International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences
Int. j. adv. appl. sci.
EISSN: 2313-3724
Print ISSN: 2313-626X
Volume 4, Issue 6 (June 2017), Pages: 159-168
Title: The practice of e-commerce and its obstacles: A field study on SMEs in the Al-Qassim region
Author(s): Haitham Nakhleh *
Affiliation(s):
College of Business and Economics, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.06.023
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to explore the practice of e-commerce among SMEs in Al-Qassim region, Saudi Arabia and the obstacles to e-commerce faced by managers. In order to collect the required data, a questionnaire was developed on the basis of an extensive review of the literature, and this was distributed to a sample of 100 SMEs in the Al-Qassim region. Of the distributed questionnaires, 74 completed questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 74%. The questionnaire comprised four main domains: the practice of e-commerce as a dependent variable while organizational, technological and environmental factors as independent variables. Each of the independent domains covered six dimensions. The results of the study supported the hypotheses that organizational factors (top management support, employee skills and experience, and business strategy alignment), technological factors (internet service quality, information technology security, perceived benefits, e-payment services, and number of technical officers), and environmental factors (customer preferences, industry characteristics, socio-cultural factors, and competitor pressure) have significant and positive relationships with the practice of e-commerce in SMEs. The absence of these factors can therefore be regarded as a barrier to the practice of e-commerce.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: E-commerce, Organizational factors, Technological factors, Environmental factors
Article History: Received 9 January 2017, Received in revised form 17 April 2017, Accepted 18 May 2017
Digital Object Identifier:
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.06.023
Citation:
Nakhleh H (2017). The practice of e-commerce and its obstacles: A field study on SMEs in the Al-Qassim region. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 4(6): 159-168
http://www.science-gate.com/IJAAS/V4I6/Nakhleh.html
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