Diffusion of the Adoption of Online Retailing in Saudi Arabia

313 Pages·2017·3.72 MB·English

Diffusion of the Adoption of Online Retailing in Saudi
Arabia
Author
Al Ghamdi, Rayed Abdullah
Published
2014
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
School
School of Information & Communication Technology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3502
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Downloaded from
http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367409
Griffith Research Online
https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au
Diffusion of the Adoption of Online Retailing
in Saudi Arabia

Rayed Abdullah AlGhamdi
Bachelor of Computing, Master of ICT

School of Information & Communication Technology
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology Group
Griffith University

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

July 2012
Statement of Originality

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This work has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis
itself.

Rayed AlGhamdi

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Dedication
Dedication

To

My beloved parents for their endless love, support and care since
I was born and whose encouragement guided me throughout my
study.

My beloved wife for her patience and support

My lovely three kids

My brothers and sisters

&

My country, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment

Thanksgiving to the Almighty Allah for his guidance,
grace, mercy and blessing that have empowered me
throughout my life.

I highly appreciate the enormous support by Associate Prof. Marilyn Ford guiding
me in this critical stage of my PhD journey to extensively revise this thesis, very
thanks Marilyn!

Special thanks to King Abdulaziz University for giving me this opportunity and
providing me with sponsorship including full financial support to my family and I to
complete my postgraduate studies. In addition, thanks to the Saudi Arabian Cultural
Mission in Canberra for their services and support.

Very thanks to Dr. Steve Drew; the supervisor, friend and brother, the one have
accompanied me in this journey from the beginning to the end.

I also would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of those
provided support and assistance, and those I have known and worked with; including:
Dr. Ann Nguyen, Dr. Sue Nielsen, Mrs. Mary Pavlaki, Dr. Osama Alfarraj, Dr.
Mohammed Alshehri, Prof. Tom Nguyen, Dr. Jeremy Nguyen, Dr. Thamer Alhussain,
Dr. Salem Alkhalaf , Mr. Adel Bahadad, Dr. Luke Houghton, Dr. Peter Grimbeek, Dr.
Bill Metacalf, Ms Heidi Perrett and Mr. Attiat Allah AlBishri.

Last but not least, thanks to Griffith University for providing excellent learning
environment and assist the students to achieve their goals.

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List of Publications
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Journal Publications

1. AlGhamdi, R, Drew, S & Al-Ghaith, W 2011, 'Factors Influencing Retailers in
Saudi Arabia to Adoption of Online Sales Systems: a qualitative analysis', Electronic
Journal of Information System in Developing Countries (EJISDC), vol. 47, no. 7, pp.
1-23.
2. AlGhamdi, R, Drew, S & Alfaraj, O 2011, 'Issues influencing Saudi customers’
decisions to purchase from online retailers in the KSA: a qualitative analysis',
European Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 22-35.
3. AlGhamdi, R, Drew, S & Alhussain, T 2012, 'A Conceptual Framework for the
Promotion of Trusted Online Retailing Environment in Saudi Arabia', International
Journal of Business and Management, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 140-149.
4. AlGhamdi R, Nguyen A, Nguyen J & Drew S 2012, 'Factors Influencing E-
Commerce Adoption by Retailers in Saudi Arabia: A Quantitative Analysis',
International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies (IJECS), vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 85-
100.
5. AlGhamdi, R, Nguyen, A & Vicki, J 2013, 'A Study of Influential Factors in the
Adoption and Diffusion of B2C E-Commerce', International Journal of Advanced
Computer Science and Applications, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 89-94.
6. Bahaddad A. A, AlGhamdi, R & Houghton, L 2012, 'To What Extent Would E-mall
Enable SMEs to Adopt E-Commerce', International Journal of Business and
Management, vol. 7, no. 22, pp. 123-132

International Conference (Refereed)

