Assessing the Impact of Electronic Business on the Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in Kumasi, Ghana

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DOI: 10.21522/TIJMG.2015.07.02.Art012

Authors : Emmanuel Oppong-Mensah, S. P. Sreekala, Gabriel Dwomoh, Henrietta Oppong-Dwamena

Abstract:

The study evaluated how electronic business impacted the performance of a selected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kumasi. A convenient sample of 50 SMEs in wholesale and retail of consumer goods in Kumasi were selected at random to be surveyed; however, only 30 responded. Structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from the participants to answer the research questions. The results were statistically analyzed to draw conclusions. The results revealed that, to a large extent, the businesses used e-business methods in several ways to undertake five categories of business activities which include advertising, customer support service, marketing, payment system, and order and delivery. Several factors influenced the adoption and use of e-business methods by the businesses, but the most influencing ones were the businesses’ customers’ low use of e-business and telecommunications services not being very dependable. It was also discovered that the adoption and use of e-business made positive impact on the businesses’ performance. It is therefore recommended that more SMEs be encouraged and assisted to fully embrace the use of e-business.

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