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E-BUSINESS –
APPLICATIONS AND
GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE
Edited by Princely Ifinedo
1
Internet/E-Business Technologies
Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs: Focus on
Organizational and Environmental Factors
Princely Ifinedo
Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia,
Canada
1. Introduction
Large and small business organizations around the world, including Canadian enterprises,
utilize internet and e-business technologies (IEBT) to support online or electronic commerce
(e-commerce) and electronic business (e-business) activities. Grandon and Pearson (2004)
and Turban et al. (2010) note that IEBT enhances productivity for the adopting organization
in the following ways: a) it improves efficiencies through automation of transactions, b) it
reduces intermediaries in the value chain to foster greater economic advantages, c) it
consolidates demand and supply through organized exchanges, d) it facilitates product
improvement as well as engenders innovative ways of selling existing products and
services. Against the backdrop of the popularity of IEBT, it is not surprising that several
researchers have investigated and continue to study the adoption or acceptance of such
technologies in differing contexts and locations (Farhoomand et al., 2000; Wymer & Regan,
2005). Studies that have focused on Canadian businesses are beginning to emerge
(Raymond, 2001; Ifinedo, 2011).
This particular study is motivated by three concerns: a) it seeks to add to prior research
focusing on the acceptance of IEBT and similar technologies in Canada; b) it is pays
attention to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) because of their crucial importance to
economic development of countries around the world, including Canada. According to the
Net Impact Study Canada (2002), Canadian SMEs deliver 60% of Canada’s economic output,
c) this study intends to shed light on the impact of organizational and environmental factors
affecting the acceptance of IEBT in Canadian SMEs.
A research model based on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework
(Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990), which other information systems (IS) researchers (e.g.
Raymond, 2001; Scupola, 2003; Gibbs & Kraemer, 2004; Al-Qirim, 2007; Chong et al., 2009)
have used in comparable studies will be used to guide the research. Such environment
factors as information systems (IS) vendor support/pressure, management
commitment/support, external pressure, organizational information technology (IT)
competence, and the availability of financial support will be used to develop relevant
hypotheses. The technological components of the framework will not be considered as
2 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
several studies in the extant literature have underscored their critical relevance (Gibbs &
Kraemer, 2004; Al-Qirim, 2007; Ifinedo, 2011). This research argued that our knowledge of
the importance of factors related to the organization and environment when studied
exclusively could enhance insight in this area of study. Moreover, the focus on the subject
from the perspectives of Canadian SMEs will benefit the relevant literature.
Findings from this study showed that management commitment/support and external
pressure are significant predictors of IEBT acceptance in the sampled SMEs. The results did
not show that organizational IT competence, IS vendor support, availability of financial
support, industry type, and firm size positively influence IEBT acceptance. Policy makers,
industry leaders, and small business operators wishing to understand some of the reasons
why certain SMEs in Canada lag in the adoption of IEBT and related technologies can
benefit from the information provided in this study. The research also alerted the attention
of local IS vendors and financial institutions to what can be done to strengthen IEBT
adoption in Canadian small businesses. Global IT management as it relates to IEBT
acceptance benefits from this endeavor as well.
2. Background theory and hypotheses formulation
The background theoretical framework used for this research is the Technology-
Organization-Environment (TOE) model (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). The TOE posits that
the adoption or acceptance of innovations depends on organizational, environmental, and
technological factors. Fundamentally, the TOE model is an integrative schema incorporating
characteristics of the technology, contingent organizational factors, and elements from the
macro-environment (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990; Li et al., 2010). Several studies that used
the TOE framework for examining the impact of relevant organizational and environmental
factors included such variables as management support, organizational IT readiness,
pressures from partners, customers and competition, and so forth (Iacovou et al., 1995;
Thong et al., 1996; Chwelos et al., 2001; Scupola, 2003; Gibbs & Kraemer, 2004; Hadaya, 2006;
Al-Qirim, 2007; Ifinedo, 2011). As indicated above, the focus of this study will be on
organizational and environmental factors.
