1

Factors Influencing B2C E-Commerce Adoption in Organizations

By: Thanaporn Sundaravej
College of Business Administration
University of Missouri at Saint Louis
Saint Louis, MO 63121-4400
1. Introduction
A study on information systems (IS) innovation and its adoption has a long history on the IS
literature. Due to a rapid growth of the Internet and World Wide Web, many researchers and
business entrepreneurs have recently paid greater attention to the adoption of the innovative
electronic market channel. Unfortunately, a review of prior research does not find an exhaustive
view of factors in the electronic commerce (e-commerce) adoption in organizations that conduct
online transactions with customers. Even though several categories of factors were identified and
have the potential to influence the business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce adoption in
organizations, qualitative and quantitative research to strengthen knowledge in this domain has
been spare. This study attempts to gather information underlying factors in the B2C e-commerce
adoption in organizations on current literature in multiple disciplines, develop a research
framework based on analyzed information and a studied theory, and produce useful guidelines
for subsequent researchers who are interested in the investigation of IS adoption and e-commerce
domains and for practitioners who are considering implementing an innovative online transaction
channel to their customers.
1.1. Theories of Information Technology Adoption and Innovations
The first comprehensive view of diffusion of innovations has been proposed by Everett M.
Rogers (Raho et al., 1987). Several studies in innovations are examined and categorized into

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diverse disciplines such as anthropology, social sciences, education, industrial, etc (Rogers,
1962). Rogers (1962) defined an innovation as an idea perceived as new by the individual.
Viewing an innovation as any new idea assigns a wide scope to this definition. To restrict the
definition of an innovation for the current study, an innovation is perceived as the B2C ecommerce that an organization plans to make an effective use of. Diffusion, according to Rogers
(1962), is defined as the process by which an innovation spreads. As such, the diffusion process
is the spread of a new idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users or
adopters. In this context, the ultimate adopters are defined as organizations that currently do not
have but plan to adopt the B2C e-commerce to their organizations. No matter how organizations
will accept or reject the technology of B2C e-commerce, the diffusion process or the spread of a
new idea from sources to ultimate users has existed.
Within the IS literature, the diffusion of innovations theory has been embraced into IS
research in 1970s to determine the adoption of a diffused information technology innovation.
Several subsequent researchers put their efforts to develop and modify different models and
theories of information technology acceptance such as Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by
Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis (1989), Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB) by Ajzen (1991), Model of PC Utilization (MPCU) by Thompson et al.
(1991), Motivational Model (MM) by Davis et al. (1992), Social Cognitive Theory in IS (SCT)
by Compeau and Higgins (1995), Combined TAM and TPB (C-TAM-TPB) by Taylor and Todd
(1995), Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) by Venkatesh and Davis (2000), and Unified
Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model (UTAUT) by Venkatesh et al. (2003). These
models or theories together provide overview picture of determinants to the adopted IS usage and
acceptance.

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1.2. Information Technology Adoption and Innovations in Organizations
The number of research studies on IT innovations in organizations, as well as the attention
paid to these investigations, has been increased in the last few decades. Diffusion of IT
innovation theories have been applied to various technologies, for instance, administrative
Electronic Data Processing or EDP (Moch and Morse, 1977), computer applications (Perry and
Danziger, 1980), modern software practices (Zmud, 1982 and 1984), Asynchronous Transfer
Mode or ATM (Hannan and McDowell, 1984), new information technology (Huff and Munro,
1985), intelligent telephone (Manross and Rice, 1986), database management system (Ball et al.,
1988), data administration (Hsieh, 1987), electronic scanners (Levin et al., 1987), expert system
(Leonard-Barton and Deschamps, 1988), software engineering technology (Bayer and Melone,
1989), spreadsheet software (Brancheau and Wetherbe, 1990), general purpose individual
computing (Burkhardt and Brass, 1990), Material Requirements Planning or MRP (Cooper and
Zmud, 1990), database design tools and techniques (Nilakanta and Scamell, 1990), IS services
(Lind and Zmud, 1991), personal work station (Moore and Benbasat, 1991), Computer-Aided
Software Engineering or CASE (Ramiller, 1991), business computing (Attewell, 1992),
information center (Fuller and Swanson, 1992a and 1992b), IT outsourcing (Loh and
Venkatraman, 1992), electronic scanners (Zmud and Apple, 1992). The list of these selected
empirical research in IS innovations was summarized by Swanson (1994). Swanson (1994)
claimed that IS innovations and their diffusion at organizational level until that year had been
relatively little studied by researchers.
However, recent IS literatures show that a variety of IS innovations has been studied by
many researchers after the study by Swanson (1994). Several examples consist of ComputerAided Software Engineering or CASE (Orlikowski, 1993), Executive Information System or EIS

