ABSTRACT
Organization worldwide are improving on their traditional approaches of conducting business in order to keep pace with changing priorities in the business environment. In order to remain abreast, many organizations are leveraging information technology (IT) applications and tools. However, success of IT utilization in business have been widely seen in big corporate organizations than in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). More so, such successes are more skewed to organizations in developed than in low and middle income countries. Yet SMEs in rural and semi-urban areas are more disadvantaged than their counterparts in urban areas. The objective of this study is to report on the key competencies influencing E-Commerce utilization by SMEs in developing countries. This study depended on data collected from SMEs in semi-urban areas of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. By using quantitative methods, the collected data was analysed and reported based on the correlation and multiple regression. Results indicated that trust is a major antecedent of e-commerce utilization by SMEs whereas business information was found to be less significant. This study designed a framework that could be extended for future research and also be used by SMEs owners to make informed decisions regarding e-commerce and other technological innovation implementation, use and utilization.
Keywords
E-Commerce utilization; Small and medium enterprises, developing countries, Technology usage; Online trading