A systematic literature review on the factors influencing e-commerce adoption in developing countries

E-commerce is a huge component of the digital economy as the business market landscape is now based on digital competition. E-commerce assists with national development through the creation of jobs and import tax. However, developing countries are lagging in e-commerce adoption due to internet challenges, trust, and security issues about online payment facilities. Despite these challenges, this study aimed at understanding the factors influencing e-commerce adoption in developing countries. The factors are built from the benefits and challenges of adoption. To address the research aim, the study identified the challenges and benefits of e-commerce adoption in developing countries using a systematic literature review methodology.

Systematic searches were carried out in 2021 in four databases (Ebsco host, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar) and Google Searches (for statistics). The included papers are 23 peer-reviewed studies and 2 reports published in English between 2014 and 2021. Thematic analysis was used to assess the papers and reports.

Our findings identified technology, environment, and customer trust as the main challenges affecting e-commerce adoption. The environment, organization, and performance are seen as benefits developing countries can leverage to boost e-commerce adoption. We found that all challenges and benefits are interconnected. However, e-commerce can only be adopted if those in management perceive and understand its benefits and values.

The research contributes to the theory by presenting a novel model of the factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce in developing countries and its ecosystem. Practically, having identified that the factors should be addressed collectively assists developing countries in identifying the strategies for eliminating e-commerce adoption challenges. The research contributes to SDG 8 and the body of knowledge on e-commerce adoption.