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(Watson and Frolick, 1993), personal computer (Thompson and Higgins, 1994; Venkatesh and
Brown, 2001), Electronic Data Interchange or EDI (Iacovou et al., 1995; Wang and Seidmann,
1995), expert system (Gill, 1996), electronic mail (Gefen and Straub, 1997), electronic cash
(Szmigin and Bourne, 1999), group support systems (Dennis et al., 2001; Dennis and Garfield,
2003), online banking (Bradley and Stewart, 2003), Internet (Lyytinen and Rose, 2003; Oh et al.,
2003; Forman, 2005; Hovav, 2005; Lymperopoulos and Chaniotakis, 2005), corporate portal
(Benbya et al., 2004), electronic brainstorming technology (Dennis and Reinicke, 2004),
Electronic Patient Record or EPR (Leonard, 2004), wireless technology (Fang et al., 2005),
Information and Communication Technologies or ICT (Lapierre and Denier, 2005), Real-Time
Business Reporting Technology or RBRT (Li and Pinsker, 2005), and electronic payment (He et
al., 2006). This incomplete list of instances remarkably implies how the research in IS
innovations have gained attention from researchers over the last five decades.
In considering the study of aforementioned information technologies before and after the
study by Swanson (1994), we can see that the research trend in IS innovations recently moves
from standalone applications to electronic, Web-based, or wireless network technologies. Thanks
to the global, rapid diffusion of the Internet since 1990s (Wolcott et al., 2001), many
organizations take advantage of it to gain or sustain competitive profitability over their
competitors (GoldBerg and Sifonis, 1998).
1.3. Electronic Commerce and Its Types
In the broadest sense, e-commerce refers to all online transactions. E-commerce is a kind of
innovative technologies that takes advantage of the Internet growth to allow organizations to
conduct business with improved efficiencies and productivity (Sharma and Gupta, 2003).
Additionally, e-commerce can enhance company image, enable access to new customers, and

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generate new business opportunities (Chan, 2003). Even with the excessive optimism of ecommerce in 1990s and collapsed dot-com enterprises in 2001, e-commerce continues to grow
today. E-commerce is differentiated into three types: business-to-business (B2B), business-tocustomer (B2C), and customer-to-customer (C2C) e-commerce. This paper discusses the first
two types of e-commerce due to their richness of literatures.
The B2B e-commerce occurs when companies conduct an online transaction with other
businesses. The B2B transactions are complex and require high security needs. The B2B ecommerce is frequently utilized for automating workflows or supply-chain processes, lowering
costs, and improving productivity (Timmers, 1999). In contrast, the B2C e-commerce applies to
any business or organization that sells its products or services to consumers over the Internet for
the consumers own use. More specifically, B2C e-commerce includes the activity in which
consumers get information and purchase products or services using Internet technology (Pavlou
& Fygenson, 2006). As a result, the definition of the B2C e-commerce could range from static
product catalogs on a Website to dynamic interaction between consumers and Web vendors.
One business may conduct both types of e-commerce. For instance, Walmart uses electronic
data interchange (EDI) to electronically exchange business documents such as purchase orders or
invoices with its suppliers, while Walmart opens an alternative, online channel to sell products to
its customers. As more and more companies and customers get connected to the Internet, ecommerce is becoming increasingly important as an easy mechanism for companies and
individuals to buy, sell, and trade information, products, or services.
1.4. Business-to-Customer Electronic Commerce Adoption in Organization Level
The adoption of e-commerce has been extensively studied in the IS literature. In an early age
of the e-commerce adoption, researchers put their concerns on the study of B2B e-commerce.

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EDI was claimed as a key technology in 1980s and 1990s (Swanson, 1994). Several evidences
can be found from the following articles. Hansen (1989) provided an overview of control
architectures and concerns associated with EDI. Ferguson et al. (1990) outlined the foundations
of EDI and presented the survey result of the EDI use by U.S. firms in 1988. Iacovou et al.
(1995) identified critical factors in adopting and integrating EDI for small businesses.
Mukhopadhyay et al. (1995) examined the business value of EDI usage at the assembly centers
of Chrysler Corporation. Wang and Seidmann (1995) studied positive and negative effects of
EDI on the trading partners and evaluated policy options for buyers. Massetti and Zmud (1996)
measured the EDI usage in seven organizations. Kaefer and Bendoly (2000) developed a model
to identify the EDI cost effectiveness.
In the last decade, recent researchers have started paying more attention to the study of the
B2C e-commerce. Due to the increasing growth of estimated sales generated from the B2C ecommerce channel (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005), businesses are heavily investing in information
technology (IT) infrastructures to conduct digital transactions and to capture more market
segments, even though the effect of a high IT investment on the businesses performance has not
been proved (Bharadwaj, 2000). Non-profit organizations also use this innovative channel to
enhance their services to their clients. Evidences to support the current trend of B2C e-commerce
study can be witnessed from several articles studied in the following sections.
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive view of factors in the B2C e-commerce adoption in
organizations provided on the current IS literature. The purpose of this study is to answer the
following questions: (1) what factors influencing the adoption of the B2C e-commerce in an
organization appear on current literatures; and (2) which factors have been studied or still lack
attention and need more exploration from researchers. In order to solve the addressed problems,

