A structural analysis of the enablers of u-commerce proliferation in a developing economy

Abstract

Purpose: U-commerce is an emerging paradigm transcending traditional e-commerce boundaries. The purpose of this paper is to highlight those issues that deserve attention in developing successful u-commerce models. Design/methodology/approach: The interpretive structural model technique is adopted to construct a hierarchical structure, and the impact matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification (MIC-MAC) approach is employed to analyze the effect and dependence among these factors. Findings: The research shows that there exists a group of enablers having a high driving power and low dependence requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance, while another group consists of those variables that have high dependence and are the resultant actions. Practical implications: Organizations that plans to develop a u-commerce model would be benefited from this study. They can understand the difference between the independent and dependent variables and their mutual relationships. This would help them to prioritize their budget and implement suitable strategies to cater to key variables so as to exploit the benefits of u-commerce. Social implications: Most of the GCC countries have very similar business environment. This research can easily be adapted to other GCC nations thereby saving the duplication of time, efforts and money. Originality/value: This research was conducted in a developing economy in a GCC country which is very fast adopter of new technology. The findings of this study would serve as a guide to the businesses who are migrating to a u-commerce model in future. 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.