene-
omy integrates and reduces its trade barriers, some fits, particularly productivity gains, transaction cost
of the greatest opportunities for small businesses will reductions, efficient information sharing between
derive from their ability to participate in regional and organizations within and across industries, and auto-
international markets (Mutula and Brakel, 2006). matic product identification. E-commerce also plays
Adopting information and communications technol- a significant role in bridging the digital gap between
ogy (ICT) is considered a means of enabling small developed and developing economies through
businesses to compete globally through improved improved access to information, knowledge, and
efficiency and closer customer and supplier relation- expertise. E-commerce also allows global businesses
ships (Chong et al., 2001). Information and communi-
cations technology may also help small and medium
Corresponding author:
sized enterprises (SMEs) enhance their competitive-
Juyoung Kang, Department of e-Business, Ajou School of
ness (Swash, 1998). Business, Ajou University, 206, World cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu,
E-commerce is changing the shape of competition, Suwon 443-749, South Korea.
streamlining interactions and payments from consumers Email: [email protected]
816 Information Development 32(4)
to extend their supply chain and engage in interna- countries. Over 95% of e-commerce occurs in devel-
tional trade more efficiently and effectively regard- oped countries, with Africa and Latin America com-
less of location. Consequently, e-commerce can bined accounting for less than 1% of the total
enhance the competitiveness of developing countries (United Nations Conference on Trade and Deve-
and reduce poverty (Qureshi and Davis, 2007). Nev- lopment, 2003). This highly skewed distribution in
ertheless, relevant studies have been contradictory, e-commerce growth implies an unbalanced benefit
finding that e-commerce marginalizes developing spread.
nations and widens the digital divide (Odedra- Small and medium sized enterprises are integral to
Straub, 2003), assertions premised on the numerous economic growth and development. Ayyagari et al.
challenges confronting developing countries, such (2007) find that, in high-income countries, formal
as infrastructural setbacks and the narrow diffusion SMEs contribute to 50% of GDP on average; they also
of technological paraphernalia and knowledge. estimate that, on average, SMEs account for close to
Nevertheless, the competitive business environ- 60% of employment in the global manufacturing sec-
ment, and the need to survive in it, make SMEs’ tor. Estimations also suggest that SMEs represent, on
adoption of e-commerce inevitable: SMEs must average, over 90% of the enterprises and 50% to 60%
adopt innovative and informed e-marketing strate- of employment in most African countries (Ahiawodzi
gies to remain distinct, profitable, and successful in and Adade, 2012). In Ghana, SMEs dominate industry
domestic and international markets. According to and have the potential to accelerate economic devel-
Frempong (2007), the Internet has become so impor- opment, wealth creation, and poverty reduction. Abor
tant that its usage should form an integral part of and Quartey (2010) find that SMEs account for about
SME operations in developing countries. He further 92% of businesses in Ghana and about 85% of manu-
maintains that the Internet has become a pervasive facturing employment, while contributing about 70%
aspect of ICT, which is radically changing the tradi- of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thus,
tional forms of trade and providing windows of SMEs’ significance to the Ghanaian economy is clear.
opportunities that enterprises, especially those from Given the pivotal role ICT plays in SME development,
developing countries, can exploit (Frempong, it could be seen as an enabler of socio-economic devel-
2007). This is further affirmed by the Nielsen Com- opment and a critical support for effective political
pany (2008), which claims that more than 85% of the governance.
world’s online population has used the Internet to Ghanaians have striven to use ICT as a key devel-
make a purchase. opmental enabler for bridging the digital divide
The ubiquitous nature of this technology allows between them and their trading partners in developed
businesses to reach millions of people worldwide economies. These efforts include the Ghana ICT for
and offers numerous benefits and opportunities, Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) policy and the
particularly to SMEs. Wen et al. (2001) argue that liberalization of the ICT sector, designed to facilitate
e-commerce enables a company to achieve competi- ICT infrastructural developments and human resource
tive advantage and cost savings through reduced capacity building. The ICT4AD policy also intended
advertising costs, product differentiation, timely mar- to provide an enabling platform for safeguarding
ket responses, and improved customer relationships the development of the ICT industry and fostering
and services. Bakos (2001) agrees that e-commerce e-commerce and Internet usage in Ghana.
enhances business operations, particularly for SMEs, Despite these developments, Ghana still lags
and consequently reduces operational costs. Awa behind other countries such as South Africa in terms
et al. (2010) find, however, that despite the growing of e-commerce performance (Hinson and Sorensen,
consciousness of and enthusiasm for the use of elec- 2007). Furthermore, the Ghanaian SME sector
tronic platforms in business activities such as market- appears unaware of the benefits of e-commerce, illus-
ing and sales, only a few SMEs are exploiting its trating the claim in Fillis et al. (2004) that SMEs
extensive benefits. already employing e-marketing technologies show lit-
Moreover, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference tle evidence of engaging in their long-term strategic
on Trade and Development, 2004) shows that, despite development, especially among less developed coun-
the increase in e-commerce revenues, employment, tries. This lack of awareness of e-commerce’s critical
and number of participating SMEs, e-commerce potential is an important barrier to its adoption and
growth in SMEs is largely confined to industrialized remains a serious concern (Turban et al., 2008).
Awiagah et al: Factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Ghana 817
Given the significance of SMEs to the Ghanaian buying and selling activities such as advertising,
economy, the adoption of Internet and e-commerce negotiations, and contracts. We could integrate these
remains a key competitive tool for allowing SMEs diverse conceptions of e-commerce and suggest that
to survive and gain competitive advantages over it comprises digitally enabled commercial transac-
rivals (Department of Trade and Industry, 2001). Con- tions between and among organizations and individu-
sequently, understanding the drivers influencing als (Laudon and Traver, 2013).
e-commerce adoption will allow SMEs to find Technology has become one of the main drivers of
ways of attracting consumers to their products and economic development. In their study of the funda-
services, thus enhancing their global market presence mentals and applications of e-commerce, Chan et al.
(Ghobakhloo et al., 2011). The paucity of research on (2001) stated that ICT and e-commerce play an inte-
e-commerce adoption that explores its influencing gral role in economic and social transformation.
factors in developing countries, particularly sub- Many empirical studies have examined the impact
Saharan Africa, leaves a significant gap that requires of e-commerce on aggregate economic development.
