Adoption of information technology in small business: Testing drivers of adoption for entrepreneurs

This study reports on how small retailers are adopting IT for their entrepreneurial venture. Three antecedents are posited to influence the information technology adoption in small business environments: (1) the owner's perception of the relative advantage of using information technology, (2) social expectations of information technology use, and (3) the owner's innovativeness in managing their own business. Seventy-one small business owners participated in the study. Our results suggest that among these three key drivers of adoption, the firm's innovativeness is the strongest determinant for adopting traditional information systems. However, in adopting Internet related technologies, the owner's positive perception of the relative advantage of using information technology plays the most critical role. Social expectation does not seem to directly influence the adoption level in either case, but exhibits indirect influence on perceived relative advantage and in turn on the level of Internet adoption. A structural equation model is presented with interpretations based on the strategic management literature, followed by a discussion on implications of these findings.