See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/323926099

Cloud computing adoption: Strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa SMEs for

enhancing competitiveness

Article  in  African Journal of Science Technology Innovation and Development · March 2018

DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2018.1439288

CITATIONS READS

5 355

1 author:

Martin Adane
Walter Sisulu University Queenstown Campus South Africa
4 PUBLICATIONS   6 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Martin Adane on 30 April 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and
Development

ISSN: 2042-1338 (Print) 2042-1346 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajs20

Cloud computing adoption: Strategies for

Sub-Saharan Africa SMEs for enhancing
competitiveness

Martin Adane

To cite this article: Martin Adane (2018) Cloud computing adoption: Strategies for Sub-Saharan
Africa SMEs for enhancing competitiveness, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation
and Development, 10:2, 197-207, DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2018.1439288

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2018.1439288

Published online: 21 Mar 2018.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 6

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rajs20
African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2018
Vol. 10, No. 2, 197–207, https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2018.1439288
© 2018 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development

Online First Articles

Cloud computing adoption: Strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa SMEs for enhancing
competitiveness

Martin Adane*

Faculty of Education, Finance & Management, Walter Sisulu University, Queenstown, South Africa
*Email: madane@wsu.ac.za

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to design and implement strategies for adopting new technologies as a
competitive tool for maintaining their competitive advantage and cloud computing is at its peak. Since its emergence, there
has been a surge in the adoption of cloud computing with research into its adoption primarily concentrated on bigger firms.
However, a major characteristic of cloud computing is the anticipated possibilities it holds for SMEs. This paper primarily
explores cloud computing adoption strategies for SMEs operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a mixed method approach,
a sample of 261 respondents and 11 SMEs was respectively used for the quantitative and qualitative stages of the research.
The results reveal that, even though SMEs have their unique expectations for adopting cloud computing, they were of the
consensus that elements of an adoption strategy should include adoption goals, a roadmap and considerations. The paper
makes specific recommendations to SMEs to develop adoption strategies that meet their specific needs if they expect cloud
computing to play a stronger role to support more strategic initiatives to grow their businesses and improve customer
experience.

Keywords: competitive advantage, competitive tool, measurable benefits, small businesses, strategic initiatives

Introduction
In a challenging business environment, as experienced in
developing economies, virtually all organizations, regard-
less of sector or size, strive to survive. There is the need
for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to design
and implement new strategies, and information technology
(IT) is at its peak (Guzman, Torres, and Serna 2015).
According to Aguilera, Gonzalez, and Cuevas-Vargas
(2015) information and communication technologies
(ICTs) have become a catalyst for business processes,
becoming a support tool for managing businesses, lever-
aging developing strategies for achieving competitiveness
and innovation in business operations, and bringing sustain-
ability to SMEs over time. However, the ICT landscape is
constantly evolving to create a more competitive advantage
for businesses and this can be achieved through cost
optimization, scalability, flexibility, innovation and agility.
These benefits are normally realized through the use of
cloud computing (Buyya, Broberg, and Goscinski 2011).
Cloud computing is an ICT solution that provides
remote access to resources that would otherwise be inac-
cessible to small businesses. The rationale is that cloud
computing, as a technology solution for delivering IT
resources, brings about flexibility, scalability, efficiency
and cost-effectiveness to firms (Walsham, Robey, and
Sahay 2007). It thus represents a potentially equalizing
strategy for SMEs in Sub-Saharan African countries.
However, SMEs in developing countries have not been
successful in benefiting from such technologies (Gho-
bakhloo and Tang 2015), as they lack the required techni-
cal, legal and cognitive infrastructure to embark on a
successful computing adoption process (Kshetri 2013).
Also, several barriers have been identified within SMEs,
preventing them from adopting IT as an organizational
strategy (Parker and Castleman 2007). SMEs therefore
need to have a clear cloud computing adoption strategy
to create a better understanding of businesses and how
they can adopt the technology. This will help them
obtain measurable benefits after adoption. This includes
knowing their business goals and the technological infra-
structure to help achieve those goals, identifying business
applications to move to the cloud, and establishing a
roadmap to allow for the adoption of cloud computing
with measurable benefits.
Initial studies into the cloud readiness of countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa by Laverty (2011) showed that there
is the potential growth of at least one form of the cloud sol-
ution in the future. The United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report (2013) indi-
cated that Ghana falls into the category of countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa which meets the minimum require-
ments for basic cloud services. Ghana can be considered
an early adopter of cloud services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The paper is organized as follows. Following this
introduction, the underlying problem warranting the
study is described. The formulated primary and secondary
objectives of the study are then presented. Next, a brief
review of related literature in the area of cloud computing
and business competitiveness is provided. This is followed
by the methodology section which discusses the research
paradigm, research approach, selection of research area
and participants, data collection methods, and data analy-
sis methods employed for the study. The findings and dis-
cussion section presents the demographics of the study,
cloud adoption stage of participants, and participants’
knowledge of cloud computing. It also discusses the out-
comes of the interview on the perceived benefits of adop-
tion, adoption approach, adoption goal, adoption roadmap
and adoption expectations. Finally, the conclusion and rec-
ommendations are presented in the last section.
Research problem
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which use
modern technologies have the opportunity to enter