attention. This study bridges this knowledge gap in the Cohen et al. (2000) found that e-commerce enabled
e-commerce literature and reveals the driving forces businesses in developing countries to overcome the
behind SMEs’ e-commerce adoption in Ghana. Focus- traditional boundaries associated with limited access
ing on owners/managers and firm-level characteristics, to information, high market-entry costs, and isolation
this study employs a structural equation modeling from potential markets. Moodley and Morris (2004)
(SEM) approach and makes recommendations of par- and Molla and Heeks (2007) also argued for the
ticular interest for governments and the business com- strategic informational and operational benefits of
munity. It also establishes a theoretical framework e-commerce adoption for firms in developing coun-
for generating new knowledge of and insight into tries. They also found that e-commerce is fostering
e-commerce and ICT adoption by SMEs while also ser- a wide array of innovative businesses, markets, and
ving as a reference point for future researchers. trading communities. Molla and Licker (2005) argued
The following sections present an overview of the that businesses should take advantage of e-com-
significance of e-commerce for economic growth, the merce’s opportunities and expand their market reach,
status of e-commerce in Ghana, and the study’s theore- gain from economies of scale, become more profit-
tical foundation and research hypotheses. The research able, and contribute to economic development.
methodology and findings are explained, and the study’s E-commerce has changed the face of retail, services,
results, contributions, and limitations are presented. and global business strategies. It will continue to influ-
Finally, avenues for future research are identified. ence how companies sell and market their products, as
well as how people make their purchases. Porter (2001)
Literature review argued that e-commerce allows economic actors to sig-
nificantly reduce their transaction costs, encouraging
E-commerce and economic development the use of markets to organize economic activities,
Turban et al. (2008) defined e-commerce as the pro- improve company performance, and promote con-
cess of selling, buying, transferring, or exchanging sumption. Effectively utilized, then, e-commerce can
products, services, and/or information through the provide opportunities in international trade and facili-
Internet. They distinguished between Internet and tate growth and economic development (Singh, 1999).
non-Internet e-commerce, whereby the latter involves Some studies show e-commerce contributions and
buying and paying for services or products using such implications for developing countries. Boateng et al.
methods as the smart card through vending machines (2008b) proposed a roadmap indicating the current state
or transactions via networks such as local area net- of research on e-commerce in developing countries by
works (LANs). Huy and Filiatrault (2006) claimed analyzing 181 published articles. The research showed
that e-commerce is any economic or business activity the gaps in the research and implications for future
that uses ICT applications to enable the buying research on e-commerce in developing countries.
and selling of products and services, facilitating busi- Boateng et al. (2008a) also attempted to show how
ness transactions between and among businesses, e-commerce can contribute to socio-economic devel-
individuals, governments, and other organizations. opment in developing countries by constructing
Scholars such as Simpson and Docherty (2004) an integrated conceptual model connecting
defined e-commerce as the use of the Internet for e-commerce with socio-economic development.
E-commerce in Ghana
The Ghanaian Government (2003) claims that Ghana
is one of the few African countries with a liberalized
telecom market and a vast array of Internet service
providers, ranging from total telecommunications
products and services to customized data management
services. Hinson et al. (2009) illustrated industrial
Internet usage by focusing on major industrial sectors
such as tourism, banking, and manufacturing. The
study also examined e-commerce readiness in Ghana
and provided suggestions for e-commerce adoption in Figure 1. Estimated Internet users per 100 inhabitants
the country. Internet user growth in Ghana was held (International Telecommunication Union (2013)).
back for many years by the poor condition of the
national fixed-line network and the high cost of con-
nectivity. As a result, Internet penetration languished
below 10% of the population (BuddeComm, 2013).
However, the sector developed rapidly following the
introduction of wireless and third-generation (3G)
mobile and wireless broadband technologies such as
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Inter-
operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and
iBurst. Augmented international connectivity com-
bined with the rollout of national fiber backbone net- Figure 2. Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
works by a number of players is continuing to (International Telecommunication Union (2013)).
revolutionize the country’s broadband market and
pave the way for the convergence of technologies and
wdi.worldbank.org/table/5.11). Figure 2 compares
services. BuddeComm (2013) indicated that these
Ghana’s and Nigeria’s mobile cellular subscription
improvements have generated subscriber growth at the
rates up to 2012. Figure 2 shows that Ghana’s MCS
expense of the Average Revenue per User (ARPU),
growth per 100 persons has been tremendous, far
which has fallen below US$5 per month for some
surpassing Nigeria’s. Ghanaian MCS also surpasses
operators. Further, BuddeComm (2013) reported
the world average of 93 per 100 as indicated in
100% voice market penetration in mid-2013. These
World Bank data (http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/
developments provide mammoth potential in both sub-
5.11). Ghana is thus a congenial environment for
scriber and ARPU terms for 3G mobile broadband ser-
e-commerce development and adoption.
vices, which already account for a greater proportion of
Research conducted on the growth and usage of
Internet connectivity in the country.
Internet in Ghana shows that 40.6% of Ghanaians
In 2011, Ghana had an estimated 2,085,501 Inter-
depend on the Internet for information on products
net users, a major increase over the estimated 3000
and services (Quarshie and Ami-Narh, 2012); many
Internet users in 2000 (International Telecommunica-
Ghanaian businesses and individuals employ the
tion Union, 2012). This estimate corroborates Abbey
Internet and e-commerce to enhance their businesses
(2011), who indicated that over 2 million Ghanaians
and remain competitive. Table 1 shows an overview
have access to the Internet. Estimates suggest that
of B2C e-commerce business models in Ghana.
Ghana’s Internet users per 100 inhabitants1 are stea-
dily increasing. Figure 1 compares Internet usage per
100 persons in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa up to
2012. Theoretical background
Mobidensity and mobile cellular subscription2 Adoption and diffusion innovations have received
(MCS) rates are also improving. Mobile cellular sub- considerable interest from industry groups, policy-
scriptions in Ghana were last reported at 108 per 100 makers, and scholars. Extensive analysis of these the-
people in 2013 according to World Bank data (http:// ories reveals two broad categories: IT adoption at the
Table 1. B2C business models in Ghana.
Business
Model Example Description
Portal None A local portal is unavailable. Users depend largely on