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this study attempts to gather, study, and analyze significant factors influencing the adoption of
the B2C e-commerce in the organizational level. An integrated framework is developed based on
prior research on the B2C e-commerce adoption. The current study can benefit subsequent
researchers when conducting experiments or case studies to confirm or reject the adoption
factors in order to obtain complemented and validated determinants of the B2C e-commerce
adoption in organizations. Additionally, the study is useful for practitioners who are considering
a novel, global, and digital business channel to gain awareness of the present e-commerce
phenomenon.
1.5. Scope of the Study: Structurational Model of Technology
Organizations are complex social systems. Hence, organization and management theorists
have developed theories to explain phenomenon in organizations and to understand such
complicated systems. Orlikowski (1992) develops a theoretical model, called the Structurational
Model of Technology, to examine the interaction between technology and organizations. The
model comprises the three main components: human agents, technology, and institutional
properties of organizations. Two premises of the Structurational Model of Technology, which are
duality of technology and interpretive flexibility of technology, are elaborated. The duality of
technology refers to the recursive notion of technology, which means that technology is created
and changed by human action, and in the meantime it is also used by humans to accomplish
some actions. The interpretive flexibility of technology is a corollary of the first premise, which
refers to the interaction of technology and organization or a function of the different actors and
socio-historical contexts. Based on these two promises, four main concepts of the model are
classified as follows: (1) technology is the product of human action; (2) technology is the
medium of human action; (3) institutional conditions influence humans in their interaction with

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technology; and (4) interaction with technology influences the institutional properties of an
organization. Figure 1 represents the relationship among these concepts, including their
definitions in Table 1. Summarily, the three main components of the Structurational Model of
Technology, which are human agents, technology, and institutional properties of organizations,
are not independent, but correlated to each other. The scope of this study is bounded by the
Structurational Model of Technology so as to provide a comprehensive view of factors
influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations.

Institutional Properties
d
c

Technology
a
b

Human Agents
Figure 1: Structurational Model of Technology
Arrow
a

Type of Influence
Technology as a Product of
Human Action

Technology as a Medium of
Human Agents

Institutional Conditions of
Interaction with Technology

Institutional Consequences of
Interaction with Technology

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Nature of Influence
Technology is an outcome of such human
actions as design, development,
appropriation, and modification
Technology facilitates and constraints
human actions through the provision of
interpretive schemes, facilities, and norms
Institutional Properties influence humans in
their interaction with technology, for
example, intentions, professional norms,
state of the art in materials and knowledge,
design standards, and available resources
(time, money, skills)
Interaction with Technology influences the
institutional properties of an organization,

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through reinforcing or transforming
structures of signification, domination, and
legitimation
Table 1: Type and Definition of Influence in Structurational Model of Technology
2. Research Methodology
The research starts from gathering information from literatures in IS and other disciplines
that relate to the area of the current study. Then, a research framework is proposed based on the
findings in prior studies and the adopted theory. Factors influencing the B2C e-commerce
adoption have been analyzed. Based on these analyzed factors, the framework has been revised
until it explicitly explains the factors that drive the adoption of the B2C e-commerce in
organizations. Finally, a discussion of the findings and contributions from this study is provided
at the end of this paper.
2.1. Research Collection
The research collection within this study comes from both IS and business journals such as
MIS Quarterly, Communications of AIS, Communications of ACM, Electronic Markets, Journal
of Marketing Management, Information & Management, Journal of Global Information
Management, and Journal of Small Business Management. Articles relating to the area of this
study have been searched and carefully reviewed to extract main factors influencing the B2C
adoption in organizations. Those studied factors are analyzed based on the scope of the
Structurational Model of Technology. A new framework emerges from data gathered from prior
literatures and the applied model.
2.2. Proposed Research Framework
To apply the theoretical model to the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations, several
factors influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations, appearing on existing
literatures, have been determined as the properties of the model elements. Figure 2 demonstrates

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the Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology. Properties of each element in the
model are shown in Table 2.

Business Properties
d
c

B2C E-Commerce Technology

a
b

Decision Makers /
Consumers
Figure 2: Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology

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Arrow Type of Influence
a
B2C E-Commerce
Technology as a
Product of Decision
Makers and
Consumers

B2C E-Commerce
Technology as a
Medium of Decision
Makers and
Consumers
Business Conditions of
Interaction with B2C
E-Commerce
Technology

Nature of Influence
Decision Makers:
CEOs Innovativeness

Author
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Al-Qirim (2005)

Publication
MIS Quarterly
Electronic Markets

Age, Education, and

Cosmopolitanism

Ching and Ellis (2004)

J. of Marketing Mgnt.

Managerial Perceptions on
Productivity and Strategic
Decision Aids
Consumers:
Knowledge, Familiarity, and
Skills
Trust

Grandon and Pearson (2004a)

Grandon and Pearson (2004b)

Information & Mgnt.

Communications of AIS

Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)

MIS Quarterly

Gefen et al. (2003)

Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)

MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly

Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)

MIS Quarterly

Web Navigability

Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)

MIS Quarterly

Information Protection

Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)

MIS Quarterly

External Properties:
Competition or Industry
Pressure

Ching and Ellis (2004)

Grandon and Pearson (2004b)
Al-Qirim (2005)
Looi (2005)
Seyal et al. (2004)
Ching and Ellis (2004)
Van Beveren and Thomson (2002)

J. of Marketing Mgnt.
Communications of AIS
Electronic Markets
Communications of AIS
Electronic Markets
J. of Marketing Mgnt.
J. of Small Business Mgnt.