The selected items among the organizational and environmental factors include IS vendor
support and pressure, management commitment/support, external pressure, organizational
IT competence, availability of financial support, firm size, and industry type. Others IS
researchers have signified the pertinence of the foregoing factors in prior research (e.g.
Iacovou et al., 1995; Thong et al., 1996; Chwelos et al., 2001; Scupola, 2003; Gibbs & Kraemer,
2004; Hadaya, 2006; Al-Qirim, 2007; Thong et al. 1996; Chapman et al. 2000; Jeyaraj et al.,
2006; Huang et al., 2008; Li et at al. 2010; Levenburg et al., 2006; Teo, 2007). The research
framework and the formulated hypothesized paths for each of the selected variables or
items in the study are highlighted in Figure 1.
Past studies have shown that management commitment and support tend to favor the
acceptance of technological innovations in adopting organizations, including SMEs (e.g.,
Iacovou et al., 1995; Premkumar & Roberts, 1999; Beatty et al., 2001; Chwelos et al., 2001;
Grandon & Pearson, 2004; Al-Qirim, 2007). Jeyaraj et al. (2006) found top management
support to be one of the best predictors of organizational adoption of IS innovations. This is Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 3
(The items in the technological contexts are not considered)
Fig. 1. The research framework.
because top managers act as change agents in the adoption process of technological
innovations (Thong et al., 1996). Where such support is lacking, the acceptance of
technologies such as IEBT tend to suffer (Igbaria et al., 1997; Ifinedo, 2011). Thus, it is
predicted that:
H1: The greater the management commitment/support for IEBT acceptance, the greater the
acceptance of such technologies.
Organizational IT competence refers to the level of technical expertise available to the
organization. The more knowledge an organization has about technological innovations, the
more likely it will be to adopt technological innovations (Thong & Yap, 1995; Raymond,
4 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
2001; Zhu et al., 2006). Thong and Yap (1995) found a lack of computer literacy among SME
owners and a lack of knowledge regarding the benefits of IS use is an inhibitor to IS
adoption in small businesses. Chircu and Kauffman (2000) found that inability to acquire
skill and expertise in new technologies, and a lack of training and education form significant
barriers to the adoption of IEBT. Caldeira and Ward (2002) concluded that for SMEs to
successfully accept technological innovations including IEBT, their executives and
employees must have a reasonable knowledge of the relevance of IS in business operations.
Thus, it is predicted that:
H2: The greater the organizational IT competence available to SMEs, the greater their
acceptance of such technologies.
IS vendor support refers to the support for implementing and using IT applications that a
business obtains from external sources of technical expertise (Premkumar & Roberts, 1999;
Rogers, 2003). IS vendors can act as change agents during the adoption of IS innovations
especially for organizations lacking in such knowledge (Attewell, 1992; Rogers, 2003). In
fact, it has been noted that SMEs rely on such external sources of expertise during IEBT
implementations (Poon & Swatman, 1999; Al-Qirim, 2007). Additionally, IS vendors have
been known to add value to the business planning of SMEs (Mcdonagh & Prothero, 2000).
To that end, a lack of external technical support does inhibit the adoption of IEBT and
similar technologies in small-sized businesses (Scupola, 2003; Simpson & Doherty, 2004).
Thus, it is predicted that:
H3: Greater IS vendor support/pressure will lead to greater acceptance of such technologies
by SMEs.
Prior studies have shown that a lack of financial resources is one of the distinguishing
characteristics setting smaller businesses apart from larger enterprises (Thong et al., 1996;
Chapman et al. 2000). Walczuch et al. (2000), Tan and Wu (2003), Lawson et al. (2003), and
Pearson and Grandon (2004) showed that financial matters are vitally important to owners
and managers and such issues often drive adoption of IS in small businesses. However,
Reynolds et al. (1994) and Poon et al. (1996) implied that small-sized businesses do
encounter difficulties with obtaining finance, and this unfavorable situation may set back
their efforts to adopt needed IS innovations. The foregoing discussion permits the prediction
that:
H4: Greater financial resource availability will lead to greater acceptance of such
technologies by SMEs.