international portals such as Google, Yahoo, and
Ask.com.
E-tailer Ghanashoppingmall.com, Accepts both online and offline payments.
Ghanabuys.com Provides free and paid delivery.
Community Ghanavillage.com, Ghanacommunity.com Provides discussion boards to facilitate sharing of
Provider information, interests, and hobbies.
Online networks with chat functions.
Transaction Ibrokerghana.com, Businessghana.com, Ibroker offers a trading platform to help investors trade
Broker carriersinghana.com and monitor their securities on the Ghana Stock
Exchange.
Market Joymarket, tonaton, Businessghana.com, Creates interactive marketplace experience, where
Creator Myebayghana.com practically anyone can buy & sell or offer practically
anything online.
Service Zipnet, Africa Online, Africanus.net, Iburst They provide services such as Internet access, Internet
Provider Africa, Internet Ghana, Broadband4U, transit, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up
NetSat Ltd access, leased line access and colocation.
Content Myjoyonline.com, Businessghana.com, They provide online information such as news,
Provider Myedaily.com entertainment, sports, and tourism guides.
Mobile Zap Services by Zain Zap allows money transfers, utility payment bills, payment
Commerce Airtel Money for goods and services, and banking services regardless
E-zwich of the type of handset.
Airtel Money also allows banking transactions and
payment for goods and services.
E-zwich is the brand name of the National Switch and
Smart card payment system. The e-zwich payment
system facilitates accessibility to banking and retail
services in Ghana.
individual level and IT adoption at the organizational the adoption models. Table 2 outlines some of the
level (Oliveira and Martins, 2011). theoretical models used to examine the organiza-
Individual-level adoption models include the tional- /individual-level factors influencing innova-
Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, tion adoption and diffusion.
1991), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
(Davis, 1989), and the Unified Theory of Accep-
tance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh Firm-level adoption studies
et al., 2003). At the organizational level, Oliveira Adoption theories have been applied to various
and Martins (2011) claimed that the most widely adoption studies topics, such as Internet banking,
used theories include the Diffusion of Innovations online shopping, mobile commerce, and technology
(DoI) theory of Rogers (2003) and the Technology switching intentions. Similarly, studies on SMEs,
Organization Environmental (TOE) framework developing countries, and firm-level technology
(Kraemer et al., 2006; Tornatzky et al., 1990). The adoption have used either one or a combination of
institutional theory has also been employed exten- these theories. Table 3 provides a summary of some
sively in firm-level studies. Downs and Mohr of the studies designed to determine e-commerce
(1976) explained that no single unitary theory adoption drivers in SMEs, at the firm level, and in
can explain all aspects of innovation acceptance. developing countries. These studies provide an over-
Consequently, most research on the adoption of view of the critical determining factors of firm-level
e-commerce is based on any or a combination of and SME adoption behaviour, particularly in
Table 2. Theoretical models for organizational-/individual-level adoption.
Level of
Theory Analysis Constructs Literature
Technology acceptance model Individual Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Grandon and
(TAM) Attitude, Intentions Pearson (2004)
Theory of planned behaviour Individual Attitude, Subjective norm, Perceived behaviour Workman (2005)
(TPB) control, Intentions
Diffusion of innovations (DOI) Organization Relative advantage, Compatibility, Complexity Bradford and Florin
(2003)
Resource-based theory (RBT) Organization Physical assets, Human capital, Organizational Zhu and Kraemer
capital (2005)
Technology–Organization– Organization Technological, Organizational, Environmental Wu et al. (2003)
Environment (TOE)
Institutional theory Organization Cognitive structures, Normative structures, Chatterjee et al.
Regulative structures (2002)
Structuration theory Organization Motivation, External structures, Internal Walsham (2002)
structures
Table 3. Technology/e-commerce adoption factors.
Level of
Subject Constructs Analysis Literature
E-commerce Organizational readiness, Perceived usefulness, Compatibility, SME Pearson and