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development is co-published by NISC Pty (Ltd) and Informa Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group)
198 Adane
regional and international markets and remain competitive
despite the challenges of globalization, liberation and
technical progress. However, according to the Ghana Min-
istry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) report (2011), SMEs in
Ghana use outdated technology and have a limited capital
and human resource base. This has resulted in their
inability to adopt and use technology for innovation that
leads to improved productivity and an increased ability
to compete (MOTI 2011). This assertion is reinforced by
Yeboah-Boateng and Essandoh (2014) who attribute the
low rate of adoption of new ICTs by SMEs to poor ICT
skills, high costs and the risk associated with investing
in ICT. However, a new paradigm in computing, namely
cloud computing, presents an alternative for addressing
the challenges SMEs face in adopting technological inno-
vations. There is, therefore, the need to explore the tech-
nology and some of the strategies for its adoption if it is
to be adopted by SMEs in Ghana as a business strategy
to help them stay more competitive.
Research objective
To address the research problem stated above, the follow-
ing primary objective was considered:
To propose strategies for the adoption of cloud computing
by SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa to enhance their
competiveness.
The primary objective was achieved through the following
secondary objective:
To investigate the different approaches SMEs in Sub-
Saharan African can use when adopting cloud computing
as a competitive tool.
Literature review
Cloud computing defined
The concept behind cloud computing is that information
technology (IT) services such as hardware, software and
other technology applications are rented out to businesses
and payment is made for the amount of time the service is
used or stored. Though in its early days, cloud computing
has become a top technology priority for businesses to
achieve competitiveness (Carcary, Doherty, and Conway
2014).
According to Marston et al. (2011), there is not one
universally accepted definition of cloud computing.
Different authors, organizations and technologists have
tried to define cloud computing from the business and
technical perspectives. However, some common ideas
that run through most definitions are data storage, Inter-
net-based, service, on-demand procurement and comput-
ing resources. The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) put forward a formal definition of
cloud computing that provides an in-depth understanding
on this subject from the technical perspective. According
to NIST (2011), ‘Cloud computing is a model for enabling
convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers,
storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly pro-
visioned and released with minimal management effort or
service-provider interaction’. NIST also put forward five
essential characteristics, three service models and four
deployment models.
Characteristics of cloud computing
Cloud computing is uniquely characterized, making it
different from the traditional form of computing. From
the NIST (2011) definition, five broad characteristics of
cloud computing were identified: Broad network access,
on-demand self-service, resource pooling, measured
service and rapid elasticity. Broad network access is
where computing resources in the cloud are made avail-
able on multiple devices through the Internet. On-
demand self-service is the ability to obtain computing
resources in the cloud at any given time and being able
to self-provision depending on one’s needs at a point in
time. Resource pooling allows the service provider to
combine computing resources with multiple users. The
measured service characteristic means the amount of
pooled computing resources used are monitored and
reported back to the user, thereby establishing the rate of
consumption and its associated cost. Finally, rapid elas-
ticity of cloud computing means users have the ability to
automatically regulate the amount of computing resources
available to them depending on their requirements and for
only the period of a specific task or period.
Cloud computing deployment models
Cloud computing can be classified as either public,
private, community or hybrid in terms of its deployment.
In public cloud, computing resources are made available
to the general public over the Internet (Armbrust et al.
2010). Examples of public cloud are Google Apps, Sales-
forces, Amazon Web Services, etc. In private cloud, the
infrastructure is designed, built and managed by the organ-
ization intending to use that service (Zhang, Cheng, and
Boutaba 2010). Community cloud is formed by govern-
mental organizations, educational institutions, the health-
care industry and similar industries that operate under
shared goals and rely very much on shared data
(Conway and Curry 2012). Hybrid cloud is the combi-
nation of two or more of the previous deployment
models (private, community or public) which are
bundled together but with each operating independently
of the other (Mell and Grance 2011).
Cloud computing service models
Cloud computing service models describe the various
types of services that can be obtained from the cloud
and this is dependent on the level of abstraction and the
resources they provide. According to Buyya, Broberg,
and Goscinski (2011), three main categories of cloud com-
puting services can be identified: Platform as a Service
(PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software
as a Service (SaaS). Platform as a Service delivery
model of cloud computing focuses on the development
and testing of applications without having to worry
about the underlying infrastructure, i.e. developers don’t
have to worry about provisioning the servers, storage
and backup associated with developing and launching of
an application (Butler 2013). Examples of PaaS include
Google App Engine and VMware’s Springsource. In
IaaS, the service provider supplies the required hardware
resources (CPU capacity, memory volume, servers, data
storage, management control and communications
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 199
programs) needed to run a customer’s applications. The
user signs up for the necessary hardware resources and
pays for the consumed resource over a certain period of
time (Mitchell 2008). Examples of IaaS include Amazon
Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Simple Storage Service
(S3) and Simple DB. Finally, in SaaS, the application is
rented out to the user and services accessed through the
Internet (Shimba 2010). Examples of SaaS are Dropbox,
Twitter, Microsoft Office 365, Web emails, Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) application, and
Google Apps. Most of these personal applications are,
however, free online services (Muriithi and Kotzé 2012).
Competitive advantage defined
SMEs need to gain competitive advantage to survive in the
current competitive global market. Baltzan and Philips
(2010, 16) define competitive advantage as ‘a product or
service that an organization’s customers value more
highly than similar offerings from its competitors’, that
is, having in possession something (i.e. products, services
and capabilities) that is better and more useful than that of
your competitors. As a result, every firm strives to gain
competitive advantage to stay ahead of their competitors.
Strategies therefore need to be put in place to achieve
the needed competitive advantage (Stair and Reynolds
2012).
Principle strategies for competitiveness
According to Barney (2002) strategy is an organization’s
idea about how to compete successfully. Thus, strategy
gives logic and direction to actions and decisions of organ-
izations. There is the need for businesses to adopt strat-
egies to attain competitive advantage (Stair and
Reynolds 2012).
The innovative strategy
Innovation is a key tool that businesses can use to help
customers satisfy and realize their desires. According to
the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development) (2005), an innovation is the implemen-
tation of a new or significantly improved product (good or
service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new
organizational method in business practices, workplace
organizations or external relations. These include introdu-
cing new products and services to meet market demand,
developing new ways of doing things to improve pro-
ductivity, applying new marketing techniques to broaden
sales opportunities, and integrating new forms of manage-
ment systems and procedures to enhance operational effi-
ciency (Porter and Stern 2001). Madrid-Guijarro, Garcia,
and van Auken (2009) identified innovation as a key deter-
minant of competitiveness among firms. Firms that do not
adopt innovation as a business strategy face the risk of
being less competitive as a result of their obsolete products
and processes. Firms therefore need to engage new knowl-
edge as this helps to produce innovative activity. The
growth of surviving new entrant firms is dependent on
the difference between the level of output and the size of
the firm. However, the survival of firms decreases as this
gap increases. Firms producing viable products efficiently
