E-Commerce Adoption: Perceptions of Managers/Owners of Small and Medium Sized Firms in Chile

Although the adoption of e-commerce is widely studied in the industrialized world, only a small number of these studies focus on developing countries. An even smaller fraction of these studies focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for a high percent of the economy generated in developing countries. In this study, managers/owners of SMEs in Chile identified variables that differentiate between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. The analysis suggests that Chilean managers/owners most receptive to adopting e-commerce possess the financial and technological resources to implement it, see e-commerce as increasing managerial productivity and supporting strategic decisions, feel external pressure to put ecommerce into operation, perceive e-commerce as compatible with preferred work practices and existing technology infrastructure, and perceive e-commerce as useful for their firms.