External pressure refers to the influences that an SME receives from sources external to it.
The literature identifies three main sources of external pressure as follows: competitive
pressure, supplier’s pressure and customer’s pressure (Hart & Saunders, 1998; Chau & Jim,
2002; Kula, 2003; Chong et al., 2009). It has been shown that competitive pressure impacts
the adoption of IS innovations in large businesses and SMEs (Hart & Saunders, 1998;
Raymond, 2001; Gatignon & Robertson, 1989; Jeyaraj et al., 2006). According to Raymond
(2001), and Hadaya (2006), business partners’ pressure affect the acceptance of technological
innovations such as IEBT. These researchers showed that the deployment of IEBT and
related technologies improves commercial transactions and relationships between
businesses and their partners. With respect to customer’s pressure, Hart and Saunders Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 5
(1998), Carmichael et al. (2000), Mehrtens et al. (2001), and Kula (2003) the key driver for
SMEs to accept IEBT and other innovations is customer feedback, demand, and pressure.
Thus, it is predicted that:
H5: Greater external pressure to adopt IEBT will lead to greater acceptance of such
technologies by SMEs.
Firm size has been found to positively predict the adoption of IS (Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Al-
Qirim, 2007; Teo, 2007; Huang et al., 2008; Li et at al. 2010); at the same time, others did not
confirm this relationship for IS adoption (e.g., Goode & Stevens, 2000; Gibbs & Kraemer,
2004) and IEBT (Ifinedo, 2011). Similarly, the industry type or sector in which a business
operates may influence its ability to adopt IS innovations (Drew, 2003; Levenburg et al.,
2006; Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Li et at al. 2010); however, the study by Chatterjee et al. (2002) and
Teo (2007) did not affirm this viewpoint. Evidence suggests that service businesses are more
predisposed towards using the internet for business activities than manufacturing
enterprises (Drew, 2003; Goode and Stevens, 2000).
H6: Firm size will be positively related to the acceptance of such technologies by SMEs.
H7: Industry type will be positively related to the acceptance of such technologies by SMEs.
3. Research methodology
Data collection
The survey method was used for data collection. The sampled firms came from four Atlantic
Provinces: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and New
Brunswick. The study considered a wide range of industries for inclusion. Data collection
took place between November 2007 and March 2008. 2200 questionnaires were mailed out.
Key informants including senior organizational managers and owners of SMEs were
contacted. Each received a packet containing a cover letter, a questionnaire, and a self-
addressed, stamped envelope. Respondents were assured that their individual responses
would be treated with anonymity and confidentiality. Above all, participation in the study
was voluntary.
The majority of the measures used in the study were taken from previously validated
sources (e.g. Iacovou et al., 1995; Igbaria et al., 1997; Premkumar & Roberts, 1999; Grandon
& Pearson, 2004; Chong & Pervan, 2007) and a few adapted from the literature. The
measurement items were anchored on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly
disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (7) in which participants were asked to indicate an
appropriate response. Table 1 highlights the constructs’ descriptive statistics. A full list of
the measures used is provided in the Appendix. Firm size was measured by annual sales
revenue and industry sector was delineated as manufacturing, services, and others (e.g. not-
for-profit).
The Cronbach alpha and composite reliability for each dimension exceeds the 0.7 limit,
recommended by Nunnally (1978) to indicate a reasonably high reliability of the research
measures and constructs. As well, the factor loading of each measurement item is adequate
in line with recommended threshold values (Nunnally, 1978; Hair et al., 1998).