will grow (OECD 2000). Those who do not produce viable
products will stagnate, and when conditions are not
favourable they may eventually be forced to exit the
industry.
The information technology strategy
This is the strategy that guides the accumulation and
deployment of technological resources and capabilities
(Dasgupta, Sahay, and Gupta 2009). Adopting this strat-
egy helps create a competing and modern business
environment and thereby improves competitiveness in
the global market. The adoption of new technologies
like the Internet can help businesses increase their pro-
ductivity. With the introduction of web technologies,
SMEs have been provided more avenues to internationa-
lize (World Trade Report 2016). Others have also
adopted e-commerce and internet-based technologies as
a way of reducing the costs associated with physical dis-
tance between sellers and consumers by providing both
trust and information at a very low cost (Lendle et al.
2016). The online services help firms to create product
warehouses, leading to the establishment of direct links
between firms and their customers. SMEs therefore have
to change their organizational structures by aligning tech-
nology to their business strategy in order to harness the full
potential of these new technologies.
The network and cluster strategy
There is growing attention on clustering and networking as
useful strategies for SME development. Often ‘networks’
are confused with ‘clusters’. A cluster is defined as a geo-
graphical, shared-focused, and sectoral concentration and
combination of firms (Niu 2010). That is, geographical
concentration, related and complementary activities, com-
petition and cooperation are common characteristics of
clusters. Networks are groups of firms that cooperate on
a joint development project complementing each other
and specializing in order to overcome common problems,
achieve collective efficiency and penetrate markets
beyond their individual reach (UNIDO 2003). Networks
can thus develop within or outside of clusters. Networking
among SMEs enables them to make use of advantages and
flexibility with economies of scale and scope in larger
markets. Clusters and networks enhance SMEs’ competi-
tive advantage. Carpinetti and Oiko (2008) proposed that
what makes clusters potentially beneficial to competitive-
ness of SMEs are the opportunities for collective effi-
ciency, derived from external economies and joint
actions. According to Karaev, Koh, and Szamosi (2007)
clusters influence competition, first, by increasing the pro-
ductivity of SMEs based in the cluster; second, by promot-
ing the innovation; and, third, by stimulating the formation
of new businesses which expand and strengthen the
cluster. Its positive impact is on learning and innovation
and, consequently, in the upgrading of capabilities
leading to the development of sustainable competitive
advantages and to the stimulation of regional economic
development (Fensterseifer 2007).
The flexibility strategy
Flexibility strategy is considered to be an important source
of SME competitive advantage in turbulent environments
200 Adane
(Guo 2013). The flexibility strategy is ‘the degree to which
a firm is willing to change its strategy in response to
opportunities, threats, and changes in the external environ-
ment’ (Zahra et al. 2008, 1043). Flexibility allows
businesses to respond effectively to changing situations.
In dynamically changing environments, SMEs’ ability to
quickly respond to changing situations is critical for com-
petitive advantage (Johnson et al. 2003). The flexibility
strategy helps SMEs sense environmental changes
(Grewal and Tansuhaj 2001), overcome organizational
inertia (Zhou and Wu 2010), reallocate resources
(Sanchez 1995), stimulate creativity and innovation (Li,
Su, and Liu 2010), and explore new business opportunities
(Bock et al. 2012).
The foreign direct investment strategy
Countries often try to attract foreign direct investment
(FDI) to local or regional economies, as this has the poten-
tial to create jobs and provide access to new technologies
(Piers and Wenyu 2015). In addition, foreign direct invest-
ment enables local SMEs to act as suppliers to foreign
businesses (Javorcik 2004) and local businesses and
future start-ups can gain access to world leading technol-
ogy (Acs et al. 2007b). Foreign direct investment as a
strategy for the promotion of small business competitive-
ness can be influenced by three fundamental factors
(OECD 2000). Firstly, small firms need to prove superior
in their capabilities in foreign markets well over that of
firms found in those countries. Secondly, the benefits the
SMEs gain as a result of their exploitation of the owner-
ship advantages must be more than those they stand to
gain if they choose to sell or licence them to foreign
firms instead. Finally, the inclusion of resources from the
home country makes production advantageous abroad.
The benefits of expanding markets, exposure to different
customer demands and networking with foreign firms
offer SMEs the strategy to help them remain innovative
in a global economy. When these strategies are adopted
by businesses, they stand a chance of achieving the
needed competitive advantage.
Methodology
Research paradigm
The study followed the phenomenological philosophical
paradigm to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity
of phenomena under investigation in their natural settings.
Phenomenology is the study of experiences from the per-
spective of an individual and the ways in which things
present themselves in a given situation (Schutz 2011).
Research approach
A mixed methods approach was adopted for the study. The
quantitative part of the study was to help make meaning or
interpret issues about phenomena under study in their
natural settings. Creswell (2007), however, encourages
the use of qualitative research methodologies for research
involving organizations and small communities. Qualitat-
ive research involves the collection of a variety of
materials that describe routine and problematic instances
and meanings in individuals’ lives. It employs the use of
descriptive and interpretive methods of gathering and
analyzing data (Marshall and Rossman 2010). In the quan-
titative survey, a questionnaire was used to collect demo-
graphic information on SMEs’ cloud computing adoption
stage and their experiences with cloud-based applications.
This was to allow for a general understanding of the actual
state of SMEs in terms of their use of cloud computing.
The qualitative survey used interviews to acquire in-
depth knowledge about the different approaches SMEs
adopt when implementing cloud computing as a competi-
tive tool. Knowledge of these approaches will help ensure
a successful adoption process.
Pilot study
After designing the questionnaire and interview guide,
they were tested in a pilot study. The pilot study was criti-
cal in refining the questionnaire to allow for the most
appropriate and relevant responses to be collected using
the questionnaire. Some suggestions were made by
respondents regarding the length, ambiguity, form, con-
tents and phrasing of some questions. Modifications and
refinements were therefore made to the questionnaire in
line with these suggestions and the feedback obtained
from the pilot study.
Selecting study area and research participants
The study focused on SMEs operating in Sub-Saharan
Africa that have the desire to use ICTs to improve their
competitiveness. The use of cloud computing services
by businesses is said to have positive effects on develop-
ing economies and in particular for SMEs in Sub-
Saharan Africa (Yeboah-Boateng and Essandoh 2014).
Ghana was chosen for this study because of its status as
a developing economy and its situation in Sub-Saharan
Africa. In addition, the UNCTAD report (2013) identifies
Ghana as one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
which meets the minimum requirements for basic cloud
services. Moreover, the Ghana information and communi-
cation technology for accelerated development (ICT4D)
strategic plan was introduced by the government and
aimed at facilitating and providing an enabling environ-
ment to ensure the development of the ICT industry to
facilitate technology usage (Boah-Mensah 2008). This is
an indication of the country’s commitment to the use of
ICT as a key developmental enabler.
The study population consisted of SME owners and IT
managers. The choice of SME owners was as a result of
the fact that they are better placed to know the overall
benefits of using a technology-based solution within
SMEs. Technology professionals were considered as
they are in a better position to assess the system, infor-
mation and service quality construct (Ozkan 2006; Reich-
gelt 2006). The sample population is also a key construct
of what the study seeks to investigate, i.e. SMEs’ ICT
adoption decision-makers. SMEs, regardless of their
location, use some form of technology. In this regard,
261 SMEs from different sectors of the economy were
conveniently selected to respond to the questionnaire
and another 11 to participate in the interviews. This
sampling technique was used because it allows for the
access of basic data and trends regarding the study.
Additionally, it gives an indication of a particular
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 201

