دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی تجارت الکترونیکی و کارآفرینی در شرکت های کوچک و متوسط: پرونده ی myBot - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – The adoption of e-commerce in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a much researched topic in developed and developing nations. The application of mobile devices, and social media networks (SMNs) such as Facebook has revolutionalised the e-commerce adoption process in SMEs. However, research into this area is still developing and there is a dearth of knowledge on how SMEs in developing countries enact and apply this phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to explain how e-commerce entrepreneurship using SMN is conceptualised and applied in SMEs, and to highlight factors that influence this e-commerce innovation. Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive and qualitative case study approach was adopted as a methodological foundation in a firm pseudo-named, myBot. The study employed the contextualism theory as a meta-theoretical framework to conceptualise and analyse the e-commerce entrepreneurship process in the firm. The study employed face-to-face semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the manager as primary means of obtaining in-depth information. Further information was obtained through website content analysis and document analysis of the firm’s reports and observations. Findings – The results unearth a socially constructed feature of e-commerce entrepreneurship that draws from myBot’s manager’s innovative ability to use Facebook and e-mail to increase sales through its niche market. Factors that propelled e-commerce entrepreneurial activities using Facebook include trust, commitment and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications – The revelation of this study may have changed due to the dynamic changes in the information and communication technology industry and how these are employed in a particular country and region of the world. Thus, results may not be generalised to other contexts. The study has a methodological limitation as it only had one informant who could respond to the study questions. Practical implications – The study provides a practical application of using the contextualism theory to analyse e-commerce entrepreneurship in SMN. Social implications – The application of e-commerce using SMNs such as Facebook widens the scope of tools that SMEs may use. Originality/value – The study provides a theoretical lens into the understanding of an e-commerce entrepreneurship process using a contextualism theory. The paper showcases how e-commerce using Facebook can be portrayed in a developing country context.

6. Conclusion

This study has explained how an SME, pseudo-named myBot in a developing country, has incorporated SMN in e-commerce adoption and entrepreneurship process. The research was undertaken using a qualitative and interpretive approach that involved close interaction with the SME manager to reveal contextual and social issues that affected the e-commerce development process. Primarily, social commerce using Facebook is the main types of e-commerce that ensued between the consumers in the USA and myBot. The main factors are trust between the participating actors, the manager’s commitment and innovativeness. The application of contextualism assisted in providing a theoretical lens for understanding the e-commerce entrepreneurship process as well as placing an emphasis of the practical application in an SME context. This paper makes a theoretical contribution to literature on e-commerce using social commerce in African SME contexts. The use of theory to provide an understanding of SMEs is another value provided from this study. The paper discusses and applied the contextualism theory (Pettigrew, 1990) to assist in exploring the nature of SME environment for e-commerce development using SMN.

Future research could look into other SMNs such as Whatsapp, Twitter, Youtube, Myspace and other tools, and how they contribute to e-commerce entrepreneurship in resource-constrained SME environment in other industries, and regions of the world. Comparative studies on SMN are also possible. In terms of future implications, further studies could involve other global consumers to obtain a complete picture of online trust in the application of SMNs such as Whatsapp, Twitter, Linkedin and other popular SMNs. Other studies could investigate social processes that enable s-commerce.