adoption/Non- External pressure, Ease of use, Managerial aid, Organizational Grandon (2005)
Adoption support
E-Commerce Entrepreneurial orientation, Organizational readiness, External Thailand/ Sutanonpaiboon
adoption factors, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Perceived SMEs and Pearson
strategic value (2006)
E-Commerce Organizational support, Managerial productivity, Perceived USA/SME Grandon and
adoption strategic value, Organizational readiness, External pressure, Pearson (2004)
Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Strategic decision
aids
E-Commerce Intention, Attitude, Subjective norm, Perceived behavioural Chile/ Nasco et al. (2008)
adoption control SME
E-Commerce Size, Information intensity of product, Competition, Buyer/ New Al-Qirim (2007)
adoption supplier pressure, Technology vendors Support, Relative Zealand/
advantage, Cost, Compatibility, CEO involvement, CEO SME
innovativeness
E-commerce Relative advantage, Compatibility, Complexity, Security and Thailand/ Limthongchai and
adoption confidentiality, Triability, Observability SME Speece (2003)
E-Commerce Organizational readiness, Managerial productivity, External Chile/SME Grandon and
adoption pressure, Decision aids, Compatibility, Perceived usefulness, Pearson (2004)
Organizational support, Ease of use
Adoption of cloud Cost reduction, Ease of use and convenience, Security and SMEs Gupta et al. (2013)
computing privacy, Sharing and collaboration
developing countries. For a study of firm-level e-commerce adoption in terms of government, tech-
adoption in Ghana, Boateng et al. (2011) analyzed nology, market, and culture, and showed that social
the country’s readiness for firm-level e-commence networks and government commitment have signifi-
adoption. The study highlighted factors affecting cant impacts.
Technological
Relative
Advantage
H4a(+)
Perceived
Credibility H4b(+)
Perceived
H5(+) Behavioral
Control
Organizational
H6a(+) H1a(+)
CEO H1b(+)
Self-Efficacy H6b(+)
Attitude H2(+) Intention
H7a(+) Towards
Management to Adopt
Adoption
Support H7b(+)
H8b(+)
Environmental H8a(+)
H3a(+)
Government H10a(+)
Support H3b(+)
H9(+)
Enabling Subjective
Conditions Norm
H10b(+)
Mimetic
Pressure
Figure 3. Proposed research model.
Research model and hypothesis theorists as the closest cognitive antecedent of

development behaviour and as substantial empirical evidence sup-
ports the theoretical intention–behaviour relation-
Research model
ship (Fishbein and Ajzen, 2005).This provides a
Recognizing the importance of owners’ perceived comprehensive framework of technological, organiza-
characteristics to business performance, this study tional, environmental, and individual constructivism
adopts the TPB as the basis of its proposed research for explaining adoption among SMEs in Ghana. The
model. Harrison et al. (1997) has also adopted the proposed research model is shown in Figure 3.
TPB to examine the influence of owner and manage-
ment decisions on small businesses’ adoption beha-
viour and affirmed its theoretical strength in Hypothesis development
evaluating adoptions in small businesses. This study The TPB dimension: perceived behavioural control.
integrates the TPB with the TOE; however, given the According to Montalvo (2006), perceived behavioural
complex environment within which firms operate, the control represents an index of the existence of or defi-
decision to adopt e-commerce may be partially influ- ciency in the resources and opportunities indispensa-
enced by factors external to the organization. This ble for carrying out innovative activities. Yi et al.
study’s integrated model thus has stronger predictive (2006) indicated that perceived behavioural control
power. Our integration is guided by the claim in Ram- accounts for users’ agility, as shaped by the resources
dani (2008) that the TPB requires unique operationa- needed to exploit the potential of planned applica-
lization, such as integration with other theories, to tions. According to Ajzen (1991), this control corre-
enhance its predictive power. sponds to the perceived ease or difficulty of
The proposed improvements to the model are based achieving a given behaviour as conditioned by previ-
on the literature (Sait et al., 2004) on the adoption and ous experiences or accumulated knowledge. Harrison
use of innovation by SMEs in developing countries. et al. (1997) demonstrated that perceived behavioural
The study adopts behavioural intention as a proxy for control had a significantly positive impact on the
adoption, as intention has been posited by many organizational adoption of innovation. Venkatesh and
Davis (2000) also found perceived behavioural con- an insignificant linkage between attitude and inten-
trol (both internal and external) to be a very strong tion in Singapore. This study therefore posits the fol-
determinant of intention to use an innovation. Based lowing hypothesis:
on the above analysis, this study posits the following:
H3a: Subjective norm will positively affect the
H1a: Perceived behavioural control has a positive behavioural intention to adopt e-commerce.
and direct effect on behavioural intention. H3b: Subjective norm will significantly influence
H1b: Perceived behavioural control has a positive attitudes towards usage.
and direct effect on attitude towards use.
Technological context. Few studies have examined the