phenomenon occurring within the sample and relation-
ships among different phenomena.
The Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) was devel-
oped by Rogers (1983, 2003) to explain the user adoption
and decision-making process of adopting an innovation.
IDT explains the process of decision-making, the factors
that determine the rate of adoption, types of adopters,
the prediction of the probability and the rate of an inno-
vation being used. Thus, in order to avoid the pro-adoption
bias (Rogers 2003), there was a random sample of both
adopters and non-adopters of cloud computing for the
interview. Using Roger’s classification and based on
responses, the 11 cases were categorized into three main
groups according to the extent to which an SME is rela-
tively earlier to adopt cloud computing than others. The
first group were cloud service users and labelled as
‘adopter’. Four SMEs who participated in the study had
already adopted cloud computing services. The second
group was labelled as ‘prospector’ and these are firms
that have not yet adopted cloud computing services, but
intend to adopt at least one of these cloud services in the
next three years. Five firms who participated were pro-
spector firms. Finally, the last group included firms who
have ‘not adopted’ cloud computing services and do not
have any immediate intention of using them. Two firms
in this group participated in the study. Participants were
selected from similar organizational positions considering
their technical and managerial expertise to evaluate the
firm’s existing IT system as well as cloud computing ser-
vices. A summary of the profiles of the SMEs for the inter-
view are presented in Table 1.
A sample size of 11 was used for this phase of the
study because at the time of analyzing the data from the
11th SME there were no newer themes emerging; in
other words, the saturation point had been reached. The
SMEs were assigned codes between [sb1 to sb11] to
help uniquely identify the respondents.
Data collection methods
This study employed more than one instrument for the col-
lection of data. Using more than one instrument in a
research study allows the researcher to view the situation
from different perspectives (Oates 2008). Additionally,
the use of more than one instrument enables the outcomes
to be substantiated or questioned through comparison with
other available methods. This study used a web-based
questionnaire and face-to-face interviews to collect data
from participants. Collis and Hussey (2009) argue that
web-based questionnaires have the ability to cover a
wider geographical area and give a higher degree of
freedom compared to paper-based questionnaires. In
addition, according to Jacobsen (2002), interviews are
the best way to confront a face-to-face situation.
Data analysis methods
The analysis of the quantitative data involved two major
steps: data preparation and descriptive statistics. The
process of data preparation began with editing, followed
by coding and finally using computer software, Microsoft
Excel 2013, to transform it into a database structure.
Descriptive statistics were then employed to explain the
basic features of the data collected to help show a summar-
ized form of the data. Thus, in the quantitative stage,
descriptive statistics were used to describe the background
information of SMEs and also to establish if there was any
relationship between SMEs and the individuals working
for these SMEs in terms of the adoption and use of
cloud computing. The qualitative study was done to inves-
tigate the different approaches SMEs in Sub-Saharan
African can adopt when implementing cloud computing
as a competitive tool. The qualitative data was analyzed
using thematic analysis. This technique enabled the
researcher to report the experiences of the participants in
relation to approaches used in the adoption of cloud com-
puting in their business activities. Braun and Clarke
(2006) argue that thematic analysis is a useful approach
to analyze qualitative data, as it presents rich, detailed
and complex accounts of data. Thus, data was presented
and analyzed using the thematic frames that emanated
from the collected data in line with the literature review
and the objectives following the qualitative principle of
reduction of raw data (De Vos 2006). Thick descriptions
and verbatim quotations were also used in the study.

