A pragmatic analysis of electronic business adoption by small-scale enterprises

Small scale enterprises have the potential to contribute to the growth of the Indian economy. Due to enormous advancements in technological development and communication, the modern business environment is shifting toward the digital age. Small scale enterprises need to leverage internet-based businesses to discover opportunities for trade to circumvent this dilemma. E-business is a business activity that involves the use of communication and information technology. E-business applications helps the firms in gaining access to new markets and reaching a wider customer base with low-cost internet initiatives. Nowadays, consumers are more likely to purchase products or services online, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the widespread and increasing use of the internet throughout the world. The study's main objective is to ascertain the perceptions of small scale enterprises in adopting electronic business applications. Additionally, find the correlation among the determinants driving e-business practices and their effect on organizational efficiency. A structured questionnaire and a survey method were adopted, with a sample size of 80 small scale enterprises in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh state in India. The study found that the determinants financial advantage, ease of use, administrative assistance, IT competence, security & privacy, and social influence substantially correlate with organizational efficiency. The findings will help analyze the status of digital business adoption among small scale enterprises and identify the gaps in digital business implementation. Thus, the new entrant will be able to understand the benefits and risks of e-business applications and plan accordingly for enhancing organizational efficiency.