Factors Affecting the Online Transactions in the Developing Countries: A Case of E-Commerce Businesses in Nairobi County, Kenya (original) (raw)

The magnitude of barriers facing e-commerce businesses in Kenya

Journal of Internet and Information Systems, 2014

The aim of the paper was to examine comprehensively, the internal and external factors of organisations which affect the future of electronic commerce (e-commerce) and the magnitude of these constraints in Kenya, using the systems framework. The research methodology used a questionnaire survey (internet survey) to collect data from 137 e-commerce businesses out of which 74 or 54.01% usable questionnaires were received. The businesses ranged from very small to large organizations cutting across all major industry sectors, consisting of the following forms of ownership: local, government, multinational and joint ventures with foreign ownership. The findings of the study established the following barriers in order of decreasing magnitude: economic, social, telecommunications infrastructure barrier, legal/political, individual and organizational barriers. The first three variables are positively but moderately correlated with each other, while with the exception of telecommunications infrastructure, others are poorly correlated with individual and organisational barriers. As expected, the latter two correlate moderately with each other. The regression analysis suggests that telecommunications infrastructure barriers hold the key to unlocking the gordian knot of e-commerce in Kenya, as a decrease in this area would have multiplier effects on the other barriers. The study recommended that the government has a vital role to play in reducing the first four barriers, which are all external to organisations, while at the organisational level, organizations should set (ecommerce) goals and objectives that are well spelt out; build human organisational capital structures to facilitate good working relationships and provide training on e-commerce to minimise resistance and blocking of new changes in organizations.

Countries: A Case of E-Commerce Businesses in Nairobi County

2016

The growth in online transactions is accompanied with an increase in the incidences of fraud. In the online marketplace, fraudsters are using sophisticated malware to take over accounts and commit fraud related activities. At the global level, online fraud is rampant with high financial losses for customers and online merchants. In Kenya, the scope of online fraud is still small, however, the increasing adoption of e-commerce is anticipated to increase fraud related incidences. Based on this, this study reviewed literature on challenges associated with internet fraud and best practices that can be adopted by online merchants. It was shown that the challenges are related to the use of improper theft and security measures by online merchants, the increase of mobile devices and lack of customer awareness of security risks in online transactions. To prevent internet fraud, organizational, consumer, and technical measures have to be adopted by online merchants in Kenya.

2016 E-Commerce Sub-Sector Assessment Report for Kenya

E-commerce has changed the way of doing business across the world. In Kenya, the impact of e-commerce on social and economic structures has also been significant. In many spheres and sectors, e-commerce has now become an integral part of day-to-day activities and its relevance is expected to continue growing in the coming years as mobile internet continues to spread, a proposed national addressing system comes into existence, and people become more comfortable with digital transactions. While the rise of this medium has attracted increased attention in business as well as policy circles, not much sector-specific research has been carried out on the various economic processes that currently take place in this area, making business as well as policy decisions all the more difficult. To address this gap, this study sought to carry out in-depth research into the current state of the e-commerce sub-sector in the country, highlighting the progress so far made, the prevailing challenges and the remaining gaps. The study is intended to add to the existing knowledge base on e-commerce in Kenya and contribute to the growth of this nascent industry by providing e-commerce stakeholders with insights that will inform sound decision-making while serving as input for further research. This study was exploratory in nature and employed online desk research method to source for existing literature on the e-commerce sub-sector in Kenya. The data was sourced from an array of secondary data sources from the internet including market studies, published company reports, peer-reviewed journals, newspapers, magazines, and blog postings. This extensive literature review provided background knowledge on e-commerce and allowed the researcher to paint a general picture of the e-commerce sub-sector in the country. The data collection took a period of three months, followed by another 2 months of analysis, editing, design, and reporting. The report is divided into eight sections: The first section is the background. The second provides an introduction to electronic commerce, which looks at the origin, definition, typologies as well as the common forms of e-commerce businesses. The third section discusses the economic contribution of e-commerce. The fourth looks at the various drivers of electronic commerce growth in Kenya. The fifth section provides an overview of the electronic commerce sub-sector in Kenya. The sixth section examines the barriers to electronic commerce growth in Kenya. The seventh section conceptualizes the electronic commerce value-chain in Kenya. The eighth and final section of the paper gives a summary of important e-commerce facets and draws conclusions on five key areas: tends, infrastructure, value chains, markets and rules and regulations