The impact of percieved usefulness, ease of use and trust on managers' acceptance of e-commerce services in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Palestine

Abstract

Internet revolution, specifically using the internet in a business environment has resulted in significant changes in how business conducted in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Recent research has pointed to the important role that electronic commerce (EC) plays in improving the performance of SMEs. Yet, in the context of Palestine, adoption of EC in SMEs is still slow. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the effect of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived trust on managers' acceptance of EC in SMEs. In order to achieve this, the study used the technology acceptance model (TAM). The study used a survey that administered to 250 managers of SMEs from Palestine. The data was analysed employing a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach through partial least square (PLS) software. The results revealed that perceived trust and perceived usefulness had positive effects on the participating managers' behavioural intention to adopt EC services. It also found that the manager's perception, including their perceived ease of use, significantly affected their perceived trust of using EC services. Moreover, perceived ease of use had a significant impact on perceived usefulness. However, the managers' perceived ease of use failed to predict their intention to adopt such EC services, and perceived usefulness failed to predict their perceived trust. Based on these results, the study offers a developed research model of the major factors that affect managers' trust to accept and use EC services in SMEs.