E-commerce Implementations in the SME's Sector of Lagos, Nigeria

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I certify that the work presented in the dissertation is my own unless referenced

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I would like to express my thanks to my advisor, for his suggestions, comments, patience and understanding. Very special thanks to my parents, my father, my mother, my brother and my sister who were continuously supporting me throughout my life and leaving me free in all my decisions. I would also like to thank my colleagues for his technical support whenever I needed. I would like to thank to Department, all the university managers, teachers and students with whom I have worked.

DECLARATION

I declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. I further declare that this work has not previously been presented in whole or part, for any other award, or published in whole or in part elsewhere, including this university. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

Due to increasing demand of the world, most of the businesses are going online to meet the ever-changing demands of the customers and day to day competition. It has been seen from the studies that ecommerce provides a platform to the business to meet the customers' demands and run their business efficiently. Despite of importance of ecommerce, very little research has been done on this perspective. This research will focus on the small and medium enterprise in Nigeria (Lagos) only. This research will provide a brief insight about the challenges and advantages of ecommerce implementation in the Nigerian small and medium enterprises. Even today, some considerable time after the so called 'dot com/Internet revolution', electronic commerce (E-commerce) remains a relatively new, emerging and constantly changing area of business management and information technology. There has been and continues to be much publicity and discussion about E-commerce. Library catalogues and shelves are filled with books and articles on the subject.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Types of Ecommerce5

E-commerce in Laos5

Evaluation of E-commerce Investment in SMEs6

Research Aims and Objectives7

Significance of the Study8

Justification of the Study8

Scope of the Research10

Structure of the thesis10

Chapter I: Introduction10

Chapter II:Literature Review10

Chapter III: Methodology11

Chapter IV: Data analysis and Discussion12

Chapter V: conclusion12

Gantt chart12

Ethical Concerns13

Limitations and Suggestion for Future Research14

Summary of the chapter15

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW16

E-commerce - an Overview16

Benefits of E-commerce19

E-commerce Solutions20

Traditional enterprise and ecommerce business21

The Traditional Enterprise22

The eEnabled Business23

Comparison25

Time26

Complexity28

Performance29

Cost30

Ecommerce importance33

Evaluation of E-commerce Investment in SMEs34

IT -Related Adoption Research in SMEs36

Personal Computer Adoption37

IS Adoption37

Internet-Related Adoption Research in SMEs Communication Technology and Internet Adoption38

Ecommerce implementation strategy43

E-Commerce Strategy43

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY44

Sources of data collection45

Limitations of secondary data46

Literature search criteria46

Rationale for objectives47

Justification47

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION48

Benefits of ecommerce on SMEs48

Connecting to market through greater geographical reach49

B2B E-Commerce Success: Description of the Key Factors50

Functional Factors50

B2B Application Integration51

Strategic Factors52

Alignment of Business and E-Commerce Strategy52

Alignment of Business and IT Strategy53

Technical Factors54

Information Technology Infrastructure54

External Factors56

B2B Partner Relationships56

Interorganization Collaboration57

Trends in Developed countries and Developing countries59

E-commerce trends in Nigeria60

Barriers to ecommerce adoption62

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION65

Recommendation69

Directions for future research70

REFERENCES71

APPENDICES75

Gantt chart75

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