Adoption Factors for e-Malls in the SME Sector in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector represents one of the fundamental pillars in the trade field. It contributes significantly to raising the economies of countries by providing significant numbers of job opportunities, which are beneficial to directly supporting national economies. One of the most important obstacles facing this sector in the information technology era is the lack of online trading channels with consumers, which require more financial support than the their capabilities. Therefore, e-Malls might be one of the best low-cost solutions to overcome this obstacle. Also, they provide electronic platforms that include most SME requirements for sales via electronic channels as well as offer essential technical support. According to a report published in 2013 by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the percentage of SMEs is equivalent to 90% of the total number of companies in Saudi Arabia, which is numbered at 848,500. The e-Mall is a modern idea in Saudi Arabia that requires the use of the Disunion Of Innovation (DOI) approach to diffuse e-Malls through determining companies' requirements and difficulties. Therefore, this paper focuses on the factors that help SMEs to adopt e-Malls. A quantitative questionnaire was conducted on 108 companies in Saudi Arabia to find what obstacles and requirements they face to adopt an e-Mall and focus on the factors affecting the implementation of this system, which are divided into organizational, technical and cultural factors.