Perceived Usefulness
Perceived Ease of Use
Time and Monetary
Resources
Download Delay

Government Support
Pressure from Customers
Internal Properties:
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Firm Size
Industry Type
Web Experience
Organizational Age
Organizational Culture
Organizational Readiness
d

MacGregor and Vrazalic (2005)

Al-Qirim (2005)
Hong and Zhu (2006)
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Hong and Zhu (2006)
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Seyal et al. (2004)
Chatterjee et al. (2002)
Grandon and Pearson (2004b)
Hong and Zhu (2006)
Shih et al. (2005)
Hong and Zhu (2006)
Ching and Ellis (2004)
Grandon and Pearson (2004b)

Business
Technology Integration
Consequences of
Interaction with B2C
Compatibility
E-Commerce
Technology
Table 2: B2C Factors Based on Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology

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J. of Global Information Mgnt.

Electronic Markets
Information & Mgnt.
MIS Quarterly
Information & Mgnt.
MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly
MIS Quarterly
Electronic Markets
MIS Quarterly
Communications of AIS
Information & Mgnt.
Communications of the ACM
Information & Mgnt.
J. of Marketing Mgnt.
Communications of AIS

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According to the Structurational Model of Technology, three components, which are
institutional properties, human agents, and technology, are equally crucial. When applied to the
Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology, all adoption factors which are
properties of each component are critical. Without one of them, the B2C e-commerce adoption
rate is expected to be lower or the adoption may be prohibited. This study attempts to implement
a new completed paradigm of the B2C e-commerce adoption in IS research for subsequent
researchers. The study also attempts to benefit IS practitioners in learning which areas they
should be concerned about before making a decision to launch an innovative business channel on
the Internet. Omitting one of these factors may cause a failure in the online business. Each
component of the proposed model is explained as follows.
Arrow a: B2C E-Commerce Technology as a Product of Decision Makers and
Consumers
Orlikowski (1992) defined human agents as one component in her Structurational Model of
Technology. Technology is viewed as an outcome of human actions as design, development,
appropriation, and modification. Based on existing studies, decision makers and consumers
appear to be the human main factors of the B2C e-commerce adoption in organization. Even
though decision makers and consumers are not technology designers or developers, we cannot
deny that they significantly influence the design, development, appropriation, and modification
of the technology in organizations. Decision makers are defined here as a group of people or an
individual employed in the organization and making the decision to adopt or reject an innovation.
Decision makers have powers to direct the organization and use organizational resources in order
to serve consumers needs. Customers in B2C transactions refer to existing or prospective clients
who purchase or plan to purchase products or services for personal, family, or household

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purposes from a business seller or an organization. As a result, decision makers and consumers
are accounted of human agents in the Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology.
Their actions are believed to have a great impact on the B2C e-commerce technology adoption in
an organization. Therefore, in the proposed model, B2C e-commerce technology is viewed as a
product of decision makers and consumers. Several factors of decision makers and consumers
influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations are found on existing studies.
Examples of decision makers factors are CEOs innovativeness, age, education,
cosmopolitanism, and managerial perceptions on productivity and strategic decision aids.
Examples of consumers factors are their knowledge, familiarity, skill, trust, perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, and time and monetary resources.
Decision Maker Factors
1. Decision Makers' Attitude
In this context, the decision makers attitude refers to a feeling or emotion of managers
toward an introduction of new idea, method, or device to organizations. Al-Qirim (2005)
summarized a list of prior studies suggesting that the CEOs innovativeness, attitude towards
adoption, and knowledge are necessary factors influencing the extent of e-commerce adoption
into organizations. The results of the empirical study support the view that the greater the
managers (CEO) innovativeness, the more e-commerce technologies will be adopted.
Chatterjee et al. (2002) used the term top management championship to define managerial
beliefs about e-commerce initiatives in firms and participation in those initiatives. The definition
could be counted on as an aspect of CEOs attitude toward an adoption of B2C e-commerce. The
results of quantitative research by Chatterjee et al. (2005) prove that top management

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championship positively influences extent of organizational assimilation of Web technologies in
e-commerce strategies and activities.
2. Age, Education, and Cosmopolitanism
Ching and Ellis (2004) argued that several studies have found e-commerce adoption to be
correlated with the decision makers age, level of education, and degree of cosmopolitanism.
Generally, research found that adopting decision makers tend to be young, educated, and
cosmopolitan. The study of Ching and Ellis (2004) to determine factors driving e-commerce
adoption was conducted at Hong Kong small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The findings
confirmed the similar results in prior studies.
3. Managerial Perceptions on Productivity and Strategic Decision Aids
Managerial productivity and strategic decision aids are defined in the article of Grandon and
Pearson (2004a) as important factors in e-commerce adoption in organizations. Managerial
productivity refers to managers perception that e-commerce provides better access to
information, helps in the management of time, improves communication among managers, etc.
The strategic decision aids is defined as managers perceptions that e-commerce supports
strategic decisions. Grandon and Pearson (2004a) validated the managerial productivity and
strategic decision aids constructs in their study to determine that the perceptions of strategic
value of e-commerce were associated with the decision to adopt e-commerce by managers or
owners of SMEs. This finding is consistent with the results of prior literatures that they studied.
Grandon and Pearson (2004b) also conducted a different study to determine perceptions to adopt
e-commerce of managers or owners of SMEs in Chile. The findings confirm that managerial
productivity and strategic decision aids were found to be a good discriminator between e-

