Determinants of ICT Adoption Among Small Scale Agribusiness Enterprises In Somalia

TL;DR

This study investigates the key factors influencing ICT adoption among small-scale agribusinesses in Somalia, revealing that internal motivations and perceptions significantly drive adoption over external financial support.

Contribution

It applies the TOE framework to identify critical determinants of ICT adoption in Somali agribusiness, filling a research gap specific to this context.

Findings

Relative advantage significantly influences ICT adoption.

Complexity negatively affects ICT adoption.

Top management support encourages adoption.

Abstract

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can advance the Agricultural Business sector, particularly in a country seeking opportunities to explore the sector. There is evidence that ICT has made significant contributions to agribusiness because it allows enterprises to manage their operations, and it has major impacts on the business. However, the critical factors that motivate the adoption of new innovative technology by agribusiness enterprises are underexplored. The literature has indicated ICT adoption among small-scale agribusiness enterprises in Somalia is not fully understood. Nevertheless, this study addresses this gap by investigating the adoption of ICT among small-scale agribusiness enterprises in Somalia. The paper reports the use of the Technology, Organization, Environment (TOE) framework. An online survey has been conducted with random sampling for data collection, with 107 respondents. The respondents are from agribusiness staff and farmers from various agricultural companies in Somalia. After quantitative data analysis, the results indicated that relative advantage, complexity, top management support, and competitive pressure factors are significant contributors to ICT adoption in Somalian agribusiness enterprises, while ICT costs and vendor support are not significantly related to the adoption of ICT in agricultural business. This study concludes that ICT adoption in Somalia is inspired by insight and motivation rather than financial and external support. Understanding these factors leads to a better understanding of ICT adoption in Somalia. Additionally, it enriches the literature about the agriculture business on the African continent Keywords: Determinants, ICT Adoption, Agribusiness, Small Scale, TOE framework