E-commerce Adoption in Nigerian Businesses

Business organizations around the world engage in e-commerce (EC) and e-business to support business operations and enhance revenue generation from non-traditional sources. Studies focusing on EC adoption in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) are just beginning to emerge in the extant information systems (IS) literature. The objective of this current study is to investigate factors impacting the acceptance of EC in small businesses in SSA with Nigeria as an example. A research model based on the Diffusion of Innovation (DIT) and the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) frameworks were used to guide this discourse. Such factors as relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, management support, organizational readiness, external pressure, and IS vendor support were used to develop relevant hypotheses. Questionnaires were administered to respondents in Nigeria and data analysis was performed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. Predictions related to relative advantage, management support, and IS vendor support were confirmed; the other hypotheses were unsupported by the data. The study’s implications for research and practice are discussed in the chapter.