6 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
Construct ItemsMeanSD Factor Composite AVE
loading reliability
Management
commitment/support MT1 4.46 1.61 0.859 0.90 0.69
MT2 4.49 1.68 0.841
MT3 4.06 1.63 0.795
MT4 4.02 1.69 0.829
Organizational OR1 4.37 1.50 0.907 0.94 0.74
IT competence
OR2 4.39 1.44 0.949
OR3 4.08 1.52 0.876
OR4 4.32 1.61 0.804
External pressure EX1 4.03 1.47 0.825 0.92 0.66
EX2 3.72 1.36 0.839
EX3 3.00 1.57 0.725
EX4 3.56 1.47 0.739
EX5 3.92 1.53 0.853
EX6 3.11 1.55 0.889
IS vendor IV1 2.62 1.51 0.973 0.97 0.96
support/pressure
IV2 2.63 1.55 0.969
IV3 2.71 1.52 0.997
Financial support FN1 2.26 1.58 0.654 0.87 0.69
availability
FN2 3.31 1.53 0.817
FN3 3.04 1.14 0.992
Firm size SIZ NA NA 1.00 1.00 1.00
Industry type TYP NA NA 1.00 1.00 1.00
IEBT acceptance IA1 5.36 1.34 0.774 0.86 0.61
IA2 5.37 1.28 0.803
IA3 3.92 1.47 0.732
IA4 4.00 1.41 0.819
NA = Not applicable
Table 1. The constructs with their descriptive statistics and reliability values.
Survey results
Of the 2200 questionnaires mailed out, 192 questionnaires were undelivered. 237 responses
were received, of which, 214 were considered valid; this represents an effective response
rate of 11.8%. Table 2 shows the participants’ demographics. The participants’ average work
experience was 13.4 years (s.d. = 11.01). The other profiles of the responding SMEs are
highlighted in Table 3. Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 7
Profile Frequency Percentage (%)
Gender
Male 12558.4
Female 8539.7
Missing 41.9
Age
Less than 20 years 4 1.9
21-30 2612.1
31-40 3014.0
41-50 7836.4
51-60 5726.6
60 years and above 19 8.9
Education
Primary education 73.3
Secondary education 40 18.7
College/Bachelor’s education 115 53.7
Post-graduate degree 44 20.6
Other 83.7
Job title
Owner/Proprietor 84 39.3
VP, Director 41 19.2
Business Manager, Accountant 67 31.3
Other 2210.2
Table 2. Demographics of the respondents.
Profile Frequency Percentage (%)
Business type
Adverting, Marketing 19 8.9
Manufacturing 41 19.2
Retail, Wholesale 35 16.4
Auto Dealership, Auto repairs 14 6.5
Construction 6 2.8
Design outfit, Decorator 8 3.7
Education, Driving School 5 2.3
Hotel, Hospitality 10 4.7
Insurance, Accounting firms 21 9.8
Real estate, Legal firm 12 5.6
Other (e.g. not-for-profit) 43 20.1
8 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
Profile Frequency Percentage (%)
Annual sales revenues Canadian (C)
Less C500,000 102 47.7
C500,000 - C 1.0 million 48 22.4
C 1.1 - C5.0 million 38 17.8
C 5.1 - C 10.0 million 9 4.2
C 10.1 - C 20.0 million 11 5.1
C 20.1 - C50.0 million 6 2.8
Workforce
Less 50 employees 175 81.8
51 - 99 employees 23 10.7
100 - 500 employees 11 5.1
Missing data 5 2.3
C = Canadian dollar
Table 3. Profile of the participating SMEs
4. Data analysis
The Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique of structural equation modeling was used for
analysis. The specific tool used was SmartPLS 2.0, which was created by Ringle et al. (2005).
The PLS supports two measurement models: (a) the assessment of the measurement model
and (b) the assessment of the structural model.
Assessment of the measurement model
The psychometric properties of the research model were examined by the following
indicators: internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validities. Hair et al. (1998)
suggest that item loadings of 0.5 are adequate; those with values lower than 0.5 were deleted
from the scales accordingly. The composite reliabilities for each of the study’s constructs
were all above the recommended 0.7 level to indicate internal consistency of the data (Hair
et al., 1998; Chin, 1998). Fornell and Larcker (1981) recommend that the average variance
extracted (AVE) criterion be followed in assessing the convergent validity. These researchers
suggested that an AVE value of 0.50 is ideally acceptable as it indicates that a latent variable
is able to explain more than half of the variance of its indicators on average. The
discriminant validity is assured when the following two conditions are met: (a) the value of
the AVE is above the threshold value of 0.50; (b) the square root of the AVEs is larger than
all other cross-correlations. Table 4 shows that the AVE ranged from 0.61 to 0.96 (excluding
the single-item variables). In no case was any correlation between the constructs greater
than the squared root of AVE (the principal diagonal element). Overall, the results showed
the study’s measures were psychometrically adequate for this study.
