Effect of technology organization environment framework on the adoption of e-commerce in logistic firms in Nairobi County

Abstract

Globally, logistics and supply chains have been rapidly migrating from traditional processes to more technologically-driven service provision. The local logistics industry has lagged behind in the integration of e-commerce with only the largest firms and multinational firms implementing new technologies. This has seen most of the local firms fall behind their competitiveness. Nevertheless, there is insufficient empirical evidence on the various factors affecting e-commerce adoption within the industry. This study sought to establish the influence of technology, organization, and environmental factors on the adoption of e-commerce. This study was grounded in the technology acceptance model and the innovation diffusion theory. The research was guided by a pragmatism research philosophy with a descriptive research design being adopted. The study focused on the 477 logistics firms operating within Nairobi County. The sample size for the study was 217 logistic firms calculated using the Yamane formula. The unit of observation was the managers of the local logistic firms. The study relied on a structured research questionnaire in the data collection. This study further adopted the drop and picked method in the data collection. The collected research data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. The findings were presented using bar graphs, charts, and tables. The results indicate that most of the firms within the logistics industry have integrated e-commerce systems in the operations which have fostered the firm efficiency. The correlation results indicated there was a statistically significant association between technology factors, organization factors, environment factors and e-commerce adoption. The regression results indicated that technology factors and organization factors had a statistically significant influence on e-commerce adoption while environment factors had an insignificant influence on e-commerce adoption. The research recommends that logistic firms should enhance their investment in information technology infrastructure and ensure alignment of their structure and culture to the e-commerce systems. The study also recommended that logistic firms should seek collaborations with other players in the industry to build synergistic benefits that can be key to e-commerce adoption. The study was limited by the Covid-19 lockdown measures which impacted the data collection negatively since most firms have scaled down on their operations. The study suggests that further research should be conducted to establish the impact of government regulations and business environment on the logistics industry.