Table 1: Summary of the profiles of the SMEs for qualitative study.

Educational
SME Adoption level Category
Reference Industry stage Interviewee’s position of interviewee of SME Main product/service
sb1 Computer related Adopter Business Development Bachelor’s Small Websites/Web applications
Manager
sb2 Computer related Adopter Technical Manager Bachelor’s Medium Mobile applications
sb3 Computer related Adopter IT Manager Bachelor’s Medium Web applications
sb4 Business service Adopter IT Manager Bachelor’s Medium Conformity assessment
sb5 Computer related Prospector Technical Manager Postgraduate Medium Selling/Installation of
computer devices
sb6 Business services Prospector IT Manager Postgraduate Medium Insurance brokerage
sb7 Business services Prospector IT Manager Bachelor’s Small Conformity assessment
sb8 Business service Prospector IT Manager Bachelor’s Medium Inspection/Verification/
Certification
sb9 Aviation Prospector IT Manager Postgraduate Medium Air transport services
sb10 Manufacturing Non-adopter IT Manager Bachelor’s Medium Pharmaceuticals
sb11 Manufacturing Non-adopter General Manager Bachelor’s Medium Palm drink/soup
202 Adane

Table 2: Summary of pre-defined cloud-based application usage.

Number of respondents familiar with and using the Percentage (%) of Percentage (%) of
Cloud-based applications application responses respondents
Google Apps 149 10.11 57.09
Facebook 217 14.72 83.14
Gmail 160 10.85 61.30
Skype 129 8.75 49.43
Yahoo mail 114 7.73 43.68
LinkedIn 228 15.47 87.36
Twitter 59 4.00 22.61
PayPal 13 0.88 4.98
Hotmail 106 7.19 40.61
Flickr 15 1.02 5.75
Microsoft Office 365 57 3.87 21.84
Dropbox 162 11.00 62.07
Microsoft Security 65 4.41 24.90
Essentials

Table 3: Adoption decision stage of respondents.

Cloud adoption stage Number of respondents Percentage (%)

Adopted cloud computing 39 14.94
Intend to adopt cloud computing in six months 89 34.10
No immediate intention to adopt cloud computing 133 50.57
Totals 261 100.00

Findings and discussion The most popular cloud-based applications known to

A total of 261 SMEs participated in the quantitative phase
of the study to gather demographic information about
SMEs and their current state in relation to cloud
computing.
Cloud computing knowledge
A central theme of this study was how SMEs can adopt
cloud computing to improve their competitiveness. For
this reason, the respondents’ knowledge of cloud comput-
ing was sought.
Respondents were asked to indicate which of the pre-
defined cloud-based applications they are currently using.
The options provided for response in this list were
obtained through a literature review. It must be noted
that the total number of respondents for all applications
adds up to more than 261 as each of the respondents
could tick multiple applications. These responses are pre-
sented in Table 2.
respondents were LinkedIn, Facebook and Dropbox.
They recorded 228 (87.36%), 217 (83.14%) and 162
(62.07%) respectively.
Adoption decision stage of respondents
Respondents were asked to indicate their current adoption
stage. It is depicted in Table 3 that respondents were at
various levels of cloud computing adoption decision-
making.
While 39 (14.94%) of respondents are currently using
cloud computing services as individuals, 89 (34.10%) of
them intend using this facility in the next six months.
Half of the respondents surveyed (133 or 50.96%),
however, had no immediate plans for adopting and using
cloud services as individuals.
SMEs’ willingness to adopt cloud computing
Respondents were asked to indicate SMEs’ willingness to
adopt and use cloud computing as part of their IT.
As depicted in Figure 1, almost all SMEs surveyed 247
(94.6%) indicated that they are willing to adopt and use
cloud computing as part of their IT. Only 14 SMEs
which make up 5.4% were not willing to adopt cloud com-
puting services in their operations. This is encouraging, as
SMEs must have the desire to adopt cloud computing if
they are to have a successful adoption process.