Assessment of the structural model
The structural model provides information related to the path significance of hypothesized
2
relationships using the path coefficients (β) and the squared R (R ). The strength of the Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 9
Construct 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. 8
1: Managsupp 0.831
2: OrgITcomp 0.687 0.860
3: ISVSP 0.259 0.206 0.980
4: FinAva 0.330 0.294 0.472 0.831
5: Exttpr 0.476 0.495 0.575 0.357 0.812
6: FrmSZ 0.282 0.335 0.130 0.132 0.288 1.00
7: Indstyp 0.102 0.130 0.069 0.161 0.089 0.129 1.00
8: IEBT 0.476 0.495 0.575 0.357 0.582 0.288 0.093 0.781
Note: a) The bold fonts in the leading diagonals are the square root of AVEs.
b) Off-diagonal elements are correlations among constructs.
c) Exttpr = External pressure, FinAva = Financial support availability,
Managsupp = Management commitment and support, OrgITcomp = Organizational IT
competence, PercdBen = Perceived benefits, ISVSP = IS vendor support, FrmSZ = Firm size,
Indstyp =Industry type, IEBT= IEBT acceptance
Table 4. Inter-construct correlations and the square root of AVE.
2
relationship is indicated by the β (Chin, 1998). The SmartPLS 2.0 results for the βs and the R
are shown in Figure 2. The path significance levels (t-values) are estimated by the
bootstrapping method.
= significant at p 0.001
Fig. 2. The SmartPLS 2.0 results of the structural model.
10 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
Surprisingly, only two out of the seven hypotheses were supported. Hypothesis (H1) was
confirmed to show that that management support/commitment is crucial in encouraging
IEBT acceptance in Canadian SMEs. Also, the data analysis supported hypothesis (H5),
which predicted that external pressure enhances IEBT acceptance. The data did not provide
support for the rest of the hypotheses. All the variables together explain 46% of the variance
in the dependent construct. This indicates that the proposed research conceptualization
possess adequate predictive power and is useful in explaining the acceptance of IEBT for the
sampled SMEs. Further discussion on the results is presented in the next section.
5. Discussions
This research project used a modified version of the TOE framework to investigate factors
influencing the acceptance of IEBT in SMEs based in Atlantic Canada. The data analysis
confirmed the significance of management support/commitment and external market
pressure in the adoption process. To the extent that management support/commitment is
considered crucial for the successful acceptance of IEBT by Canadian SMEs, this study’s
finding provides empirical support for such a claim. SMEs in Atlantic Canada indicated that
the levels of IEBT acceptance were higher where management support/commitment was
relatively high. This finding lends credence to the body of work indicating that management
support/commitment is positively associated with the successful acceptance of
technological innovations such as IEBT in small businesses (Thong et al., 1996; Igbaria et al.,
1997; Teo et al., 1997; Premkumar & Roberts, 1999).
External pressure was also found to be an important factor positively influencing the
acceptance of IEBT in the sampled SMEs. The data is indicating that as the use of IEBT gain
in popularity, it is to be expected that SMEs will succumb to the pressure from their
customers, partners, and competitors to adopt such innovations. Other previous studies
have highlighted the pertinence of such influences in the adoption of technological
innovations, inclusion IEBT in SMEs (Hart & Saunders, 1998; Raymond, 2001; Hadaya, 2006;
Carmichael et al., 2000; Kula et al., 2003; Cragg & King, 1993; Premkumar & Roberts, 1999;
Mehrtens et al., 2001; Grandon & Pearson, 2004). Thus, the finding consolidates the body of
knowledge in the area.
