E-business and small Ghanaian exporters: Preliminary micro firm explorations in the light of a digital divide

Abstract

Purpose - The digital divide is supposed to place disadvantaged economies like Ghana in a position where using information and communication technology for development might not be an immediate reality. The purpose of this current study is to argue that the adoption of e-business practices has benefit for small Ghanaian exporters' organizational improvement, and begin a first-level investigation in that regard. Design/methodology/approach - This study was exploratory and focused on a sample of active, non-traditional exporters in Accra. This sample represented the best typology of small export firms in Ghana that had been regular exporters from 2000-2004. In all, 60 firms responded to questionnaires on e-business and exporting. Analysis of the data was mainly by means of descriptive statistics. Findings - One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that the export firm internationalization (measured by export intensity) has no bearing on the level of e-business involvement or perceptions of the strategic value of e-business. However, export firms who were more involved in e-business had a higher perception of the usefulness of e-business to their export operation. One-way ANOVA analysis also revealed that for the export firms involved in some e-business activity, the more internationalized they were, the more importance they attached to e-business as providing some sort of organizational improvement leverage. Practical implications - Given the exploratory nature of this study, more research is needed to study internal and external barriers to e-business adoption by these firms, as well as the relationship between e-business adoption and performance. Originality/value - One of the first e-business studies focusing on export firms on the disadvantaged end of the digital divide. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.