1. AlGhamdi, R, Drew, S & Alkhalaf, S 2011, 'Government Initiatives: The Missing
Key for E-commerce Growth in KSA', in International Conference on e-Commerce,
e-Business and e-Service, Paris, France, vol. 77, pp. 772-775.
2. AlGhamdi, R & Drew, S 2011, 'Seven Key Drivers to Online Retailing in KSA', in
P Kommers & P Isaías (eds), Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference on
e-Society 2011, Avila, Spain, pp. 237-244.
3. AlGhamdi, R, Drew, S & Alshehri, M 2011, 'Strategic Government Initiatives to
Promote Diffusion of Online Retailing in Saudi Arabia', in P Pichappan (ed.), Sixth
International Conference on Digital Information Management, Melbourne,
Australia, pp. 217-222
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List of Publications
4. AlGhamdi, R, Nguyen, A, Nguyen, J & Drew, S 2011, 'Factors Influencing Saudi
Customers’ Decisions to Purchase from Online Retailers in Saudi Arabia: A
Quantitative Analysis', in P Kommers & P Isaías (eds), IADIS International
Conference e-Commerce 2011, Roma, Italy, pp. 153-161
5. AlGhamdi, R, Nguyen, A & Jones, V 2012, 'Wheel of Online Retailing
Development in Saudi Arabia', The First International Conference on Robot
Intelligence Technology and Applications (RiTA 2012), Gwangju, South Korea, pp.
110-121.
Articles
These articles were published in Arabic in the main Saudi newspaper ‘Alriyadh’. The
purpose of publishing these articles was to create an awareness of the study. The articles
summarize the main findings and highlight the priority needed.
1. AlGhamdi, R. (2010, 23 Dec). Between the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of
IT: E-commerce in the Kingdom and the missing hope! Alriyadh newspaper.
<http://www.alriyadh.com/2010/12/23/article588081.html> ةرازوو ةراجتلا ةرازو نيبام
تلااصتلاا: !دوقفملا لملأاو ةكلمملا يف ةينورتكللإا ةراجتلا
2. AlGhamdi, R. (2011, 12 Jun). E-commerce in Saudi Arabia: the absence of plans for
the future! Alriyadh newspaper.
<http://www.alriyadh.com/2010/12/23/article588081.html> يف ةينورتكيللإا ةراجتلا
!ةيلبقتسملا ططُخلا بايغ :ةيدوعسلا
3. AlGhamdi, R. (2011, 12 July). The five wings model to enhance confidence in
online shopping environment in the Kingdom, Alriyadh newspaper.
<http://www.alriyadh.com/2011/07/12/article649928.html> زيزعتل ةسمخلا ةحنجلأا جذومن
ةكلمملا يف ينورتكيللإا قوستلا ةئيب يف ةقثلا
Co-authored papers
1. Alfarraj, O, Drew, S & AlGhamdi, R (2011) ‘EGovernment Stage Model:
Evaluating the Rate of Web Development Progress of Government Websites in
Saudi Arabia’, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and
Applications (IJACSA) 2: 9, pp. 82-90 Sep
2. Alshehri, M., Drew, S., Alhussain, T., & AlGhamdi, R. 2012. The Impact of Trust
on E-Government Services Acceptance: A Study of Users’ Perceptions by Applying
UTAUT Model. International Journal of Technology Diffusion (IJTD), vol. 3, no. 2,
pp. 50-61.
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List of Publications
3. Alkhalaf, S.S., Drew, S., AlGhamdi, R. & Alfarraj, O.A. 2012, An evaluation of e-
learning systems in higher education institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
Attitudes and perceptions of faculty members, In: Cyprus International Conference
on Educational Research
4. Alshehri, M., Drew S. & Alghamdi, R. 2012, Analysis of Citizens’ Acceptance for
E-government Services: Applying the UTAUT Model In: International Conference
Internet Applications and Research 95-105 Lisbon, Portugal: IADIS
5. Alshehri, M., Drew, S., Alhussain, T., & AlGhamdi, R. 2012, The Effects of
Website Quality on Adoption of E-Government Service: An Empirical Study
Applying UTAUT Model Using SEM, In: 23 rd Australasian Conference On
Information Systems, pp. 1-13, Melbourn, Australia.
6. Alhussain, T., AlGhamdi R., Alkhalaf, S. & Alfarraj, O. 2013, Users’ Perceptions
of Mobile Phone Security: A Survey Study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In: International Conference on Computer Engineering and Technology (ICCET
2013), Vancouver, Canada.
Submitted Papers
1. Alfarraj, O, Nielson, S & AlGhamdi, R., ‘The Use of Grounded Theory Techniques
in IS research’, submitted to Information Systems Journal
Papers to be Submitted
1. AlGhamdi, R., & Ford, M, ‘Diffusion of the Adoption of Online Retailing in Saudi
Arabia’, to be submitted to Electronic Markets Journal
Papers in progress
1. AlGhamdi, R., ‘Smartphone in Enhancing Online Purchase: To What Extent Does
It Play a Motivational Role in Gulf Countries?’

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Abstract
ABSTRACT

Despite the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a leading producer of oil
and natural gas (CIA 2012), a member of G-20, has the largest and fastest growth of
ICT marketplaces in the Arab region (U.S. Commercial Services 2008, Alfuraih 2008),
including computer hardware and software, and is very wealthy, online retailing
activities are not progressing at the same speed of its growing ICT marketplace (CITC
2011). For this reason, this thesis explores the factors influencing the slow progress of
online retailing in Saudi Arabia. While several studies exist investigating factors
influencing e-commerce adoption by organizations, this thesis is different in that it
suggests that the stage of e-commerce maturity of companies is important when
considering why companies do or do not adopt e-commerce and how companies can be
encouraged to move to a higher stage of maturity. Thus, the present thesis considered
the factors influencing e-commerce adoption by retailers in Saudi Arabia based on
stages of e-commerce maturity of each organization. To evaluate the stage of e-
commerce maturity among retailers in Saudi Arabia, the Stage Of Growth E-business
(SOG-e) model of Mckay, Marshall and Pranato 2000 was adopted.
The research started with the identification of the research problem and questions, and a
review of the literature. The data collection includes two stages. The first data
collection stage consisted of interviews with 16 retailers covering the four stages of e-
commerce maturity. The second stage of data collection was designed based on the
results of the interviews to further test and explore the qualitative findings with a wider
sample of retailers; 153 retailers, covering different sizes, ages, business categories, and
stages of e-commerce maturity. The outcomes showed striking differences between
retailers as a function of the stage of growth of their companies in regard to factors
relating to their perceptions of consumers and to organization factors, while at the same
time showing agreement between retailers in companies at different stages in relation to
environmental factors. The environment was recognized as the same by respondents in
all four stages. This investigation helps to identify the incentives and barriers for each
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Abstract
stage of maturity. These findings show that it is important to consider stage of e-
commerce growth when considering barriers/incentives for organizations to adopt e-
commerce. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided in terms of stages of
e-commerce maturity in order to contribute to e-commerce development in Saudi
Arabia. These recommendations include e-commerce educational and awareness
programs, with each stage targeted with specific programs, assistance in getting the
lower stage companies online, introduction of more secure online payment systems such
as SADAD, enhancing the legislation system for e-commerce, and more effort to
building trust with the Saudi mailing and addressing system, and enhance the uses of
home mailboxes. The thesis shows that it is important for researchers to consider the
stage of e-commerce maturity of companies when considering incentives and barriers to
e-commerce development. What one group sees as an incentive, another group may see
as a barrier, or as neutral.

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