The other variables or items used in this research produced results inconsistent with the
stated predictions. The organizational IT competence of the sampled SMEs was not
adequate enough to influence their acceptance of IEBT. To some degree, this result
corroborates the viewpoint suggesting that the levels of technical expertise available to
Canadian small businesses are not adequate (Annis et al. 2005; Noce & Peters, 2006; Martin
& Milway, 2007). As well, the environmental factors of firm size and industry type did not
appear to have any meaningful relationships with IEBT acceptance to support the views
espoused by other IS researchers (Goode & Stevens, 2000; Gibbs & Kraemer, 2004; Chatterjee
et al., 2002; Teo, 2007).
Although prior studies have shown that external support from IS vendors boded well for
the adoption of technological innovations, including IEBT in small organizations (Gatignon
& Robertson, 1989; Doolin et al., 2003; Thong et al., 1996; Poon & Swatman, 1999; Al-Qirim,
2007), the study’s finding did not provide support for the claim. It is possible that the
measurement items used in this study did go as far as capturing the depth of services Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 11
provided by IS vendors. Further to this, contextual factors could also account for the result
obtained herein. It is also possible that the sampled SMEs may not have a favorable view of
IS vendors in their contexts. It is also plausible that local IS vendors may be having
difficulties in meeting the specific needs of SMEs in their contexts.
This research did not confirm the availability of financial resources as an important factor
needed to enhance IEBT acceptance among the sampled SMEs in Canada. This finding may
have extraneous underpinnings. For example, the head of Canadian Bankers Association
disproved the notion suggesting that banks in the country “don't serve the small business
market in Canada” well enough. On other hand, a report from the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business raises “questions as to whether some major financial institutions in
the country have intentionally adopted a domestic strategy that focuses less importance on
the SME market” (Lam, 2010). The discordance between the two parties, to some degree,
lends support to the viewpoint among some practitioners in Canada who are of the opinion
that SMEs may not be receiving adequate financial support from banks to accept IEBT. The
finding in this study may be highlighting the state of affairs in the country on this matter.
Overall, the foregoing results (affirmed and rejected) support the viewpoint suggesting that
factors related to management support/commitment and external pressure may be possible
enablers of IEBT acceptance for SMEs based in Canada. On the other hand, the variables
related to organizational IT competence, IS vendor support/pressure, and financial resource
availability could be classified as possible inhibitors to the process (Gibbs & Kraemer, 2004).
Firm size and industry type are wider environmental factors deserving of further
examination. The diagrammatic illustration provided in Figure 4 indicates that more efforts
may be required to push the items or variables identified as inhibitors to improve the
accentuate of IEBT in the sampled SMEs in Canada while the enablers may require little or no
attention.
Fig. 3. Inhibitors and enablers of IEBT acceptance by SMEs.
Implications for research and practice
To facilitate greater acceptance of IEBT and related technologies in the Atlantic region of
Canada, the government could consider committing resources towards sensitizing SMEs’
12 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
owners and their employees about the pertinence of such innovations in enhancing business
operations. For the same reasoning, the need for e-business mentoring, coaching, and
training (Simpson & Doherty, 2004) becomes more cogent. Awareness campaigns tailored
for SMEs’ owners would be useful in increasing their knowledge of how an IS can be used
in business operations. The information provided in this study may benefit IS local vendors
and financial institutions regarding areas where efforts could be expended as concerted
attempts are made to strengthen Canada’s e-economy aspirations.
With respect to research, this research broadly lends credence to findings and observations
regarding the salient factors i.e. management support/commitment and external pressure
that influence the adoption and acceptance of IEBT in SMEs. To that end, this research effort
provides support to prior studies that had highlighted significant of such factors in
comparable research (Gatignon & Robertson, 1989; Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Chong & Pervan,
2007; Huang et al., 2008). Specifically, this current study affirms the views indicating that
external pressure and management support are important predictors of innovations
adoption in Canada’s small businesses. This study’s finding related to the pertinence of
management support concurs with results in Raymond and Bergeron (1996) and de Guinea
et al. (2005) that signifies their importance for achieving IS success in Canadian’s SMEs. The
inadequate levels of IT expertise, and overall lack of awareness of IS products/issues in
Canada (Warda, 2005; Noce & Peters, 2006) is supported by this study’s findings.