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commerce adopters and non-adopters. It implies that adopters perceive that e-commerce helps
their decision-making.
Consumer Factors
1. Knowledge, Familiarity, and Skills
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and offered
numerous variables to explain and predict the process of e-commerce adoption by consumers.
The empirical experiment in their study proves that consumers skills can be counted as
indicators influencing the e-commerce adoption. Consumer skills are defined as the knowledge
and expertise that a consumer has to undertake a behavior. It is, therefore, a potential predictor of
whether a certain behavior can be accomplished. Applied to e-commerce, consumer skills refer
to the consumers knowledge and ability to purchase online products or services.
2. Trust
Trust is ones expectation, assured reliance, dependence, or belief in another party. Gefen et
al. (2003) studied trust and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in online shopping. The
results of the study show that consumer trust is an important element to online commerce,
especially in an interaction with an e-vendor. Trust results in an explanation of the consumers
intended behavior. Trust in the empirical study of Gefen et al. (2003) was proved to be a crucial
component to retrieve information and to purchase online products or services by customers.
Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) also adopted trust into their study of the B2C e-commerce adoption
to predict consumer behaviors. The results of the study confirm that trust predicts B2C ecommerce adoption by customers.
3. Perceived Usefulness

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In addition to TPB, Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) applied the Technology Acceptance Model
(TAM) to determine factors of e-commerce adoption by consumers. Perceived usefulness is the
extent to which a person believes that using a system will improve his performance. In the study,
perceived usefulness is shown to positively influence customers attitude toward getting product
information and product purchasing from a Web vendor.
4. Perceived Ease of Use
Perceived ease of use is another TAM determinant used in the study by Pavlou and Fygenson
(2006). It is defined as the extent to which a person believes that using the system will be
effortless. Similarly to perceived usefulness, perceived ease of getting information and product
purchasing is shown to positively influence attitude toward getting product information and
product purchasing from a Web vendor.
5. Time and Monetary Resources
Consumers time resources refer to the time needed to browse for production information,
while monetary resources are identified as financial prerequisites to purchase products or
services from a Web vendor (Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006). Pavlou and Fygenson (2006)
employed these two constructs in their empirical experiment. The findings from the study
indicate that these resources are indicators to the intention and behavior to get information and to
purchase goods online by consumers.
Arrow b: B2C E-Commerce Technology as a Medium of Decision Makers and
Consumers
Besides an outcome of human actions in the Orlikowski (1992) Structurational Model of
Technology, technology is viewed as a medium of human agents that facilitates and constraints
human actions through the provision of interpretive schemes, facilities, and norms. In the

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Structurational Model of B2C E-Commerce Technology, B2C e-commerce technology refers to a
computer programming system, application, or technology that creates a transaction on the
Internet. It can be perceived as a medium of consumers that could facilitate or constraint their
purchasing actions through the provision of interpretive schemes, facilities, and norms.
Therefore, properties of the technology influence in the B2C e-commerce adoption must either
facilitate or constraint the consumers purchasing actions. Download delay, Web navigability,
and information protection are found on existing studies as the factors influencing an
organization to adopt the B2C e-commerce. Such factors can be seen to either assist or impede
consumers purchasing, depending on the design, development, appropriation, and modification
of the B2C e-commerce technology in the organization.
B2C E-Commerce Technology Factors
1. Download Delay
As mentioned earlier, Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) employed TPB to explain and to predict
the process of e-commerce adoption by consumers. Download delay is defined as one
technological characteristic to predict e-commerce adoption in organizations on their study. It
refers to the amount of time it takes for a Website to display a requested page from a Web server.
Based on previous research, download delay is expected to negatively impact attitude toward
getting online information. Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) claimed that download delay is a key ecommerce barrier. Thus, organizations planning to adopt e-commerce as a transaction channel
cannot avoid the impact of download delay to their customers attitude. The findings of their
empirical study also support this argument.
2. Website Navigability

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Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) also defined Website navigability as a significant factor
influencing controllability over getting product information from a Web vendor. Navigability in
the study by Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) refers to the natural sequencing of Web pages, wellorganized layout, and consistency of navigation protocols, enabling consumers to find the right
products and to compare among alternatives completely under the consumers control. Similar to
download delay, Website navigability is another critical factor that organizations must pay
attention in adopting e-commerce because it can either facilitate or impede the consumers online
purchase.
3. Information Protection
Information security and privacy receive more attention in recent literature. Information
protection refers to an ability of Web technologies to fulfill security requirements of personal
information from unauthorized use or disclosure (Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006). Pavlou and
Fygenson (2006) proposed that when consumers feel comfortable with the way a Web vendor
protects their personal information, they are willing to purchase products or service form that
vendor. The findings of their study support this argument.
Arrow c: Business Conditions of Interaction with B2C E-Commerce Technology
Institutional properties are another component of the Orlikowskis (1992) Structurational
Model of Technology. These properties influence human agents in their interactions with
technology. Examples of the institutional conditions of interaction with technology are
intentions, professional norms, state of the art in materials and knowledge, design standards, and
available resources such as time, money, and skills. The current study applies this Orlikowskis
(1992) influence into business conditions of interaction with B2C e-commerce technology.
Existing studies have extensively discussed this influence in several properties. These properties