The TPB dimension: attitude towards use. Attitudes are influence of technological physiognomies on small
informed by the beliefs required for a behaviour. Atti- businesses (Premkumar, 2003). This study adopts
tudes can also be understood as individuals’ positive relative advantage and perceived credibility to mea-
or negative feelings associated with performing a spe- sure the impact of technological characteristics on
cific behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Consequently, individu- SMEs’ willingness to adopt e-commerce.
als will hold a favorable attitude toward a given
behaviour if they believe that its performance will
Technological context: relative advantage. According to
lead to mostly positive outcomes (Ajzen and Fishbein,
Rogers (2003), relative advantage is the extent to
1980). Several studies, such as Celik (2008), George
which an innovation is perceived as being better than
(2002) and Chai and Pavlou (2004), found a signifi-
the idea it supersedes; it is thus similar to perceived
cant direct relationship between attitude and usage.
usefulness (Wu and Wang, 2005). Kendall et al.
Celik (2008) found that attitude is significantly
(2001) observed that relative advantage is the benefit
related to Internet banking intention. Pavlou and Chai
to SMEs in terms of wider market coverage, lower
(2002) also established attitude as a significant pre-
business costs, and the importance of doing future
dictor of electronic commerce intention in Greece and
business on the Internet. This study defines relative
the USA. This study therefore theorizes the following:
advantage as the degree to which e-commerce can
H2: Attitude towards usage is expected to posi- enhance competitiveness, reduce transaction costs,
tively influence behavioural intention. and increase revenue and sales.
Many studies attempt to explain the substantial
influence of relative advantage on innovation adop-
The TPB dimension: subjective norm. Subjective norm is tion. Jeon et al. (2006) identified relative advantage
the perceived social pressure to engage in (or desist as an important factor influencing e-business adoption
from) behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Small and medium among SMEs. Low et al. (2011) noted that the relative
sized enterprises are particularly strongly influenced advantage firms expect to derive from adopting a new
by external situations that might exert normative pres- technology substantially influences their attitude
sure on adoption behaviour. Hence, Montalvo (2006) towards adoption. Meanwhile, Moon and Kim
opined that subjective norm indicates the social pres- (2001) empirically confirmed the significance of rela-
sure or norm triggered by a company’s environment. tive advantage to attitude. This study thus hypothe-
Consequently, organizational adoption intention sizes the following:
increases as the environmental pressures associated
with adoption increase. H4a: Relative advantage will have a significant
A study by Yang and Maxwell (2011) on the fac- influence on attitude towards use.
tors influencing intention to use an expert system H4b: Relative advantage will significantly influ-
showed that subjective norm was a significant deter- ence subjective norm.
minant of intention. Pavlou and Chai (2002) found
subjective norm to be significantly related to intention
in both the USA and Greece. Nor and Pearson (2008) Technological context: perceived credibility. Wang et al.
also found subjective norm to have a positive and sig- (2003) posited that perceived credibility consists of
nificant impact on intention to use e-commerce in two important elements: privacy and security. Secu-
Malaysia. Contrariwise, Tan and Teo (2000) found rity refers to the protection of information or systems
from unsanctioned intrusions or outflows (Nysveen H6a: CEOs’ feeling of self-efficacy will have
et al., 2005). Fear of a lack of security has been iden- a positive influence on perceived behavioural con-
tified in most studies as a factor in the growth and trol to adopt e-commerce.
development of e-commerce (Wang et al., 2003). H6b: CEOs’ self-efficacy will have a positive
Killikanya and Chantranontwong (2000) found that influence on subjective norm.
the fear of losing trade secrets made SMEs reluctant
to consider entering the e-commerce business arena.
Tan and Eze (2008) found that SMEs’ major con- Organizational context: management support. Manage-
cerns were data confidentiality related to immature ment support is the extent to which management
electronic payment methods, Internet security, and the encourages the use of IT by their subordinates and
limitation of legal frameworks. Wang et al. (2003) encourages development and initiative. Grover and
found that perceived credibility had a significantly Goslar (1993) cited top management support as a crit-
positive effect on behavioural intention: the lower the ical variable in creating a supportive climate for the
perceived security of e-commerce, the less likely that adoption of new technologies. Igbaria et al. (1996)
it would be adopted. Accordingly, the following evaluated degrees of overall support, including top
hypothesis is proposed: management encouragement and the allocation of
adequate resources for creating a favorable computing
H5: Perceived credibility will have a positive environment. They found that organizational support
effect on attitude towards usage. can take myriad forms, including providing appropri-
ate technology learning opportunities, encouraging
Organizational context. Organizational traits seem to be experimentation with microcomputers, and offering
the primary focus of many firm-level studies, particu- a wide selection of user-friendly software for special
larly those on small business (Premkumar, 2003). use in different jobs.
Management support and CEO self-efficacy are Empirically, Jeyaraj et al. (2006) found top man-
employed in this study. agement support to be one of the best predictors of the
organizational adoption of IS innovations. Henry and
Stone (1995) also showed that management support
Organizational context: CEO self-efficacy. According to can indirectly influence users’ outcome expectancy.
Pedersen (2003), self-efficacy in the context of tech- Accordingly, this study posits the following:
nology adoption can be viewed as confidence in one’s
ability to use an innovation to achieve a desired beha- H7a: Managerial support will have a positive
viour. It therefore plays an important role in high- influence on perceived behavioural control.
technology adoption because consumers with greater H7b: Managerial support will significantly influ-
self-efficacy concerning a product are expected to ence attitudes towards e-commerce adoption.
develop positive attitudes about it.
In their SME IT adoption studies, Thong et al.
(1994) and Thong (1999) established that small busi- Environmental context. The environment can encour-
nesses with CEOs who are well-informed about IT are age or impede an organization’s adoption of innova-
more likely to adopt IT. They further claimed that tions. Many studies have proven the importance of
greater CEO knowledge reduces uncertainty concern- environmental pressure on innovation adoption. This
ing IT, which reduces the risks surrounding IT adop- study examines the impact of government support,
tion. Wymer and Regan (2005) asserted that CEO enabling conditions, and mimetic pressure on SME
innovativeness directly impacts perceived behaviour e-commerce adoption in Ghana.
control. Similarly, Al-Qirim (2005) found that SMEs’
level of e-commerce capabilities substantially Environmental context: government support. Ample
depends on CEOs’ efficacy and their influence on scholarly evidence shows the significance of govern-
the business. We expect that SME owners who ment in e-commerce development. Scholars such as
believe that they have the ability to use IT innovation Martinsons (2008), Chan and Al-Hawamdeh (2002),
will have a higher intention of adopting and using IT and Dunt and Harpe (2002) found that the level of
innovation. Therefore, this study hypothesizes the e-commerce and e-business adoption and use in
following: developed economies has been greatly enhanced by
governments’ participatory role in providing the that have initiated an innovation successfully.
empowering infrastructure for e-commerce to thrive. Mimetic pressures emanate from uncertainty and lead
In Singapore, for instance, the government enhanced organizations to model themselves on others in their
e-commerce infrastructure by ratifying favorable organizational fields. This mimicking behaviour
e-commerce development legislation (Al-Hawamdeh, enables organizations to lower the costs of searching
2002). Bjørn et al. (2003) found that governmental for alternatives and the risks taken by first movers
intervention occurs both as influence and as regula- (DiMaggio and Powel, 1983).
tion, and that such interventions should emphasize Many studies include mimetic pressures while
knowledge, subsidies, and mobilization, which, he examining organizational ICT adoption behaviour
explained, trigger a sense of internal organizational (e.g., Premkumar and Ramamurthy (1995); Toe
readiness or behaviour control towards adoption. et al. (2003)). Toe et al. (2003) found a significant
Seyal et al. (2004) also indicated that government impact of mimetic pressures on organizations’ adop-
support is significantly related to the adoption of tion of financial EDI technology. We therefore postu-
e-commerce. We therefore postulate the following: late the following:
H8a: Government support has a positive effect on H10a: Mimetic pressures will significantly and
perceived behaviour control. positively impact behavioural intention to use e-
H8b: Government support has a positive and commerce.
direct significant effect on behavioural intention to H10b: Mimetic pressures will exert a positive
use e-commerce. influence on subjective norm towards adoption.
Environmental context: enabling conditions. Venkatesh Measurements

