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Gender and E-Commerce Adoption Barriers: A Comparison of Small Businesses in Sweden and Australia

Gender and E-Commerce Adoption Barriers: A Comparison of Small Businesses in Sweden and Australia
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Author(s): Robert MacGregor (University of Wollongong, Australia)and Lejla Vrazalic (University of Wollongong in Dubai, UAE)
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 18
Source title: Web Technologies for Commerce and Services Online
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-822-2.ch015

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Abstract

Previous research has shown that gender plays a role in the use of information technology by small businesses and that differences exist between the ways in which male and female small business owners/managers perceive information technology, including e-commerce. However, our understanding of whether gender is important in relation to e-commerce adoption barriers is limited. This chapter examines whether differences exist in how male and female owners/managers of small businesses in regional areas in Sweden and Australia perceive e-commerce adoption barriers. The results of a survey of more than 450 small businesses are presented and indicate that, although both male and female owners/managers agree on the key reasons for not adopting e-commerce, they assign different priorities these reasons. In Sweden, male owner/managers are more concerned about the technical complexities of implementing e-commerce, while females assign a higher importance to the unsuitability of e-commerce. In Australia the situation is reverse. The results have implications for e-commerce adoption programs and initiatives.

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