Adoption decision stage of the firms respondents work

Figure 1: SME willingness to adopt and use cloud computing.
for and for individual respondents
SMEs who were willing to adopt cloud computing ser-
vices (247) were therefore asked to indicate their plans
for adoption.
From Table 4, it is evident that some SMEs (31 which
is 12.55%) had already adopted and are using cloud-based
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 203
Table 4: Descriptive statistics from adoption decision survey.
Cloud adoption decision stage item
Already adopted cloud-based services
Short term (to adopt within the next six months)
Medium term (to adopt within seven to twelve months)
Long term (more than twelve months/No immediate intention of adoption)
Number (N )
Mean
Standard Deviation
services. The remaining SMEs, though they have not
adopted cloud services, have plans to adopt and use
them. While other SMEs (94 which is 38.06%) had
short-term plans to adopt cloud computing within the
next six months, some (68 which is 27.53%) SMEs sur-
veyed hoped to adopt them between seven to twelve
months (medium term). However, 54 SMEs (21.86%)
had a long-term plan for adoption. They hope to adopt
and use cloud services after twelve months. The descrip-
tive data of all the adoption decision survey items for
both individual respondents and the firms they work for
are presented in Table 4.
Comparing the two set of data in Table 4, it can be seen
that the adoption decision stage of the firms that individ-
uals work for has a mean of 61.75 and a +/- standard devi-
ation of 26.36. Individual respondents have a mean 87 and
a +/-standard deviation of 47.03. Since there is no overlap
between the two sets of figures, it means the two groups of
data are different.
A correlational analysis was therefore performed to
establish if there was a relationship between the stages
of adoption of individual respondents and the adoption
stage of the firms they work for. The outcome of the cor-
relation is presented in Table 5.
For those who responded to this survey, the higher
stage of adoption of individual respondents’ scores was
correlated with the scores of the higher adoption stage of
firms they work for, r = 0.39, which can be considered
to be a moderate effect. Thus, the greater the number of
individuals who intend to adopt cloud-based services,
the more their firms they work for also intend to adopt
cloud-based services.
From Figure 1 it can be seen that the majority of SMEs
surveyed (94.6%) was willing to adopt cloud computing as
a business strategy. Consequently, a qualitative study was
done to get in-depth knowledge about how they intended
to do this. An interview was conducted where participants
were asked about their firm’s cloud computing adoption
strategy.
Thematic content analysis was then used to analyze the
qualitative data. The use of thematic analysis allows for
the identification, analysis, and reporting of themes in
qualitative data. The findings are discussed according to
Table 5: Correlation of stage of adoption of individual respondents with the adoption stage of firms they work for.
Stage of adoption of individual respondents
Stage of adoption of individual respondents
Adoption stage of firms they work for
Adoption stage of firms that Adoption stage of
individual respondents work for individual respondents
31 39
94 89
68
54 133
4 3
61.75 87.00
26.36 47.03
the thematic frames that emerged from the data collected
from participants. The following adoption strategies
were identified as themes from the collected data
through face-to-face interviews:
. Adoption approach
. Adoption goal
. Adoption roadmap and
. Expectations.
These themes are further explained below.
Adoption approach
Cloud computing solutions can be approached either pri-
vately, publicly or as a hybrid (Buyya, Broberg, and Gos-
cinski 2011). It is therefore important to know what
approach to cloud computing SMEs are taking to realize
their goals. Participants [sb4, sb7, sb9 and sb10] were
interested in a private cloud approach and attributed this
to the sensitive nature of their work and security concerns
in other environments. They felt private cloud offers a
more robust platform. [sb7] stated: ‘I think private cloud
will do. Because of the sensitivity of our job, throwing
this on say a public platform, the risk involved will be
quite higher compared to private’. [sb10] agreed:
‘Private cloud. Because we are not so sure how safe our
information will be in a public and hybrid. Our data is
expensive, so we wouldn’t mind spending to get a
private cloud just to protect our data’. Participants [sb3,
sb8 and sb11] opted to approach the cloud through the
public cloud model. Participants felt the shared and
utility nature of a public cloud helps to reduce cost,
since SMEs by their small size operate with limited
capital. ‘We have looked at private and hybrid cloud but
our business size does not recommend those options. So
public cloud for now is where we are’ [sb3]. This is con-
sistent with Goode and Stevens (2001), who found that the
adoption of technology is influenced by the size of the
business. Participants [sb1, sb2, sb5 and sb6] indicated
they are pushing for hybrid cloud because of the
complex nature of what they put in the cloud. According
to [sb2]: ‘Sometimes we have portions of our work that
may require us to be in the private and portions that
reside in the public’. Hybrid cloud offers businesses the
Adoption stage of firms they work for
1
0.394831 1
204 Adane
opportunity to maximize efficiencies by using a public
cloud for non-sensitive operations and private cloud
where otherwise required (Intega 2014).
Adoption goal
SMEs are under pressure to innovate and adapt to new chal-
lenges in their operations in the growing challenging
business environment experienced by organizations
throughout the world. As a result, SMEs interviewed
[sb1-sb11] hope cloud computing will serve their various
business interests. For adopter SMEs [sb1-sb4] they
wanted to integrate their business information with a plat-
form that will ensure they are highly available and cloud
computing was the best alternative for them. ‘The nature
of our work requires that everything is done online and
also that they have access to information anytime and
from everywhere’ [sb1]. Prospector SMEs [sb5-sb9] hope
to adopt cloud computing to enable them to store more
data. ‘We hope to get most of our data up there and also
to be able to store more data up, where we can access
them wherever we are’ [sb6]. [sb9] added: ‘ … which will
prevent us from having physical facilities where we have
to store data and it will be a good disaster recovery plan’.
Cloud computing is new to non-adopters and, as such,
they have no immediate adoption plans. However, upon
finding out what the technology stands for, they were
quick to state what their adoption goals would be if they
decided to adopt. Cloud computing would serve as a plat-
form for backing up their information should there be any
internal disaster [sb10] and to ease their workload [sb11].
Adoption roadmap
Cloud computing is not just another specific invention
and, as such, is uniquely used by enterprises. There is
therefore the need for individual businesses to have their
own adoption roadmap to ensure a successful adoption.
The researcher sought to find out if participants had any
form of roadmap to guide them in their quest to adopt
cloud services. The sub-themes that came up from the
responses are discussed below.
Adoption time frame
Adopters were found to have either started their operation
in the cloud: ‘ … so from inception, we were using cloud
computing’ [sb3] or have adopted cloud services for
some time now: ‘We have already moved to the cloud
for about a year now’ [sb4] and therefore did not have
any clear adoption strategy especially on the expected
time frame of adoption. Prospectors, however, stated a
fixed time to migrate to the cloud: ‘Within the first
quarter of 2015, we hope to move to the cloud’ [sb9].
Another said, ‘We hope to move between 2 to 3 years’
[sb7]. On the contrary, non-adopters had no clear time
frame for migration. A non-adopter commented: ‘This is
the first time we are getting to know so it is very new to
us and therefore no firm decision has been taken’ [sb11].
Functions
Though not all businesses have a clear time-frame for
adoption, they expect this new technology to perform
some functions that are well beyond what their existing
technologies deliver. Adopters trusted the cloud to
perform some needed functions as part of their operations
and this led to them adopting it in the first place. This is
evident from what [sb1] stated: ‘The nature of our work
requires that everything is done online’. A similar obser-
vation was also made by [sb2]: ‘We are already in the
cloud. For now, I will say our needs are being met by
the cloud’. Businesses ideally want to operate the entire
business with minimum infrastructure footprint on-
premise. Cloud integration strategy is therefore a key
aspect to be considered for SME applications which are
hosted and planned in the cloud. This view was shared
by [sb3]: ‘We have thought of how to integrate our
business applications with the cloud platform’. Another
corroborated this by saying: ‘We hope to adopt before
the end of the year. As I mentioned, storage and collabor-
ation. How to collaborate with our business application’
[sb6]. According to the data gathered from the interviews
[sb1-sb11], being able to integrate their hosted business
applications with what the cloud platform has to offer
was found to be an important parameter for businesses.
They believe that this will free them from building and
maintaining IT infrastructure so they can focus on value-
creating differentiation to run over that infrastructure. As
[sb4] stated ‘With our applications running in the cloud,