et al. (2003) defined enabling conditions as the degree
Table 4 provides the operational definitions of the
to which an individual believes that an organizational
constructs employed in this study and the key related
and technical infrastructure exists to support technol-
literature. For all measures, multiple items based on a
ogy use. According to Chaston and Mangles (2000),
seven-point Likert scale were used.
SMEs usually rely on their trusted networks as
sources of the resources required to adopt and use
ICT. Results
Foon and Fah (2011) examined the adoption of Data collection and results
Internet banking in Malaysia and found that facilitat- The purposive sampling technique was used to gather
ing conditions strongly influenced behavioural inten- the needed data for the analysis. It was the best means
tion to use. Huang and Qin (2011) examined the of getting respondents who had adopted and used or
influence of facilitating conditions on behavioural intended to adopt e-commerce and were therefore
intention to use a virtual fitting room in China; con- knowledgeable and well-informed about the subject.
trary to the findings of Foon and Fah (2011), they The selection of this procedure was guided by the pro-
found no significant influence. However, a study by position by Neuman (1997). Purposive sampling is a
Alrawashdeh et al. (2012) conducted on the adoption non-probability sampling technique where the
of e-learning in Jordan found that facilitating condi- researcher selects units based on their knowledge and
tions significantly influenced behavioural control. professional judgment.
On the basis of the above, the following hypothesis A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data
is proposed: because it is the most widely used methodology in the
H9: Enabling conditions will have a positive and MIS literature (Palvia et al., 2004) and in studies on
significant influence on perceived behavioural organizational e-commerce adoption (Azam and
control Quadddus, 2009). The questionnaire was piloted with
a sample of twenty SMEs to assess the questions’ ease
of comprehension. One author who is a government
Environmental context: mimetic pressures. DiMaggio officer obtained a list of SMEs registered in the gov-
and Powel (1983) defined mimetic pressures as the ernment database. From the list, the SMEs that had
influences of structurally equivalent organizations adopted and used or intended to adopt e-commerce
Table 4. Definitions of constructs.
Construct Definition Literature
Perceived Behavioural Existence of essential resources and opportunities to adopt Montalvo (2006)
Control e-commerce
Attitude Towards Positive or negative feelings associated with using e-commerce Ajzen (1991)
Usage
Subjective Norm The perception of importance associated with adoption of e-commerce Taylor and Todd
(1995)
Relative Advantage The degree to which e-commerce is perceived to benefit the firm Grandon and Pearson
(2004)
Perceived Credibility Security and privacy concerns associated with e-commerce adoption. Luarn and Lin (2005)
CEO Self-efficacy The ability of the CEO to use e-commerce Pedersen (2003)
Management Support The extent of management support for e-commerce adoption Low et al. (2011)
(supportive climate resources)
Government Support The key government initiatives (infrastructure & policy) for e-commerce Gibbs et al. (2003)
diffusion
Enabling Conditions Institutional and technical infrastructure supporting e-commerce Venkatesh et al.
adoption. (2003)
Mimetic Pressure Influences from successful structurally equivalent organizations DiMaggio and Powel
(1983)
Behavioural Intension The extent of formulated conscious plans to use e-commerce. Bock et al. (2005)
to Use
became the target of our survey using the purposive better estimate of the variance shared by the respec-
sampling technique as mentioned above. Four out of tive indicators and a more conservative measurement
the ten regions of Ghana were selected for the survey: in PLS–SEM than does Cronbach’s alpha (Hair et al.,
Greater Accra and the Western, Northern and, Upper 2012). The factor loadings, composite reliability, and
West Regions. The number of qualified SMEs in the average variance extracted (AVE) values from the
selected regions was almost 200, so we sent the PLS algorithm are shown in Table 6.
self-administered questionnaires to 200 SMEs by The composite factor reliability coefficients of the
email. Out of 200 questionnaires, 160 were received, constructs ranged from 0.762 to 0.901, satisfying the
representing a response rate of 80%. Only 154 were standard of at least 0.70 suggested by Fornell and
analyzed after they were sorted because six question- Larcker (1981). The AVE was used to measure the
naires were incomplete. Table 5 presents the demo- convergent validity of the measured constructs. As
graphics of the respondents. Table shows, the AVE values meet the threshold of
In addition to the demographics of Table 5, 72.7% AVE 0.50 suggested by Bagozzi and Yi (1988).
of the firms used the service from service providers This indicates that the scales used to measure the con-
for Internet access and 66.9% adopted e-commerce. structs possess ample convergent validity.
Moreover, 6.5% do not use Internet for business oper- Discriminant validity was assessed through two
ations even though they have considerable knowledge approaches. First, the square root of the AVE was com-
on e-commerce. pared against the inter-construct correlation estimates
(Fornell and Larcker 1981). As seen in Table 7, all the
diagonal elements in bold (i.e., the square root of AVE)
Measurement model are greater than the corresponding inter-construct cor-
To validate the measurement model, quality criteria relation coefficients. Second, the cross loadings of the
such as item reliabilities together with construct- measurement items were assessed.
related factors such as convergent and discriminant The goodness-of-fit (GoF) index in Tenenhaus
validity were employed. These assessments confirm et al. (2005) was employed to evaluate the overall fit
the reliability and validity of the observed variables of the model since the PLS modeling does not report
relative to the respective latent variables. The compo- fit indices such as the root mean square error approx-
site reliability was employed because it provides a imation (RMSEA) or the comparative fit index (CFI).
Table 5. Demographic characteristics of respondents Table 6. Factor loadings, AVE, and composite reliability.
(N ¼ 154).
Composite
Percentage Construct Indicators Loadings AVE Reliability
Variable Classification Frequency (%)
ATTU ATTU 1 0.814 0.582 0.806
Gender Male 105 68.2 ATTU 2 0.712
Female 49 31.8 ATTU 3 0.759
Age Less than 20 years 1 0.6 BIU BIU 1 0.937 0.820 0.901
20–29 years 26 16.9 BUI 2 0.873
30–39 76 49.4 CEO–SE CEO-SE 1 0.777 0.736 0.893
40–49 38 24.7 CEO-SE 2 0.890
50 and above 13 8.4 CE0-SE 3 0.902
Job Position Owner 38 24.7 EC EC 1 0.902 0.689 0.814
Managing Director 21 13.6 EC 2 0.750
Department 92 59.7 GvS GvS 1 0.771 0.616 0.762
Manager GvS 2 0.798
Others 3 1.9 MP MP 1 0.733 0.649 0.847
Educational High School 3 1.9 MP 2 0.842
Status Ordinary 2 1.3 MP 3 0.838
Advanced Level 10 6.5 MS MS 1 0.896 0.674 0.860
Polytechnic 14 9.1 MS 2 0.809
Bachelors 78 50.6 MS 3 0.750
Masters 46 29.9 PBC PBC 1 0.791 0.571 0.841
PhD 1 .6 PBC 2 0.810
Business Retailing 9 5.8 PBC 3 0.765
Category Wholesale 18 11.7 PBC 4 0.646
Transportation and 13 8.4 PC PC 1 0.760 0.621 0.830
Tourism PC 2 0.720
Manufacturing 15 9.7 PC 3 0.876
Real Estate and 23 14.9 RA RA 1 0.812 0.612 0.824
Hospitality RA 2 0.856
Art, Crafts, and 11 7.1 RA 3 0.666
Furniture SN SN 1 0.798 0.704 0.877
Agro-Based 10 6.5 SN 2 0.862
Media and 19 12.3 SN 3 0.857
Communication a
Financial Services 25 16.2 All factor loadings were significant at p < 0.05 (two-tailed)
Other Services 11 7.1
Number of Fewer than 5 28 18.2 GoF ¼ 0.442, indicating that the research model is
Employees 5–9 51 33.1 substantially fit.
10–19 43 27.9
20 and above 32 20.8
Monthly Less than GH¢ 67 43.5
Hypothesis testing
Revenue 10000 The SEM technique under smart partial least squares
GH¢ 10000–20000 67 43.5 (smart PLS) 2.0 was employed to test the research
GH¢ 20000–30000 20 13.0 hypotheses. Based on the data analysis, Figure 4 pre-
Above GH¢ 30000 sents the path coefficients of all constructs, and Table
8 lists the results for the hypotheses. As seen in Figure
4, twelve out of the seventeen paths in the research
The GoF is the geometric mean of the average com- model are supported.
munality and the average R2. According to Tenenhaus Perceived behavioural control (PBC) was signif-
et al (2005), GoF indices of 0.1, 0.25, and 0.36 indi- icantly associated with both behavioural intention
cate small, medium, and large model fit respectively. (b ¼ 0.223, t ¼ 2.529, p < 0.05) and attitude towards
The computation resulted in a substantial value of use (b ¼ 0.225, t ¼ 2.279, p < 0.05), supporting H1a
Table 7. Construct correlations and discriminant validity.
ATTU BIU CEO-SE EC GS MP MS PBC PC RA SN
ATTU 0.763
BIU 0.341 0.906
CEO–SE 0.156 0.178 0.858
EC 0.377 0.196 0.172 0.830
GS 0.098 0.356 0.120 0.192 0.785
MP 0.199 0.325 0.119 0.285 0.249 0.806
MS 0.339 0.412 0.155 0.295 0.263 0.275 0.820
PBC 0.419 0.412 0.110 0.392 0.307 0.267 0.382 0.756
PC 0.242 0.047 0.130 0.294 0.088 0.126 0.051 0.054 0.788
RA 0.350 0.178 0.347 0.345 0.305 0.206 0.143 0.277 0.324 0.782
SN 0.407 0.119 0.237 0.396 0.171 0.072 0.167 0.275 0.218 0.538 0.839
a
The elements on the diagonal are the AVE. The elements under the diagonal are the correlations among the constructs.
Technological
Relative
Advantage
Perceived
0 .082
Credibility 0 .526* Perceived
Behavioral
0 .141*
Organizational Control
– 0.016 0.255*
CEO
Self-Efficacy 0.059 Attitude
0.251* 0.227* Intention
Towards
Management to Adopt
Adoption
Support 0.184*
0.238*
0.191*
Environmental
– 0.088
Government
Support 0.231*
0.284*
Enabling Subjective
Conditions Norm
0.167*
Mimetic – 0.043
Pressure
*: p < 0.05
Figure 4. Results of structural equation model.
and H1b. As expected, attitude exhibited significant association with attitude, supporting H3b (b ¼ 0.231,
positive influence on behavioural intention to adopt t ¼ 2.179, p < 0.05).
e-commerce (b ¼ 0.227, t ¼ 2.810, p < 0.05), sup- Surprisingly, relative advantage did not show a
porting H2. However, mixed findings were obtained significant association with attitude (b ¼ 0.082,
concerning subjective norm. The posited association t ¼ 0.061), rejecting the path theorized in H4a.
between subjective norm and behavioural intention Instead, the hypothesized path between relative
(in H3a) was not supported (b ¼ 0.088, t ¼ 0.901). advantage and subjective norm (in H4b) was sup-
However, subjective norm showed a significant ported (b ¼ 0.526, t ¼ 5.940, p < 0.05). Perceived
Table 8. Test results.
Hypothesis Effect Path Coefficient T-statistic Remarks
H1a PBC -> BIU 0.223 2.529 Supported

