This article provides an explanation of how dynamic contextual factors and individual agency infl... more This article provides an explanation of how dynamic contextual factors and individual agency influence the adoption of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Eight multiple qualitative case studies were undertaken, involving 24 face-to-face semi-structured interviews and were thematically analysed using NVivo. This study found that the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) factors and additional extended micro-level (individual agency) factors strongly influenced the adoption of e-commerce practices by the managers of Pakistani SMEs. Managers need to address factors such as digital readiness, recruiting of skilled ICT expertise, reluctance of customers to switch their preference from traditional business selling methods to e-commerce, obtaining government and local institutional support, and recognizing the characteristics and individual agency of their owner-managers. On top of these factors, there is a strong need to improve ...
SMEs are one of the main contributors to job creation and GDP. To ensure the sustainability of th... more SMEs are one of the main contributors to job creation and GDP. To ensure the sustainability of their business and meet market needs, the owner-managers these days, switch the functioning of SMEs from traditional to latest technological frameworks. However, even after adoption, local SMEs are still not fully able to exploit and reap the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs). To understand this issue, this research focuses on two research objectives. First, it highlights the impact of ICT usage on SMEs. And, second, it tries to identify different factors that affect the ICTs adoption in SMEs. Main contribution of this research is that it extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) on two antecedents of Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) as a theoretical framework. For this research, qualitative interviews were conducted from ten (10) owner-managers of SMEs in Pakistan. A careful thematic analysis of interview data reveals the emergence...
GIST – Education and Learning Research Journal, 2021
The main objective of this study is to explore various barriers that are preventing Pakistani HEI... more The main objective of this study is to explore various barriers that are preventing Pakistani HEIs (universities) students from learning online in this COVID-19 pandemic. Applying a qualitative research design, twelve (12) in-depth interviews were conducted with individual business school participants (students), selected at undergraduate and graduate levels to participate. Data were collected from six (06) universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. After collecting the data using a self-developed questionnaire, a thematic analysis method within the qualitative research was applied to uncover several barriers relating to the objective of this study. Eight themes emerged from the interview data: internet technology access, the content of digital slides, student’s perception towards online learning, power outages during COVID-19 pandemic, students’ fear of losing marks and impact on employment, faculty skills in using technology to teach online, student’s stress and health in the COVID-19 p...
With the availability of the Internet as an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool, ... more With the availability of the Internet as an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool, electronic commerce (e-commerce) has received much attention in many Western and developed countries. However, it has been given little attention in emerging economies, and therefore e-commerce adoption has been particularly difficult for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this review paper is to explore several types of barriers that influence the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in emerging economies. An exhaustive review of the literature was conducted on the subject. It further evaluates and extends Tornatzky and Fleischer’s (1990) Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework by adding a micro-level context - that of the ‘entrepreneurial (individual) characteristics of owner-managers’ to examine various contextual challenges SMEs face in adopting e-commerce in emerging economies. The paper examines a number of new dynamic and contextual barriers identified...
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Papers by Arsalan Nazir