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can be classified into two main groups: external and internal components. External properties of
business conditions of interaction with B2C e-commerce refer to social context, surroundings
outside the organization, or external conditions that affect the B2C adoption in an organization.
Such properties in current studies are competition or industry pressure, government support, and
pressure from customers. On the other hand, internal business properties refer to organizational
characteristics, structures, or arrangements that affect the B2C adoption in an organization.
Internal properties found in existing studies are firm size, industry type, Web experience, and
organizational age, culture, and readiness.
External Business Property Factors
1. Competition and Industry Pressure
Based on the prior work of Davis (1989), Grandon and Pearson (2004b) defined the
definition of external pressure to an organization as direct or indirect pressure exerted by
competitors, social referents, other firms, the government, and the industry to adopt an
innovation in an organization. By this description, competition, industry pressure (Al-Qirim,
2005), competitive pressure (Looi, 2005), and competitive intensity (Ching and Ellis, 2004),
defined by different researchers, are counted as the environment factor driving an organization to
adopt the B2C e-commerce. From the empirical study by Grandon and Pearson (2004b) on the ecommerce adoption in Chile SMEs, external pressure is found as a significant factor influencing
the e-commerce adoption.
Moreover, Al-Qirim (2005) summarized that most prior research found the high intensity of
competition as a significant factor to drive an e-commerce adoption. Partially consistent with
those prior studies, Al-Qirims (2005) empirical study represents mixed results of competition as

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a factor of an e-commerce adoption in New Zealand SMEs. Competition is found significant
only in the case of extended adopters, neither starters nor innovators.
In contrast, the findings from Ching and Ellis (2004) case studies identified the opposite
result from Grandon and Pearson (2004b) and Al-Qirum (2005). Ching and Ellis (2004) observed
no relationship between the e-commerce adoption and the intense competition within industries
or inter-firm rivalry. Based on these different findings, more investigation in this factor is
crucially needed.
2. Government Support
Unlike Grandon and Pearson (2004b), Seyal et al. (2004) differentiated government support
as a separated factor from the competition and industry pressure. Their study proves that the
impact of governmental policies and initiatives is shown to have stimulation to the e-commerce
adoption in Pakistan SMEs. The greater government incentives are perceived by an organization,
the higher is the likelihood of an organization to adopt e-commerce. Further studies that explain
the government support as an e-commerce driven factor in general contexts other than in
Pakistan are encouraged.
3. Pressure from Customers
The pressure from customers seems to be neglected by most prior researchers. Not many
studies concern pressures from customers as a factor to adopt an e-commerce into a business.
Pressures from customers are found significant in Ching and Ellis (2004) qualitative research in
the investigation of factors driving e-commerce adoption in Hong Kong SMEs. In their study,
existing customers appear to motivate the switch to the Internet for conducting business in
organizations. However, Ching and Ellis (2004) do not specify types of pressure from customers

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in further details. The consumer factors studied by Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) may explain the
pressure from customers defined by Ching and Ellis (2004).
Internal Business Property Factor
1. Firm Size
Van Beveren and Thomson (2002) conducted a survey of manufacturers in Australia to
investigate if firm size could be a possible factor in determining whether businesses got involved
in e-commerce adoption. The study reveals that smaller firms are less likely to adopt e-commerce
than larger firms. This outcome could be traced to a lack of the human resources needed to
manage Web-related tasks of small firms. However, there are few sample sizes in some firm size
categories and no case studies or empirical evidence to support the argument.
In contrast, MacGregor and Vrazalic (2005) presented the opposite result from Beveren and
Thomson (2002). The findings from their study show that Swedish and Australian small
businesses, especially old small businesses, tend to implement e-commerce due to the
affordability. Additionally, the findings from the study of Al-Qirim (2005) represent mixed
results, based on types of adopters. For starters, firm size appears insignificant in the ecommerce adoption in New Zealand SMEs. However, firm size plays a major role on the
adoption of e-commerce technologies for innovators and extended innovators.
Hong and Zhu (2006) presented a different aspect of firm size as a control variable instead of
an independent variable as Al-Qirim (2005). They developed a framework based on an earlier
theoretical model of technology adoption called technology-organization-environment or TOE
framework to study the adoption of technology innovation proposed by Tornatzky and Fleisher
(1990). Three core aspects of a firm that influence it to adopt an IT innovation are defined as
technological, organizational, and environmental contexts. Firm size is perceived as one factor in