This current work complements the emerging desire among some researchers to specifically
focus on and bring into the limelight issues related to the adoption of IEBT and similar
technologies in less endowed regions of advanced countries. For example, the studies by
Premkumar and Roberts (1999), Scupola (2003), Grandon and Pearson (2004), and Simpson
and Doherty (2004) focused on rural USA, Southern Italy, the Yorkshire region of the UK,
and Mid West region of the US, respectively. Additionally, the dependent variable, i.e.
acceptance as used in this research departs from prior research efforts that tend to
operationalize such constructs with a single item of Use (Usage) or Intention to use. The
utilization of such singular items may obfuscate reality and has, in fact, been criticized for
limiting insight (Legris et al., 2003). In that respect, the measures used to operationalize
acceptance in this study may be beneficial to others wishing to investigate comparable
issues.
Limitations and future research
Asking only one respondent to present a view on behalf of their organization may be
problematic. The foregoing fact might have negatively impacted the results obtained and
discussed in this research. The research project included a variety of IEBT, the possible
levels of complexity in the use of such technologies were not controlled in this study; this
may be limiting. For example, perceptions of email use and e-ERP use in the sampled SMEs
may not be similar. Thus, the inclusion of both types of technologies might negative
influence the result. What was discussed here applies to sampled SMEs in a region of
Canada; it is not advised that the study’s findings be generalized to the whole country’s
small businesses. Caution should be taken in interpreting the results presented herein.
This study has opened opportunity for future research. Some of the aforementioned
limitations could be addressed in subsequent studies. This research can be replicated in
other regions of Canada to reify or debunk claims presented in this study. The data used in Internet/E-Business Technologies Acceptance in Canada’s SMEs:
Focus on Organizational and Environmental Factors 13
this study is cross-sectional in nature; future efforts could consider using longitudinal data
to facilitate more insight. It is possible that other factors not included in this study could be
identified to enhance insight. The research framework could be further reinforced with the
identification of other relevant organizational and environmental factors such as
government support not considered in this study. Future research using meta-analytic
approaches could examine the enablers and inhibitors of IEBT adoption in SMEs in
comparable parts of the developed world. Knowledge from such efforts stands to
consolidate theories related to the acceptance of IEBT and related technologies in SMEs.
6. Conclusion
This research, to some extent, drew from the TOE framework in investigating the acceptance
of IEBT in SMEs based in Atlantic region of Canada. The study’s findings indicated that
management support/commitment and external pressure are significant predictors of the
acceptance of IEBT in the study’s setting. The factors of organizational IT competence,
financial resource availability, IS vendor support/pressure, firm size, and industry type
were found to be insignificant in the acceptance process of IEBT by the sampled SMEs. The
foregoing results permitted the identification of possible enablers and inhibitors of IEBT
acceptance in the sampled Canadian SMEs. It is hoped that the discussions and conclusion
provided in this study would benefit practitioners and policy makers in the country and
elsewhere. The study has offered some useful contributions to the growing body of works
researching the factors influencing IEBT acceptance in SMEs across regional contexts, and it
seeks to complement past research efforts in Canada.
7. Appendix
The constructs and items used in the questionnaires.
Management commitment & support
Management is interested in the use of internet/e-business technologies in our
operations.
Management is supportive of the use of internet/e-business technologies in our
operations.
Our business has a clear vision regarding the use of internet/e-business technologies.
Management communicates the need for internet/e-business technologies usage in the
firm.
Organizational IT competence
Our firm knows how information technology (IT) can be used to support our operations.
Our firm has a good understanding of how internet/e-business technologies can be used
in our business.
