Adoption Factors for e-Malls in the SME Sector in Saudi Arabia

TL;DR

This paper investigates the key organizational, technical, and cultural factors influencing the adoption of e-Malls by SMEs in Saudi Arabia, aiming to facilitate digital trade and economic growth.

Contribution

It applies the DOI approach to identify specific barriers and requirements for SME e-Mall adoption in Saudi Arabia using empirical survey data.

Findings

Organizational, technical, and cultural factors significantly affect e-Mall adoption.

Identified key obstacles faced by SMEs in adopting e-Malls.

Provides insights for policymakers to promote e-commerce among SMEs.

Abstract

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector represents one of the fundamental pillars in the trade field. It contributes significantly to raising the economies of countries by providing significant numbers of job opportunities, which are beneficial to directly supporting national economies. One of the most important obstacles facing this sector in the information technology era is the lack of online trading channels with consumers, which require more financial support than the their capabilities. Therefore, e-Malls might be one of the best low-cost solutions to overcome this obstacle. Also, they provide electronic platforms that include most SME requirements for sales via electronic channels as well as offer essential technical support. According to a report published in 2013 by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the percentage of SMEs is equivalent to 90% of the total number of companies in Saudi Arabia, which is numbered at 848,500. The e-Mall is a modern idea in Saudi Arabia that requires the use of the Disunion Of Innovation (DOI) approach to diffuse e-Malls through determining companies requirements and difficulties. Therefore, this paper focuses on the factors that help SMEs to adopt e-Malls. A quantitative questionnaire was conducted on 108 companies in Saudi Arabia to find what obstacles and requirements they face to adopt an e-Mall and focus on the factors affecting the implementation of this system, which are divided into organizational, technical and cultural factors.