Challenges of e-Commerce adoption in SMEs: An interpretive case study of Botswana

Abstract

Although electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been a popular term in business and industry over the past decade, its application to developing country small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has generally been scanty and lacking depth. This paper aims to respond to this paucity by investigating the challenges that confront SMEs in e-commerce adoption in the Botswana context. The study is grounded in a qualitative and interpretive approach to unearth social and contextual issues in six selected firms from the ICT and Tourism sectors. Multiple methods of data collection were conducted using unstructured and semi-structured face-to-face interviews, web-site analysis, observation and document analysis. The challenges discovered are characteristic of the managerial, technological and environmental issues that confront each firm. The paper concludes that various combinations of challenges describe e-commerce adoption in the six firms. Moreover, both B2B and B2C e-commerce are minimally developed. Implications of findings point to the need for improved e-commerce policy, and for the SMEs to engage in strategic collaboration that can enhance their ability to innovate.