Context: Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and its related applications are increasingly penetrating all spheres of individual, organizational, and societal aspects of everyday life in the developing economies and Africa as well. The Internet is emerging as an important technology for commerce and business. The employment of Internet based technologies and applications in music service both in online sales and marketing of music records and digital music service is significantly altering the approach that traditional commerce is done. It eliminates all geographical bottlenecks, allowing the establishment of virtual outlets and presence throughout the world, and permits direct and instant foreign market entry to less known artistes and music records businesses. Objectives: In this study, I investigate the state of internet and e-commerce adoption in the music record business in Ghana. I seek to find out the reasons for the adoption of e-commerce platform within the music industry and to assess the challenges confronting the adoption of e-commerce. Methods: We conducted a Literature Review to get an overview of the music industry as a whole, and also to describe the diffusion of e-commerce technologies in music services. We use qualitative research approach to collect data and to identify reasons for the adoption of e-commerce platforms primarily among consumers and retailers of the music services. We conducted interviews with musicians and managers of record companies were conducted to ascertain their reasons for using or non using e-commerce technologies, and identify prospects and challenges confronting its adoption within the industry. Conclusion: The evaluation from musicians, consumers and other key players indicated their willingness to go for the e-commerce platforms in music service delivery. However, they are challenged by poor infrastructures, unsettled issues of monetization of music contents coupled with high digital gap among the citizenry. Prevailing government efforts contribute nevertheless in closing the digital disparity among the populace, and Telecom and ISPs improvement in service delivery give an outlook of full realization of the goal of e-commerce adoption in the music industry in Ghana. / Samuel Kwesi Wiafe P.O. Box KF 2034, Koforidua-Ghana Tel: +233 (0)208801106

The growing popularity of the internet and its activities have opened a wide range of business opportunities especially in terms of e-business. Though, reports show that the adoption rate of e-commerce in developed countries seem to be striving, a lot of developing countries still struggle with slow e-commerce adoption rate. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one these countries where e-commerce adoption is still in its infant stages. However, because of the recent infrastructure improvements and the growth in telecommunication services in the country, internet penetration, more specifically, mobile Internet penetration is growing at a significantly fast pace. This could mean opportunities for e-business services in DRC. The objective of this research is to investigate the factors that could influence online shopping adoption in DRC. This investigation was carried out by adapting an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A quantitative approach was used in the collection of data and the data was edited and analyzed using the programming language, R. Also, the analytical techniques used in conducting this research include: Descriptive Statistical Methods (Cross tabulation, frequencies) and inferential Statistical Methods (Logistic Regression, ANOVA and Chi square tests). The results from this research show that contrary to the conceptualized model in the literature review where the main constructs included: Perceived Ease of Use(PEOU), Perceived Usefulness(PU) and Perceived Trust(PT), it appears that Perceived Ease of Use(PEOU) does not have any significance in a user’s intention to shop online(p>0.01). However, this research found that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Trust have a strong statistical significance to a user’s intention to shop online. Furthermore, we found that Gender, Income and Age do not have any moderating influence on the relationship between a user’s perception and their intention to shop online in DRC. However, when the relationship between VI perception and intention to shop online is moderated by experience, we find that there is a variation between users with prior online shopping experience and those without. While these research findings make for remarkable recommendations on a user’s intention to shop online, we recommend that further research on actual usage of e-commerce be examined in DRC to get a better understanding of consumer online behaviors.

Electronic commerce (EC) has radically revolutionizedtraditional business practices across the globe. It is alsobelieved that EC offers considerable benefits andopportunities for enterprises.Despite the benefits, however, several scholars have shownthat Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have beenlagging in EC adoption. In this regard, this study aimed toexplore the factors that influence EC adoption among SMEsin developing countries, in the context of Kenyan retailSMEs.The study employed a qualitative approach through whichempirical data was collected by semi-structured interviews.The target population consisted of managers/owners of retailSMEs that use some form of EC technology in their businessoperations. The study identified several motivating factors forthe adoption and implementation of EC. Moreover, theresearch used (TOE) framework, the technological,organizational, and environmental (TOE) framework withan added national factor, to study and understand the factorsaffecting EC adoption among SMEs. The study identifiedsome factors ranging from, but not limited to the cost of IT,the benefits offered by EC, compatibility, lack of cleargovernment regulations, the role of managers, lack ofinfrastructure. The study further identified a national factorassociated with the social and cultural context in Kenya suchas the resistance to adopt a culture of purchasing online, lackof trust, lack of IT awareness, national address system, etc.

Despite the increased numbers of online consumers, e-commerce growth is slow in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this correlational study, the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework to examine whether perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms could predict consumers' intention to adopt shopping online. A pre-existing TAM survey instrument was used to collect data from consumers (N = 95) who live in a City and have shopped at least once online. The regression analysis confirmed a positive statistically significant relationship between perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and consumers' intent to adopt online shopping. The results showed that perceived ease of use of e-commerce platforms and perceived usefulness of e-commerce platforms were statistically significant in predicting consumers' intent to adopt online shopping, with F(2, 92) = 241.630, p < .001, R2 = .840, and adjusted R2 = .837, and accounted for 84% of the variance in consumers' intent to adopt online shopping. The correlation between perceived ease of use and consumers' intent to adopt online shopping was (PEOU) r= .916, p < .001 and the correlation significance between perceived usefulness and consumers' intent to adopt online shopping was (PU) r= .591, p < .001. Using study results, retailers may be able to develop improved strategies to increase profitability via online shopping. The implications for positive social change include the potential for improved quality of life for consumers in Saudi Arabia.