H1b PBC -> ATTU 0.255 2.279 Supported
H2 ATTU -> BIU 0.227 2.810 Supported
H3a SN -> BIU 0.088 0.901 Not Supported
H3b SN-> ATTU 0.231 2.179 Supported
H4a RA -> ATTU 0.082 0.861 Not Supported
H4b RA -> SN 0.526 5.940 Supported
H5 PC -> ATTU 0.141 2.087 Supported
H6a CEO-SE -> PBC 0.016 0.166 Not Supported
H6b CEO-SE -> SN 0.059 0.749 Not Supported
H7a MS -> PBC 0.251 3.094 Supported
H7b MS -> ATTU 0.184 2.565 Supported
H8a GvS -> PBC 0.191 2.476 Supported
H8b GvS -> BIU 0.238 3.157 Supported
H9 EC -> PBC 0.284 3.142 Supported
H10a MP -> BIU 0.167 2.177 Supported
H10b MP -> SN 0.043 0.479 Not Supported
credibility had a significant impact on attitudes (b ¼ intention (b ¼ 0.167, t ¼ 2.177, p < 0.05). Hence,
0.141, t ¼ 2.087, p < 0.05), supporting H5. H10a was supported. However, H10b was not sup-
Contrary to our expectations, the relationship ported, the path coefficient revealing insignificant
between CEO self-efficacy and perceived behavioural estimates (b ¼ 0.043; t ¼ 0.479). Overall, the
control (in H6a) did not show significant estimates structural model explained 29.8% (0.298) of the var-
(b ¼ 0.026, t ¼ 0.166). Similarly, the relationship iation in behavioural intention to use e-commerce,
between CEO self-efficacy and subjective norm providing a good indication of the model’s strong
(H6b) was insignificant (b ¼ 0.59, t ¼ 0.749). The explanatory power.
posited paths of CEO self-efficacy were thus not sup-
ported. The coefficient defining the relationship
between management support and perceived beha- Discussion
vioural control (in H7a) indicated a significant rela- The study’s results indicate that technological fac-
tionship (b ¼ 0.251, t ¼ 3.094, p < 0.05). The link tors, organizational factors, environmental factors,
between management support and attitude towards and individual constructivism tend to affect SMEs’
use (in H7b) was also statistically significant (b ¼ adoption of e-commerce in Ghana. Specifically, per-
0.184, t ¼ 2.565, p < 0.05). Hence, the two theorized ceived behavioural control exhibited a significant,
paths were supported. positive, and direct relationship with attitude and
The estimated coefficients (b ¼ 0.238, t ¼ 3.157, behaviour intention. The multi-dimensional signifi-
p < 0.05) revealed that government support has the cance of PBC seen in this study is strongly consistent
largest direct impact on behaviour intention (as in with Kang et al. (2006), who also identified PBC as a
H8a), at a 5% confidence level. Furthermore, govern- strong antecedent of adoption behaviour intention
ment support was positively correlated with perceived and attitude to adoption. The PBC factor is immen-
behavioural control (b ¼ 0.191, t ¼ 2.476, p < 0.05). sely important in developing countries such Ghana,
Thus, H8b was supported. The coefficient of the path where the availability of equipment such as comput-
theorized in H9 ( b¼ 0.284; t ¼ 3.142; p < 0.05) ers and the required knowledge are critical precur-
revealed a significant association between enabling sors of the adoption of Web-based and related
conditions and perceived behavioural control. Mimetic technologies. The most plausible explanation of
pressure was posited to relate positively with beha- PBC’s significance on attitude and behaviour inten-
viour intentions and subjective norm. Mimetic pres- tion in this study underscores the importance of its
sure had a significant relationship with behavioural constituents, such as financial and technological
resources and skills, on SMEs’ e-commerce use and importance of the system’s credibility to peoples’ atti-
diffusion. tudes is no surprise.
Attitude also exhibited a strong direct relationship Despite the myriad studies that confirm CEO self-
with behaviour intention, as widely confirmed in TRA efficacy as a major determining factor in SME
and TPB studies, where a strong significant associa- e-commerce adoption, this study revealed that CEOs’
tion between the two was noted (Armitage and Con- technological literacy is not necessarily influential in
ner, 2001). As noted earlier, attitudes are perceptual e-commerce adoption and use in Ghana, perhaps
pictograms internally formulated by an individual due because the skills and technical background of staff can
to many cognition factors and thus affect the strength make a difference in the overall e-commerce deploy-
of intention. Consequently, the significance of the ment and encourage greater organizational acceptance.
path estimate of attitude on behavioural intention This outcome also indicates that Ghanaian SMEs
clearly shows that SMEs in Ghana are likely to adopt acknowledge that staff attitudes and ICT competency are
e-commerce if given enough evidence of its benefits. vital to successful e-commerce adoption. Consequently,
As a result, efforts should be made to create aware- small businesses with employees with technological
ness of the enormous potential of e-commerce among know-how are more likely to adopt than are others.
businesses. This will stimulate a probationary attitude Managerial support was identified as having the
and eventually lead to widespread adoption. greatest impact on attitude. The construct also demon-
Empirically supported by studies such as Kim et al. strated a significant influence on perceived beha-
(2009), this study identified subjective norm as an vioural control, showing that the commitment of
antecedent of attitude and e-commerce adoption managers, especially those at the top, determines the
intention in Ghana. This finding characteristically speed and extent of e-commerce use. These findings
indicates that SMEs in Ghana tend to rely strongly extend evidence of the ‘‘snowballing’’ effect of top
on internal referents in IT-related adoption decision managers’ knowledge in innovation adoption to the
making. E-commerce usage and diffusion in Ghana e-commerce milieu: in a context of complex innova-
are still in their infancy; thus, the perceptions of impor- tion such as e-commerce, the power and influence
tant referents strongly influence adoption initiatives, of top managers remain substantial and necessary for
explaining the substantial rapport between subjective acceptance, usage, and diffusion.
norm and behavioural intention to use e-commerce The influence of government support or interven-
through the mediation of attitude. tion was also marked. Government support exhibited
A surprising revelation was the insignificant rela- the greatest influence on behaviour intention and
tionship between relative advantage and attitude, showed substantial influence on perceived beha-
which sharply contrasts with other findings, such as vioural control. Researchers such as Zhu and Kraemer
in Low et al. (2011). The insignificant impact of rela- (2005) found that countries adopting new technology
tive advantage on attitude could be attributed to Gha- must have appropriate government policies and
na’s minimal e-commerce use. Very few Ghanaian regulations to enhance transactional integrity and
businesses use e-commerce, making it difficult for encourage private investment. Government initiatives
Ghanaians to perceive its practical advantages. The for e-commerce adoption and diffusion may include
influence of relative advantage on subjective norm, establishing policies for SME operations, providing
however, emphasizes the likelihood of adoption once financial and technological assistance, improving
evidence of success appears. Intense awareness of the e-commerce infrastructure, and enacting favorable
advantages of incorporating e-commerce in business e-commerce laws. With the liberalization of the ICT
operations is also likely to influence adoption. sector, the Ghanaian government’s policies helped
Though this research recognizes the importance of increase Internet penetration and led to an upsurge
relative advantage, this factor cannot be treated as sig- in several IT-related services. Researchers such as
nificant on its own, as it works with other factors that Bakos and Bailey (1997) report a high mobidensity,
encourage e-commerce adoption. Also, the direct sig- which has created a suitable condition for the growth
nificant impact of perceived credibility on attitude of e-commerce in Ghana. However, mobidensity
towards adoption shows the importance of security alone does not obviate the necessity for greater Inter-
and privacy in organizational e-commerce use. In the net penetration. The findings in this study recommend
wake of numerous reports of Internet fraud, credit and the implementation of comprehensive approaches that
debit card theft, hacking, and virus attacks, the go beyond technology-based solutions to address
e-commerce challenges. As the reliability and cost of adoption is its extension of current notions concerning
telecommunication services and equipment strongly technology adoption to the context of e-commerce,
influence the adoption of electronic commerce enhancing our understanding of e-commerce adoption,
(Wresch, 2003), government policies and initiatives particularly in developing countries.
should play a remedial role through subsidies and tax This paper evaluated the applicability of several
incentives to facilitate SME exposure to information theories and models of organizational and individual
technology and stimulate the adoption and use of e- innovation adoption and then integrated the TPB and
commerce. TOE frameworks, creating a comprehensive concep-
The findings of this study showed that enabling tual framework that integrated constructs from these
conditions strongly impact perceived behavioural theoretical perspectives. This provided a holistic view
control. The existence and reliability of national tech- of the firm perspective on e-commerce technology
nological infrastructures is widely believed critical for acceptance. Integrating the constructs of the individ-
the development and use of e-commerce; the required ual difference factors (i.e., perceived behavioural con-
infrastructure includes physical infrastructure, trans- trol, attitude, and subjective norm), technology
portation infrastructure, banking infrastructure, and factors (i.e., relative advantage, perceived credibil-
a skilled workforce (Peng and Kurnia, 2008). Frem- ity), organizational factors (i.e., management support,
pong and Stark (2005) posited accessibility and CEO self-efficacy), and environmental factors (i.e.,
affordability as the two critical issues that tend to con- government support, enabling conditions, and