I am able to focus on other things than managing the phys-
ical aspect of the IT work’. For SMEs, using cloud com-
puting may be attractive, because it can help them focus
on their core business process.
Resources
Cloud computing provides affordable IT solutions to
enterprises to help them improve their IT related capabili-
ties and empower them to be competitive. However, these
enterprises are often constrained by limited resources. The
decision to adopt and use cloud computing is, therefore,
determined by the availability of resources. The data
from the interview indicate that prospector and non-
adopter SMEs had enough financial resources to move
to the cloud. However, all participants [sb1-sb11] com-
plained of issues relating to either human resources, infra-
structural resources or both. SMEs often do not have
sufficient human resources and skills to adopt new tech-
nologies (Wanjau, Macharia, and Ayodo 2012). An
adopter participant commented: ‘We didn’t have human
resource and had to train people to use the cloud
service because it was something new altogether’ [sb4].
Similarly, a prospector stated: ‘For capital resources, we
have but for human resources, we may need training’
[sb6]. [sb9] corroborated: ‘We are making plans to re-
enforce our resources in terms of skills and equipment’.
A non-adopter participant who had hope of moving to
the cloud in future also commented: ‘For personnel, as I
said, we will be getting new people’ [sb11]. Therefore,
the level of skills available to SMEs and ways in which
these skills are acquired are of great importance to
ensure a successful adoption of cloud services.
Business applications
Cloud-based applications are usually up and running in
days and they cost less. With a cloud-based applications,
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 205
users just open a browser, log in, customize the appli-
cation, and start using it. Enterprises are therefore
moving their applications to the cloud to enjoy the offer-
ings it provides. Adopters [sb1-sb3] are software develo-
pers and started their operation straight from the cloud.
Most of their business tools and services for development
are on the cloud platform from the service provider as indi-
cated by [sb1]: ‘Business process application is what we
are pushing for’, and they ‘ … try to integrate our
business applications with the cloud platform’ [sb3].
[sb4] adopted the cloud to allow them to unify the oper-
ations of the enterprise in terms of IT and are currently
using office 365, and a standard operating system from
the cloud. For prospectors [sb5-sb9], the nature of their
work requires them to have their critical business
support system available at all times. They thus intend to
adopt an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system,
such as: SAP: [sb5, sb8, sb9] and Office 365 [sb6] and
storage infrastructure to store their information [sb7,
sb8] when they move to the cloud. For future consider-
ation, non-adopter [sb10] stated: ‘We are using tally,
accounting software and I hope cloud computing will
help in that area’. [sb11] added: ‘For business appli-
cation, simple accounting software like Sage, Pastel and
Excel is what we hope for’. Businesses therefore have to
rigorously test the security and reliability of a service pro-
vider’s infrastructure and adopt the necessary application
to improve their operation.
Adoption expectations
To stay relevant, IT departments are expected to play a
stronger role to support more strategic initiatives such as
initiatives to grow the business, support innovation, and
improve customer experience (Cisco 2013) through the
use of new technologies. The researcher wanted to find
out what cloud computing means to participants and
what they hope to establish from the cloud.
From the responses, SMEs who have adopted cloud-
based services have already established a lot and cannot
exist without cloud computing. One adopter stated: ‘Well
cloud computing means everything to us. I will say
about 80% of our services is done in the cloud. The
reason is because of the reliability of base infrastructure
here in Ghana. We have a service that run 24 seven, we
don’t have a stable electricity; it is actually more expens-
ive to host our services here in Ghana than it is to host in
the cloud. So it is not what we hope to establish, we have
established a lot’ [sb2]. Another adopter also stated, ‘Our
business needs to be highly available, so from the incep-
tion, we were using cloud computing. That is where we
host our service. So we started straight from the cloud’
[sb3]. It is evident that participants adopted cloud comput-
ing to sustain their operation, and to achieve cost reduction
in their operation as well as reliability and availability.
[sb1 and sb4] also stated cost effectiveness and avail-
ability as what they had established from the cloud. Mean-
while, prospector participants who have not adopted have
high expectations from the cloud when adopted. As [sb8]
stated, ‘Cost reduction as the upfront cost of spending on
IT will be eliminated and accessibility as computing
resources can be accessed from anywhere’. Another
concurs and stated, ‘Well it is cost effective’ [sb9]. The
issue of cost effectiveness, availability, flexibility, techni-
cal support and efficiency appeared in the responses
from the remaining prospector participants. Participants
[sb6 and sb7] also mentioned the capacity to store
enough data in the cloud: ‘We hope to get most of data
up there and also helping us to be able to store more
data’ [sb6]. Since they have not adopted and know very
little about cloud services, one non-adopter stated,
‘Seriously, we have not even considered cloud computing’
[sb10]. However, [sb11] was very optimistic and stated, ‘
… when we join cloud computing, it will help us access
information fast. At the same time, it will also save time’
[sb11].
The interview responses give a further confirmation
that for SMEs to ensure a successful adoption and obtain
measurable benefits, they need to adopt an adoption
strategy.
Conclusion and recommendations
Conclusion
SMEs stand to gain from adopting cloud computing. They
perceive cloud computing services as a cost-effective
approach to computing. Therefore, when they are
exposed to the benefits of using cloud computing, it will
help raise awareness leading to a successful adoption.
SMEs also need to adopt a strategy for adopting cloud
computing services. A cloud computing adoption strategy
will help create a better understanding of SMEs’ oper-
ations and identify how they can adopt the technology.
This includes knowing the business goals and the techno-
logical infrastructure to help achieve those goals, identify-
ing business applications to move to the cloud, and
establishing a roadmap to allow them to adopt cloud com-
puting with measurable benefits. Thus, such an adoption
strategy should discuss critical adoption factors that
would address the various technical and social consider-
ations that are necessary to create conditions conducive
for adoption.
Recommendations
Although many SMEs are familiar with cloud-based ser-
vices and some are already using cloud-based services, it
is recommended that they are adopted to serve the specific
needs of SMEs. For SMEs to better understand and ident-
ify how they can adopt cloud computing, they need an
adoption strategy. The adoption strategy should include
the adoption approach, adoption goal, adoption roadmap
and adoption expectations.
Despite the numerous advantages of using a cloud-
based service, its adoption is slow because there is often
the lack of consideration of the approach to adoption.
For SMEs, the decision for a type of cloud environment
is strongly influenced by the services, storage, collabor-
ation and applications they intend to move to the cloud.
SMEs can therefore approach the cloud as either private,
public or hybrid depending on the nature of their work.
Cloud computing is uniquely used by adopter SMEs
and, as such, different adoption roadmaps exist for differ-
ent SMEs. A common feature of the roadmap should,
however, include time frame for adoption, whether the
206 Adane
functions of the service fit their business needs, and the
availability of resources to adopt and manage cloud ser-
vices. SMEs also expect cloud computing to play a stron-
ger role to support more strategic initiatives to grow their
businesses and improve customer experience. The benefits
of cloud computing have a positive influence on the
decision to adopt.
Limitations of the study
The study addresses the adoption of technological inno-
vations for enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs. The
specific focus of the study was the different approaches
SMEs in Sub-Saharan African can adopt when using
cloud computing as a competitive tool and not how
cloud computing is implemented. A study of the effect
of implementation factors is recommended for better
understanding of the cloud computing implementation
stage. For this study, to accept or obtain cloud computing
stands for adoption while using cloud computing constitu-
tes implementation. This limitation is acknowledged and
also provides a direction for future research. Additionally,
the study focused solely on SMEs in the Accra-Tema
metropolis of the Greater Accra region of Ghana and
this does not allow for generalization of the empirical
results since the level of infrastructural development can
vary from place to place. Future research needs to cover
other regions of the country and other developing
contexts.
Funding
This work was supported by Walter Sisulu University.
References
Acs, Z., C. O’Gorman, L. Szerb, and S. Terjesen. 2007b. “Could
the Irish Miracle be Repeated in Hungry?” Small Business
Economics 28 (2/3): 123–142.
Aguilera, L. E., M. A. Gonzalez, and H. Cuevas-Vargas. 2015.
