Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697 – 705

Predicting electronic commerce adoption in Chilean SMEs ☆

Suzanne Altobello Nasco a,⁎, Elizabeth Grandón Toledo b , Peter P. Mykytyn Jr. a
a
College of Business Administration, Southern Illinois University, Mailcode 4629, Carbondale, IL 62901-4629, United States
b
Universidad del Bío-Bío, Av. Collao 1202, Concepción, Chile

Received 1 February 2007; received in revised form 1 April 2007; accepted 1 June 2007

Abstract

The Theory of Planned Behavior is used to predict a variety of behaviors, but its use in dealing with predicting e-commerce intentions in small-
to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and in developing countries is limited. We use the TPB to model intentions to adopt e-commerce among 212
managers/owners of SMEs in Chile. Hierarchical regression results show that the subjective norm and attitude constructs positively and
significantly predict intentions, but the perceived behavioral control construct does not. Results can be used by developing countries, especially
those in Latin America, to encourage the adoption of e-commerce among SMEs.
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Information technology; Theory of Planned Behavior; SMEs; E-commerce

Information technology (IT) adoption is critical to the growth
of an economy (Kendall et al., 2006). Although IT adoption has
been researched by academics for more than a decade and many
theories attempt to explain IT adoption in different domains,
there are still several critical components related to IT adoption
that have not yet been thoroughly investigated. First, among
studies that focus on technology adoption, only a small
percentage is devoted to the adoption and use of electronic
commerce (e-commerce) in small- and medium-sized enter-
prises (SMEs). The contribution of SMEs is extremely
important to the economy and rapid growth of developing
countries. In Chile, for example, 80% of the economy is
dominated by SMEs (http://www.genexiachile.com/pymes/
pymes1.htm), while 49% of the employment is generated by
SMEs (http://cowles.econ. yale.edu/∼engel/arts/pymeweb.pdf).
In addition, small businesses differ from large businesses in
terms of IT adoption patterns (Cragg and King, 1993; Lee and
Runge, 2001). For example, SMEs often find technology
difficult to implement due to resource constraints (Raymond,
☆
The authors thank the editors and reviewers for their feedback and for the
helpful comments received from participants at the Strategic Management in
Latin America conference.
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: snasco@cba.siu.edu (S.A. Nasco), egrandon@ubiobio.cl
(E.G. Toledo), mykytyn@cba.siu.edu (P.P. Mykytyn).
0148-2963/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.06.047
1985; Street and Meinster, 2004). Thus, more research is needed
to validate whether theories that explain IT adoption in large
businesses conform to the context of SMEs.
Second, there is a need to validate existing theories in different
contexts. The majority of IT adoption research focuses on the
technologically developed world, mostly because the majority of
research/academic institutions are located in developed countries
such as the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The issue
is complicated further because IT adoption is not seen as
transferring well to less developed countries (Sukkar and Hasan,
2005). Overall, developing countries account for 85% of the
worldwide population, but generate only 20% of the gross
internal product (Ceballos, 2001). Therefore, the need to
understand whether existing theories apply to populations in
developing countries is an important issue.
Third, much of the research concerning IT adoption in
SMEs, particularly those focused on developing countries, is
merely descriptive and lacks a strong theoretical basis (e.g.,
Farhoomand et al., 2000; Simpson and Swatman, 1999;
Stylianou et al., 2003; Wresch, 2003). To overcome the
above-mentioned research gaps, the objective of this study is
to apply a well-established, robust theory to predict e-commerce
adoption intentions among managers/owners of SMEs in a
developing country, Chile. The project's results may help other
countries in the Latin American region find strategies to
698 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705
encourage adoption of e-commerce to enhance their economic
growth.
1. E-commerce — an overview
Although there are many potential advantages of e-
commerce (Awad, 2004; Schneider, 2004; Turban et al.,
2004), the use of it in small businesses remains limited. A
study by Forrester Research finds that only two in five small
businesses use the Internet to sell products and services (Weiss,
2004). It seems that top managers and owners of SMEs
recognize the importance of having an Internet presence
(CyberAtlas, 2000; OPEN Small Business Network, 2002
Monitor), however, only a small portion of them use the Internet
for commercial purposes.
Some descriptive research regarding SMEs and e-commerce
adoption occurs in an international domain. Stansfield and
Grant's (2003) research examines attitudes toward e-commerce
adoption and the impact of government policy on Internet
connectivity and e-commerce adoption in 484 SMEs in
