E-commerce adoption among entrepreneurial firms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Purpose

The study investigates the role of e-commerce adoption on Ghana’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 309 owner-managers of entrepreneurial SMEs was employed using LISREL to determine the nature of the underlying relationships among the study constructs.

Findings

The findings show that adopting e-commerce significantly improves SMEs' performance. The study also found that trust effectively mediates the relationship between e-commerce adoption and SME business performance. Finally, the study found that firm agility moderates the relationship between e-commerce adoption and business performance.

Practical implications

The study recommends SMEs in Ghana seeking to grow their businesses capitalize on e-commerce capabilities to enhance their business performances while ensuring trusting relationships, especially in the delivery of e-commerce services consistently, to improve their contribution to overall business performance.

Originality/value

The findings would help managers of SMEs in Ghana to deliver optimum value in their e-commerce operations to improve their business performances in an uncertain world.

Citation

Anabila, P., Kumi, D.K., Ameyibor, L.E.K. and Allan, M.M. (2024), "E-commerce adoption among entrepreneurial firms in Sub-Saharan Africa", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 1400-1423. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-08-2023-0358