“The Impact Information and Communication
Technologies on the Competitiveness: Evidence of
Manufacturing SMEs in Aguascalientes.” International
Review of Management and Business Research 4 (3): 758–
770.
Armbrust, M., A. Fox, R. Griffith, A. D. Joseph, R. Katz, A.
Konwinski, G. Lee, et al. 2010. “A View of Cloud
Computing.” Communications of the ACM, 53 (4): 50–58.
Baltzan, P., and A. Philips. 2010. Business Driven Technology.
4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Barney, J. 2002. Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage.
2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Boah-Mensah, E. (2008). The Business & Financial Times,
September.
Bock, A., T. Opsahl, G. George, and D. Gann. 2012. “The Effects
of Culture and Structure on Strategic Flexibility During
Business Model Innovation.” Journal of Managament
Studies 49: 279–305.
Braun, V., and V. Clarke. 2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in
Psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2):
77–101.
Butler, B. 2013. “PaaS Primer: What is Platform as a Service and
Why Does it Matter?” Network World, February 11, 2013.
Buyya, R., J. Broberg, and A. Goscinski. 2011. Cloud
Computing - Principles and Paradigms. New Jersey: John
Wiley and Sons Inc.
Carcary, M., E. Doherty, and G. Conway. 2014. “The Adoption
of Cloud Computing by Irish SMEs: An Exploratory
Study.” The Electronic Journal Information Systems
Evaluation, 17 (1): 003–014.
Carpinetti, L., and O. Oiko. 2008. “Development and
Application of a Benchmarking Information Systems in
Clusters of SMEs.” Benmarking: An International Journal
15 (3): 292–306.
Cisco. 2013. Cisco, the Cloud in Africa: Reality Check. Cisco
Press. http://www.cisco.com/web/AZ/press/2013/112813.
html
Collis, J., and R. Hussey. 2009. Business Research: A Practical
Guide for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students.
Palgrave: Macmillan.
Conway, G., and E. Curry. 2012. “Managing Cloud Computing:
A Life Cycle Approach.” In Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Cloud Computing and Service
Science, April 18–21st, Porto, Portugal.
Creswell, J. W. 2007. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design -
Choosing among Five Approaches. 2nd ed. California:
Sage Publications.
Dasgupta, M., A. Sahay, and R. Gupta. 2009. “Technological
Innovation and Role of Technology Strategy: Towards
Development of a Model.” In Proceedings of the 9th
Global Conference on Business and Economics,
Cambridge University, UK, 16–17 October, 2009.
De Vos, A. S. 2006. Research at the Grass Roots: For the Social
Sciences and Human Service Profession. 3rd ed. Pretoria: J.L
Van Schalk Academic.
Fensterseifer, J. 2007. “The Emerging Brazilian Wine Industry,
Challenges and Prospects for the Serra Gaucha Wine
Cluster.” Journal of Wine Business Research 19 (3): 187–
206.
Ghobakhloo, M., and S. H. Tang. 2015. “Information System
Success among Manufacturing SMEs: Case of Developing
Countries.” Information Technology for Development 21
(4): 573–600.
Goode, S., and K. Stevens. 2001. “An Analysis of the Business
Characteristics of Adopters and non-Adopters of World
Wide Web Technology.” Information Technology and
Management, 11 (2): 129–154.
Grewal, R., and P. Tansuhaj. 2001. “Building Organizational
Capabilities for Managing Economic Crisis: The Roleof
Market Orientation and Strategic Flexibility.” Journal of
Marketing 65: 67–80.
Guo, H. 2013. “Strategic Flexibility and SME Performance in an
Emerging Economy.” Journal of Organizational Change
Management.
Guzman, G. M., Torres, G. C. and Serna, M. C. 2015.
“Information Technology and Competitiveness: The
Mexico SME Context.” In Proceedings of the
International Symposium on Emerging Trends in Social
Science Research, Chennai-India
Intega. 2014. “The Cloud Basics.” http://www.intega.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2014/01/The-Cloud-Basics.pdf.
Jacobsen, D. M. 2002. Building Different Bridges two: A Case
Study of Transformative Professional Development for
Student Learning with Technology. New Orleans, LA.
Javorcik, B. 2004. “Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the
Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Serach of Spillovers
Thrugh Backward Linkages.” American Economic Review
94 (3): 695–627.
Johnson, J., R. Lee, A. Saini, and B. Grohmann. 2003. “Market-
Focused Strategic Flexibility: Conceptual Advances and an
Integrative Model.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science 31: 74–89.
Karaev, A., S. Koh, and L. Szamosi. 2007. “The Cluster
Approach and SME Competitiveness: A Review.” Journal
of Manufacturing Technology Management 18 (7): 818–835.
Kshetri, N. 2013. “Cloud Computing in Sub-Saharan Africa.” IT
Professional 15 (6): 64–67.
Laverty, A. 2011. “The Cloud and Africa – Indicators for Growth
of Cloud Computing.” In Proceedings of the 3rd
International Conference on Measuring Technology and
Mechatronics Automation, Cambridge, UK.
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 207
Lendle, A., M. Olarreaga, S. Schropp, and P. Vezina. 2016.
“There Goes Gravity: eBay and the Death of Distance”.”
Economic Journal 126 (591): 406–441.
Madrid-Guijarro, A., D. Garcia, and H. van Auken. 2009.
“Barriers to Innovation among Spanish.” Journal of Small
Business Management 47: 465–488.
Marshall, C., and B. Rossman. 2010. Designing Qualitative
Research. London: Sage Publications.
Marston, S., Z. Li, S. Bandyopadhyay, J. Zhang, and A. Ghalsasi.
2011. “Cloud Computing – The Business Perspective.”
Decision Support Systems 51: 176–189.
Mell, P., and T. Grance. 2011. The NIST Definition of Cloud
Computing. National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST 2011) Special Publication 800-145. http://csrc.nist.
gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf.
Mitchell, P. 2008. “Learning Architecture: Issues in Indexing
Australian Education in a Web 2.0 World.” Indexer, 26 (4):
163–169.
Muriithi, G., and J. E. Kotzé. 2012. Cloud Computing in Higher
Education: Implications for South African Public
Universities and FET Colleges, 1–16. Cape Town: Cape
Peninsula University of Technology.
NIST. 2011. “The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) definition of cloud Computing.”
Accessed March 3, 2014 from http://csrc.nist.gov/
publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf.
Niu, K. 2010. “Organizational Trust and Knowledge Obtaining
in Industrial Clusters.” Journal of Knowledge Management
14 (1): 141–155.
Oates, B. J. 2008. Researching Information Systems and
Computing. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
OECD. 2000. Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs Through
Innovation. Bologna: Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development.
OECD. 2005. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Ozkan, S. 2006. “Capability Approach to Information Systems
Effectiveness Evaluation.” The Electronic of Information
Systems Evaluation 9 (1): 7–14.
Parker, C. M., and T. Castleman. 2007. “New Directions for
Research on SME e-Business: Insights From an Analysis
of Journal Articles From 2003–2006.” Journal of
Information Systems and Small Business 1 (2): 21–40.
Piers, T., and Z. Wenyu. 2015. “Foreign Direct Investment and
the SME Sector.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial
Behavior & Research 21 (1): 50–75.
Porter, M. E., and S. Stern. 2001. “Innovation: Location
Matters.” Sloan Management Review, 28–37.
View publication stats
Reichgelt, H. 2006. Measuring Information Systems Delivery
Qualit. Hershey: Idea Group Inc.
Rogers, E. M. 2003. Diffusion of Innovations. 5th ed. New York:
The Free Press.
Sanchez, J. 1995. “Strategic Flexibility in Product Competition.”
Strategic Management Journal 16: 35–159.
Schutz, A. 2011. “Collected Papers V. Phenomenology and the
Social Sciences”. In Phaenomenologica. 1st ed., edited by
L. Embree. Springer Netherlands.
Shimba, F. 2010. “Cloud Computing: Strategies for Cloud
Computing Adoption.” In ARROW@DIT.
Stair, R. M. and Reynolds, G. W. 2012. Information Systems
Essential. 6th ed. Cengage Learning.
UNCTAD. 2013. “The Cloud Economy and Developing
Countries.” United Nations Publication. http://www.unctad/
ier/2013.
UNIDO. 2003. “Strategy Document to Enhance the Contribution
of an Efficient and Competitive Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprise Sector to Industrial and Economic Development
in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” http://www.unido.org/
index.php?id = 018254.
Walsham, G., D. Robey, and S. Sahay. 2007. “Special Issue on
Information Systems in Developing Countries.” MIS
Quaterly 31 (2): 317–326.
Wanjau, K., N. R. Macharia, and E. M. A. Ayodo. 2012. “Factors
Affecting Adoption of Electronic Commerce among Small
Medium Enterprises in Kenya: Survey of Tour and Travel
Firms in Nairobi.” International Journal of Business,
Humanities and Technology 2 (4): 76–91.
World Trade Organization Report. 2016. Levelling the Trading
Filed for SMEs. Geneva: World Trade Organisation
Secretariat.
Yeboah-Boateng, E. O., and K. A. Essandoh. 2014. “Factors
Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing by Small
and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries.”
International Journal of Emerging Science and
Engineering (IJESE) 2 (4): 13–20.
Zahra, S. A., James C. Hayton, Donald O. Neubaum, Clay
Dibrell, Justin B. Craig. 2008. “Culture of Family
Commitment and Strategic Flexibility: The Moderating
Effect of Stewardship.” Entrepreneuship Theory and
Practice 32: 1035–1054.
Zhang, Q., L. Cheng, and R. Boutaba. 2010. “Cloud Computing:
State-of-the-art and Research Challenges.” Journal of
Internet Services and Applications, 1 (7): 7–18.
Zhou, K., and F. Wu. 2010. “Technological Capability, Strategic
Flexibility, and Product Innovation.” Strategic Management
Journal 31: 547–561.