E-Commerce Adoption And Business Performance Of Automotive Firms In Nairobi, Kenya

The study investigated the relationship between the adoption of e-commerce and the business performance of automotive firms in Nairobi, Kenya. The study sought to understand the extent of adoption, the related drivers and the barriers. A descriptive research design was done targeting thirty-four (34) automotive dealership firms in Kenya. Primary data was used in this study to achieve the set objectives. A questionnaire was employed to obtain data from Information Communication Technology department heads in each of the automotive firms. The questionnaire was distributed in a “drop and pick later” method. The quantitative data acquired was analysed using SPSS version 23 and results shown in tables. This study applied multiple regression to define the relationship between the adoption of e-commerce by automotive firms in Nairobi and business performance. From the regression findings, the seven independent variables studied explained a substantial 85.8% of business performance of the firms as represented by the Adjusted R squared (0.858). Other factors and random variations not covered in this study were found to contribute 14.2% of business performance of the automotive firms. The study found0 a great extent of adoption of E-Commerce which was driven by the perceived advantages of the system to the operations of the firm, compatibility of the system with the existing ones, and institutional pressures whereby competing firms adopted the same. Reduction of costs is also another key motivator for the firms to deploy E-Commerce coupled with a perceived ease of use. The size of the organization moderately leads to adoption of the E-Commerce. Further the availability of technical staff to rollout E-commerce and the level of external infrastructure development such as internet and smartphone penetration motivates the firms to adopt E-Commerce. Adoption is also driven by the need to enhance security of customer transactions and the high level of readiness by customers to use the E-commerce platforms. Overall, the study shows that these drivers exert a great extent of influence in the adoption of E-Commerce by the automotive firms. Lastly the study established the main barriers to e-commerce adoption as resistance by employees to adopt to the system, inadequate financial resources to support the system and lack of technical know-how to deploy the system. The Study shows that these barriers have a moderate extent of impact on the adoption of E-Commerce by the automotive firms. The study recommends all automotive firms to allocate adequate resources towards the adoption of E-commerce. Staff members should also undertake training courses on e-commerce and related technologies to enable the firms to leverage the full potential of E-commerce. In conclusion, the study is relevant to automotive firms in Kenya that seek to deploy E-Commerce solutions.