Employee perspectives of factors influencing e-business technology adoption and use by small and medium retail enterprises

Abstract

Several sources suggest that the use of e-business technologies has offered opportunities for both large and small businesses, such as gaining global access, providing new products as well as enhancing customer satisfaction levels. This paper examines the employee perspective on the factors that influence e-business adoption and use by small and medium-sized retail enterprises that operate in the Eastern Cape Province. Studies on employee perspective on e-business technologies adoption within the South African small and medium-sized retailers are limited. This study explores the perception of employees working in small or medium-sized retail enterprises on five factors, namely, leadership, employee technological aptitude, business culture, perceived relative advantage, and perceived ease of use. Statistical analyses that included the assessments for validity and reliability, descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlations and multiple regression analysis were undertaken. The results of this study showed that leadership, employee technology aptitude, perceived relative advantage, and perceived ease of use have a significant positive influence on employees’ uptake of business culture within the retail sector.