Electronic commerce adoption barriers of Ghanaian manufacturing SMEs: an artificial neural network analysis.

Abstract

The adoption of Electronic Commerce (EC) has fostered the growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in both developed and developing countries. This research examines potential barriers within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework that affect the decision to adopt EC within SMEs in the context of emerging economies. A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data from 296 managers of Ghanaian manufacturing SMEs. A robust version of feed-forward propagation artificial neural network based on the sigmoid basis function was developed to determine the influential role of designated barriers to EC adoption. We observed that all the nine factors significantly and negatively influence SMEs’ EC adoption decision behaviour, with lack of EC awareness being the dominant factor. Theoretical contribution and managerial implications of this research are discussed which is thought to offer valuable insights to managers, policy makers, and EC experts regarding the adoption of EC within SMEs of emerging economies.