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the organizational context and believed to have some effects on the IT adoption. Hong and Zhu
(2006), however, do not apply firm size (by total number of employees) as a predictor but control
variable. In their study, there is no explanation on what e-commerce type they intend to study.
Assumptions on the e-commerce type can be perceived from some defined factors used in the
study such as the EDI use and partner usage which are considered as factors of the B2B ecommerce and these are beyond the scope of the current study. Most importantly, the findings
from Hong and Zhu (2006) empirical study indicate that firm size is found to be negatively
related to the e-commerce adoption. This can be interpreted to mean that both small and large
firms adopt e-commerce into their business. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that the
scope of Hong and Zhu (2006) study may cover both the B2B and/or B2C e-commerce. Further
investigation should be strictly to the effect of firm size on the adoption of the B2C e-commerce.
2. Industry type
Industry type is used in empirical studies by Chatterjee et al. (2002) and Hong and Zhu
(2006) for e-commerce adoption in organizations as another control variable. The results of both
studies suggest that the differences among industries influence the e-commerce migration,
especially for firms in service industry, including marketing, sales, order processing, delivery,
customer support services, and recruiting (Chatterjee et al., 2002).
3. Web Experience
Web experience is identified by Chatterjee et al. (2002) as an extent of experience in using
the Web technology. It is used as a control variable in the experiment and Chatterjee et al. (2002)
concluded that the assimilation of Web technologies to e-commerce activities is influenced by
cumulative organizational learning and experience. Firms that have gained Web adoption for a

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prolonged period of time have a great likelihood of achieving a high level of maturity in ecommerce technology.
4. Organizational Age
Organizational age is defined by Chatterjee et al. (2002) as another control variable in the
experiment. The results of the experiment demonstrate that organizational age has slight
influence on Web assimilation. It was explained by Chatterjee et al. (2002) that older firms have
embedded structures of signification, legitimization, and domination. Thus, they are likely to
favor the structural inertia and have a difficulty to adopt a new business structure.
5. Organizational Culture
As mentioned earlier, Seyal et al. (2004) investigated factors predicting the e-commerce
adoption among SMEs in Pakistan. These factors are distinguished into technological,
organizational, and environmental types, similar to the categories proposed by Hong and Zhu
(2006). Seyal et al. (2004) claimed that organizational culture was one of the organizational
factors influencing the e-commerce adoption in Pakistan SMEs. Organizational culture was
described as a coherent set of beliefs with a set of shared core values. Several prior studies were
summarized by Seyal et al. (2004) to presume that organization culture affected the e-commerce
adoption in Pakistan SMEs. The results of their empirical study prove that organizational culture
is a significant factor in determining the e-commerce adoption. Again, an application of this
factor to different contexts should be undertaken.
Chatterjee et al. (2002) viewed the organizational culture in the aspect of coordination within
an organization. It is believed that firms must shape consensus around applications or projects
that will focus Web deployments on e-commerce strategies and activities through the use of a
variety of coordination mechanisms. The results of the study also prove such an assumption.

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6. Organizational Readiness
Organizational readiness was defined by Iacovou et al. (1995) and adapted to the ecommerce study of Grandon and Pearson (2004b) as availability of the financial and
technological resources to adopt e-commerce. Grandon and Pearson (2004b) summarized
different aspects of organizational readiness found in previous studies, for example,
organizational compatibility, technical compatibility, cost, etc. Their empirical study indicated
that organizational readiness emerged as the best discriminator between organizational adopters
and non-adopters of e-commerce. This proves that technological and financial resources engage
in the adoption of this IT innovation.
In earlier years, Chatterjee et al. (2002) defined strategic investment rationale as value
propositions that guide the identification of promising organizational opportunities and
justification of resource commitments toward the implementation of e-commerce projects. The
results of the study show that a well-developed explicit strategic investment rationale positively
influences extent of organizational assimilation of Web technologies in e-commerce strategies
and activities.
Additionally, Web spending was defined as a technology factor driving e-commerce adoption
in the article by Hong and Zhu (2006). Web spending refers to the portion of financial resources
devoted to Web-based initiatives, including hardware, software, IT services, consulting, and
employee training. Findings from the study confirm that Web spending is one of the factors
influencing e-commerce adoption. However, Web spending, defined by Hong and Zhu (2006)
should be considered as organizational readiness which is one element of organizational factors
driving e-commerce adoption rather than technological factor, because Web spending can be

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considered of financial and technological resources of an organization, determining e-commerce
adoption into an organization.
Arrow d: Business Consequences of Interaction with B2C E-Commerce Technology
Finally, Orlikowski (1992) suggested institutional consequences of interaction with
technology in her Structurational Model of Technology. This interaction with technology
influences the institutional properties of an organization through reinforcing or transforming
structures of signification, domination, and legitimation. The current study applies this concept
as business consequences of interaction with B2C e-commerce. That means, the interaction with
B2C e-commerce influences the business properties of an organization through strengthening or
renovating structures of signification, domination, and legitimation. Examples of such
consequences are technology integration and compatibility.
Summarily, based on existing studies and Orlikowskis (1992) Structurational Model of
Technology, main influences of the B2C e-commerce adoption can be distinguished into four
groups: business properties, decision makers, consumers, and B2C e-commerce technology.
Business properties, decision makers, and technology are perceived as the letter B or business
in B2C transactions. In contrast, consumers are perceived as the letter C or customer in B2C
transactions. The interactions occur among four groups of influences as depicted in Figure 2.
B2C E-Commerce Technology Factors
1. Technology Integration
Technology integration is defined in the Hong and Zhu (2006) article as the extent to which
various technologies and applications are represented on the Web platform. The study proves that
the more integrated these existing applications are with the Internet, the more capacity the
organization has to conduct its business over the Internet.

