Abstract

Purpose: To explore the challenges facing rural entrepreneurs in adopting ecommerce in an under-researched African context, this study adopts a multi-country exploration involving five countries and offers valuable managerial and theoretical implications.

Design/methodology/approach: With samples covering significant geographical regions – North, South, Northeastern, and West Africa – this research adopted a qualitative method with an interpretivist approach. The empirical data was collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 rural entrepreneurs drawn from a wide range of sectors in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. The data analysis followed Gioia’s suggestions for qualitative rigor.

Findings: The findings reveal institutional voids – political instability and lack of technology savviness, social infrastructure and financial resources. Participants further revealed that these challenges result in loss of valuable opportunities for learning, communication, productivity, and expansion, as well as inability to compete with their urban counterparts. Findings also highlight specific challenges facing rural women entrepreneurs – socio-cultural barriers and gender stereotypes. Despite these challenges, participants who invest in ecommerce revealed significant benefits – improved customers sourcing, customer retention, customer experience, and customer satisfaction. The findings also reveal business expansion, enhanced brand visibility, and improved supply chain management because of ecommerce adoption.

Originality/value: Extending prior theories – the Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (DEE) and the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) frameworks – the current paper demonstrates how technological, organisational, and environmental factors interact in an institutionalized setting, and suggest a hybrid model unique to resource-constrained rural Africa.