E-Commerce Adoption in Small Firms: A Study of Online Share Trading

Abstract

This research examines the adoption of e-commerce technology (namely, order-execution online trading technology) by six small brokerage firms at various stages in the evaluation and adoption processes. The study is informed by innovation theory and prior research, and seeks to identify the key factors influencing the adoption process. Consistent with innovation theory, the case findings suggest that three classes of factors influence adoption: innovation factors, factors, organizational factors and environmental factors. The key factors within each of these classes were identified as compatibility and perceived benefits (innovation factors); IT sophistication, internal and external IT support and management support (organizational factors); and pressure from e-commerce-able competitors and clients (environmental factors). Of these variables, compatibility and perceived benefits were found to be the most significant in impacting e-commerce adoption.