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Shih et al. (2005) argued that transaction facilitators such as credit card or debit card payment
conducted electronically for remote purchasing is a key determinant of e-commerce activities. In
some countries, the credit card usage is not widely available, resulting in less positive association
with the adoption of e-commerce technologies.
2. Compatibility
Ching and Ellis (2004) studied prior research and assumed that technology compatibility was
a propensity to adopt a technology innovation. This propensity is argued to reinforce the
innovation if the technology is compatible with the existing values, needs, and experiences of the
potential adopters. The results of their study are found consistent with the results of prior studies,
which reveal that innovators were likely to adopt e-commerce that is compatible with their
existing business values and practices. This could support the assumption that compatibility can
strongly affect the adoption of e-commerce in organizations.
Grandon and Pearson (2004b) also summarized prior research on compatibility as a factor
determining e-commerce adoption. Compatibility defined in their study is similar to Ching and
Ellis (2004) definition. It refers to consistency of e-commerce with the existing technology
infrastructure, culture, values, and preferred work practices of the firm. The results of the study
confirm that compatibility of the firm with e-commerce is a strong factor on e-commerce
adoption in Chile SMEs.
3. Discussion
There is no comprehensive view of the factors influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in
organizations. Some studies concentrate on a single or few particular factors. Gefen et al. (2003)
studied trust as a main factor of online consumers intended behavior. Pavlou and Fygensen
(2006) paid their attention to the factors of consumers and technology. Even though these studies

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provide useful quantitative research to prove their assumptions, a complete analysis on the
factors influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations could produce more valuable
outcomes from many separated studies.
In many occasions, several studies concentrate on a specific type of organizations, especially
SMEs, in particular countries and do not explain the applicability to organizations elsewhere. For
instance, Van Beveren and Thomson (2002) conducted a survey in Australia. Ching and Ellis
(2004) conducted a study at Hong Kong SMEs. Grandon and Pearson (2004b) conducted a study
at Chile SMEs. Seyal et al. (2004) studied the impact of government support and organizational
culture at Pakistan SMEs. Al-Qirim (2005) presented a study at New Zealand SMEs. It is
skeptical that the findings from these studies are applicable to the B2C e-commerce adoption in
any organization.
Additionally, some studies offer conflict results. Ching and Ellis (2004) identified an
opposite result from Grandon and Pearson (2004b) and Al-Qirim (2005) in terms of competition
and industry pressure factors. MacGregor and Vrazalic (2005) presented the opposite result
concerning the firm size from Beveren and Thomson (2002) and Al-Qirim (2005). Hong and Zhu
(2006) presented a different aspect of firm size from Al-Qirim (2005). Hence, a research should
be conducted to prove the validity of those results.
Lastly, there is no specification of the type of e-commerce on most studies. Some researchers
discuss either B2B or B2C e-commerce or both of them. Hong and Zhu (2006) study includes
EDI use and partner usage as indicators for the e-commerce adoption in organizations. As such, it
might be assumed that their study covers both the B2B and B2C e-commerce. As mentioned
earlier, the B2B e-commerce is not in the scope of this study. B2B factors, as a result, are not
counted as parts of the current analysis.

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4. Conclusions
Based on a founded theory and analysis on current works, this study shows that the factors
driving the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations can be viewed in several categories:
decision makers, consumers, technology, external business properties, and internal business
properties. Each factor comprises different properties. Some of these properties have been
theoretically or empirically proved as influences on the B2C e-commerce adoption in
organizations. However, some properties need further experiment and investigation. In the
future, these categories may need to be redefined and examined in further details, eventually to
establish a comprehensive understanding and validity of factors influencing the B2C ecommerce adoption in organizations.
5. Implications to Researchers and Practitioners
The current research proposes a new framework studying the adoption of B2C e-commerce
in the organizational level. The framework introduces a comprehensive list of factors influencing
such adoption. The findings from the current study are encouraged to be further investigated so
as to confirm the previous results or to solve some contradicted outcomes. The current study
should be extended into a qualitative or quantitative research to prove assumptions of each
component on the proposed framework and overall factors influencing the B2C e-commerce
adoption in organizations. The result of the future research is believed to offer a significant
progress in the IS discipline, especially in the area of IT adoption and its innovation and ecommerce.
Based on the findings from the current study, practitioners learn that several factors
influencing the B2C e-commerce adoption in organizations can be seen in four different
components: decision makers, consumers, business properties, and technology itself. It is

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believed that each of these factors plays an important role in the B2C e-commerce adoption in
organizations. Therefore, practitioners should pay their attention to every component if they
consider adopting the B2C e-commerce technology into their business.

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