dition access to ICT services in Ghana. Hence, an mimetic pressure) into a single framework offers a
improved investment climate, coupled with strategic richer theoretical basis for explaining and predicting
incentives for investment in e-commerce-supporting firm adoption behaviour.
institutions and the creation of supply chains, will Furthermore, the proposed relationships between
increase the number of participating firms and conse- the constructs represent an upgrade of the original
quently enhance access at competitive prices. TAM and TOE models as well as of the decomposed
The mimetic pressure construct also had a direct sig- TPB, substantially enhancing their predictive and
nificant impact on behavioural intentions. This implies explanatory scopes. More broadly, the research
that SMEs in Ghana tend to imitate successful initiators instrument developed and validated in this research
to lower the costs of searching for alternatives and can be used to study other emerging technologies such
avoid the risks endured by first movers. However, as cloud computing and Web 2.0 from an organiza-
mimetic pressure demonstrated the least explanatory tional perspective.
power among those constructs with a direct significant This study has pragmatic implications for govern-
impact on behaviour intentions, attributable to Ghana’s ments and policymakers, owners and managers of
minimal e-commerce use and the consequent absence businesses, technology vendors, and service provi-
of a large pool of references. A number of studies ders. The role of government in SME growth is
(Chong et al., 2009; Grover, 1993; Tan and Teo, becoming increasingly crucial as the global business
1998) have confirmed the importance of successful environment becomes more competitive. Conse-
references or project champions as a positive and sig- quently, government support has become a critical
nificant factor influencing the organizational adoption factor in overcoming the concerns and challenges
of innovations. Mimicking could minimize the risk associated with adoption decisions and fostering
associated with a high degree of environmental uncer- widespread e-commerce acceptance among SMEs.
tainty or the high cost of technological investments. Government assistance in identifying and incorporat-
Mimicking could also be a reaction to the fear of busi- ing e-commerce technology in businesses would
ness losses. Thus, if enough model companies become improve SMEs’ competitiveness in the new digital
available as successful references, acceptance and use economy. E-commerce development and growth
will become much more likely. among SMEs would also benefit from a review of
government policies and incentives with the aim of
Conclusion promoting the adoption of technology in the sector.
Consistent with what is seen in countries such as
Contributions and implications Singapore, Botswana, Japan, China, Taiwan, and South
This paper makes a number of contributions to research. Africa, the findings of this study provide a strong
Its major contribution to the literature on innovation theoretical foundation for tailor-made interventions
designed to enhance the technological capabilities tend to be ineffective in dealing with samples as large
of SMEs. as that used in this study and tend to require large
These findings also provide important implications financial investments. This study also focused on the
for managers and owners. Managers who exhibit adoption decision rather than on its implementation.
favorable attitudes to e-commerce use will likely gen- Research on the tenets of the implementation phase
erate a positive attitude to implementation. Our find- should be conducted.
ings show that organizational IT readiness influences Moreover, each respondent represents a firm, and
e-commerce penetration at the firm level. It is there- self-reported measures were used to assess the con-
fore important for managers and owners to have a structs in the questionnaire. This approach has been
favorable attitude to e-commerce usage and develop criticized by innovation adoption scholars such as
strategies for evaluating the availability of existing Devaraj and Kohli (2003), who maintained that self-
and required IT resources for e-commerce adoption. reported measures of innovation adoption might not
Finally, the significance of enabling conditions, be a suitable proxy for actual usage due to subjects’
mimetic pressure, and perceived credibility imposes potential informational and attention lapses. Though
responsibilities on, while providing opportunities for, this technique is common in technology adoption
technology vendors. Revealed as mediating agents, research, replication is required to validate this
the factors impacting the organizational adoption of study’s measures.
e-commerce technologies must be understood in order Finally, this study was limited to the capital cities
to enable technology vendors to design strategies for of four of Ghana’s ten regions. An extension of the
addressing the technological glitches hindering the research to cover the other regions would enhance the
widespread adoption of e-commerce. Furthermore, results’ generalizability. Future research could also
technology vendors can foster SME e-commerce test the influence of moderating factors such as cul-
acceptance by offering trial periods before the full ture and gender on the adoption process.
implementation of e-commerce.
The use of Internet technologies such as Notes
e-commerce as a platform for business transactions 1. Estimated Internet users per 100 inhabitants comprise
is gaining attention in the business environment. the fraction of the total population that uses the Internet.
E-commerce represents a technological innovation It also covers Internet access from mobile devices.
offering a borderless global marketplace. This study 2. The mobidensity/mobile cellular subscription (MCS)
identifies the major determining factors driving rate measures total subscriptions to a public mobile cel-
e-commerce adoption by Ghanaian SMEs, offers lular service that provides access to a public switched
practical implications, and identifies the required telephone network (PSTN) using cellular technology.
action. This research integrates technological, organi-
zational, and environmental determinisms with social Funding
constructivism. Aware of e-commerce’s many benefits This work was supported by the Ajou university research
to businesses, this paper provides findings that require fund of 2012-2013.
committed efforts from government, business owners,
and managers as well as from technology vendors. References
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ysis of e-business adoption and its impact on business
Raphael Awiagah works with the Logistics and Value Chain
performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sci-
ence 31(4): 425–447. Directorate of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Ghana as
Wu JH and Wang SC (2005) What drives mobile com- an Assistant Industrial Promotion Officer. His research thrust
merce? An empirical evaluation of the revised technol- hinges on his profession as an entrepreneurship promotion
ogy acceptance model. Information Management 42): and business development person. Contact: Ministry of
719–729. Trade and Industry. PO Box MB 47 Ministries, Accra, Ghana.
Wymer SA and Regan EA (2005) Factors influencing Tel: þ233 503027838. Email: [email protected]
e-commerce adoption and use by small and medium
businesses. Electronic Markets 15(4): 438–453. Juyoung Kang is Full Professor in the department of
Yang TM and Maxwell TA (2011) Information-sharing in e-Business at School of Business, Ajou University. Her
public organizations: a literature review of interperso- research interests are in the fields of e-Business, ERP,
nal, intra-organizational and inter-organizational suc-
Cloud Computing, Big data, and Intelligent Systems. Con-
cess factors. Government Information Quarterly 28(2):
tact: School of Business, Ajou University, San 5,
164–175.
Wonchon-Dong Yeongtong-Gu, Suwon 443749, Korea,
Yi MY, Jackson JD, Park JSP, et al. (2006) Understanding
information technology acceptance by individual pro- Tel: þ8231 2192910. Email: [email protected]
fessionals: towards an integrative view. Information
Management 43(3): 350–363. Jay Ick Lim is Associate Professor in the department of
Zhu K and Kraemer KL (2005) Post-adoption variations in e-Business at School of Business, Ajou University. His
usage and value of e-business by organizations: cross- research interests include IT service, innovative business
country evidence from the retail industry. Information models, e-business, intelligent information & knowledge
Systems Research 16(1): 61–24. management, and, etc. Contact: School of Business,
Zmud R (1982) Diffusion of modern software practices: Ajou University, San 5, Wonchon-Dong Yeongtong-
influences of centralization and formalization. Manage- Gu, Suwon 443749, Korea, Tel: þ8231 2191550. Email:
ment Science 28(12): 1421–1431. [email protected]

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Article

Juyoung Kang and Jay Ick Lim

Submitted: 2 July, 2014; Accepted: 14 January, 2015.

Introduction to companies and from companies to suppliers, while

Table 1. B2C business models in Ghana.

Portal None A local portal is unavailable. Users depend largely on

Table 2. Theoretical models for organizational-/individual-level adoption.

Table 3. Technology/e-commerce adoption factors.

E-commerce Organizational readiness, Perceived usefulness, Compatibility, SME Pearson and

Figure 3. Proposed research model.

Research model and hypothesis theorists as the closest cognitive antecedent of

Technological context. Few studies have examined the

Environmental context: enabling conditions. Venkatesh Measurements

Table 4. Definitions of constructs.

Construct Definition Literature

Table 7. Construct correlations and discriminant validity.

ATTU BIU CEO-SE EC GS MP MS PBC PC RA SN

Figure 4. Results of structural equation model.

Table 8. Test results.

Hypothesis Effect Path Coefficient T-statistic Remarks

H1a PBC -> BIU 0.223 2.529 Supported

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/world/world. garment export producers? Oxford Development Studies

Wu F, Mahajan V and Balasubramanian S (2003) An anal- About the authors

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