We have the necessary technical, managerial and other skills to implement IEBT.
Our business values and norms would not prevent us from adopting IEBT in our
operations.
External pressure
Some of our competitors have already started using internet/e-business technologies.
14 E-Business – Applications and Global Acceptance
Our competitors know the importance of IEBT and are using them for operations.
We know our customers are ready to do business over the Internet.
Our customers are demanding the use of IEBT in doing business with them.
Our partners are demanding the use of IEBT in doing business with them.
We know our suppliers and partners are ready to do business over the Internet.
IS vendor support/pressure
IS vendors in the region are actively promoting IEBT and other technologies by providing
incentives for adoption.
IS vendors are encouraging our business to adopt IEBT by providing us with free training
sessions.
We can obtain support easily from local IS vendors as we implement IEBT.
Financial resource availability
Supporting institutions e.g. banks provide financial assistance for SMEs wishing to adopt
e-business technologies.
Our own business will take e-business more seriously if we receive adequate financial
support from local banks.
We believe that financial support for e-business engagements can be obtained easily from
banks and other financial institutions.
Acceptance of IEBT
Our company makes use of IEBT, very often.
Our company uses IEB e-commerce/e-payment, at all times, for its transactions.
Our company uses IEB its critical operations.
The number of business operations and activities in my company that requires IEBT is
high.
8. Acknowledgement
This research project was sponsored by Grant (8271) received from Cape Breton
University, NS, Canada.
The author is grateful to all the study’s participants. Comments received from colleagues
and the efforts of the study’s Research Assistants are valued.
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Facilitating the Intention to Expand E-business
Payment Systems Use in Nigerian Small Firms:
An Empirical Analysis
Princely Ifinedo
Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia,
Canada
1. Introduction
Electronic business (e-business) refers to the utilization of information and communication
technologies (ICT) to support of all aspects of business (Turban et al., 2010). The term was
first used by IBM's marketing and Internet teams in 1996 (Amor, 1999). E-business payment
systems or solutions refer to the various innovative applications and approaches including
the use of credit cards, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) checks, automated teller
machines (ATMs), electronic cash (E-cash), electronic funds transfer (EFT), amongst others
that are used to facilitate the customer’s decision to pay for a product or services (Vassiliou,
2004). Gholami et al. (2010, 53) while citing Andam (2003, 22) describe e-payment systems as
“the use of pre-loaded, debit and credit cards on the Internet or other electronic devices to
perform daily transactions which include paying for goods and services, transfers and bill
payments at any time of the day.” These researchers added that e-payments are part of a
larger electronic payment systems (EPS), which includes a system of financial exchange
between buyers and sellers in the online environment through the use of such digital
financial instruments as credit cards, electronic checks, and digital cash.
With e-business payment systems, individuals and organizations have the opportunity to
pay for goods and services over the counter or online without using cash (Gholami et al.,
2010). The role of e-payment systems is paramount to the growth of e-business itself
(Vassiliou, 2004) and the emergence of such methods of payment has had a significant
impact of global e-business (Leadpile, 2006; EIU, 2011). A recent report by Leadpile (2006)
predicted that e-business around the world will likely surpass the 1 trillion mark by 2012.
The level of commercial activities and transactions generated through e-business in a
country does have a positive correlation with the nation’s overall economic growth and
well-being (EIU, 2010; WEF, 2011). By the same token, parts of the world especially those in
developing societies where the expansion of e-business has been slow to develop, run the
risk of being marginalized in the emerging digital or network economy (Ifinedo, 2005a; EIU,
2011; WEF, 2011). While previous research efforts in the relevant literature have discussed
factors impacting the adoption and diffusion of e-business and e-payments systems in the
developed world (Vassiliou, 2004; Zhu et al., 2003; Ifinedo, 2011a, b; Laukkanen & Pasanen,
2008; Lee, 2009), focus on issues in the developing world has not been adequately
researched (Mbarika et al., 2005; Ayo, 2006; Ayo et al., 2011).
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