Scotland. They suggest that lack of knowledge, skills, and
support are the main barriers of adopting e-commerce by small
businesses. Similarly, Farhoomand et al. (2000) name the major
barriers that slow the acceptance of e-commerce in Hong-Kong
and Finland. They report that a) technical barriers, such as lack
of adequate infrastructure, b) organizational issues, such as
resistance to change, c) economic limitations, such as cost to
implement e-commerce, d) political issues, such as limited
control or limited access to the Internet in certain countries, e)
cultural barriers, such as resistance to online shopping, and f)
legal issues, such as the acceptance of electronic signatures, are
major barriers to e-commerce.
2. Predicting e-commerce adoption with the Theory of
Planned Behavior
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB: Ajzen, 1991) is an
especially well-established intention model that successfully
predicts and explains behavior across a wide variety of domains
(c.f., Chang, 1998; Hausenblas et al., 1997; Taylor and Todd,
1995). The TPB is an extension of the Theory of Reasoned
Action (TRA: Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajzen,
1975). The TRA posits that intention is determined by the
individual's attitude, the degree to which a person has a
favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the behavior in question,
and subjective norm, the perceived social pressure to perform or
not to perform the behavior. In one TRA study, Hartwick and
Barki (1994) find that impacts of attitude and subjective norm
differ depending on whether use of technology is voluntary or
not.
Ajzen (1991) argues that the original model (TRA) is unable
to deal with behaviors over which people have incomplete
volitional control. Thus, the TPB includes a third predictor of
intention, perceived behavioral control (PBC), which reflects an
individual's perceptions that there exist personal and situational
impediments to the performance of the behavior. Ajzen (1991)
summarizes 16 studies that use the three TPB constructs to
predict a variety of intentions (e.g., intention to lose weight,
attend class, give a gift, etc.) and reports that the average
correlation among the TPB predictors and intention is very high
(.71). Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) examine whether the TPB
constructs can predict an Internet user's decision to purchase a
product online in a sample of American consumers. Attitude
and perceived behavioral control explain a significant portion of
the variance in adoption intentions, but subjective norm is not a
significant predictor of behavioral intention in this context.
Harrison et al. (1997) test the TPB in the context of small
business executives' decisions to adopt information technology.
Their research finds that all three TPB constructs predict unique
variance in adoption intentions, with the attitude construct as the
strongest predictor.
3. Measuring the TPB constructs
The TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and
perceived behavioral control can be measured through direct
and indirect means. Ajzen (1991) provides some guidelines to
generate direct measures of the three TPB constructs, however,
he also says that the appropriate items representing the
constructs should be unique to the behavior under consideration
and elicited from the target population of respondents (Ajzen,
2002a). Direct measures of attitude measure a respondent's
positive or negative evaluation of the intention behavior. For
instance, small business owners can be asked whether
incorporating e-commerce in their firms is good/bad, helpful/
harmful, positive/negative, etc. Direct measures of subjective
norm reflect agreement (or disagreement) with statements that
refer to other people's beliefs about performing the behavior
under examination, and direct measures of PBC reflect
perceptions about the difficulty of performing the behavior.
Most TPB studies to date use the direct measures approach, but
indirect, belief-based measures have an advantage of providing
insight into the cognitive foundation underlying perceptions of
behavior (Ajzen, 2002b).
These indirect measures are calculated by the cross product
of beliefs structures and other factors. For example, attitude is
measured by behavioral beliefs (bbi) that performing a behavior
will lead to a particular outcome, weighted by an evaluation of
the desirability of that outcome (ei), expressed as A = Σbbi⁎ei.
For instance, a person may believe that using e-commerce will
speed up business transactions (bbi) and may consider this a
highly desirable outcome (ei). High values of attitude would be
indicative of an individual's intention to adopt the target
technology. Indirect measures of subjective norm are indicated
by normative beliefs (nbj) concerning a particular referent
weighted by the motivation (mcj) to comply with that referent
(SN = Σnbj⁎mcj). For example, an individual may believe that
the firm's sales department thinks that one should use e-
commerce (nbj) but that complying with the wishes of the sales
department is relatively unimportant (mcj). Thus, high values of
subjective norm indicate high pressure to adopt the technology
in question. Finally, indirect measures of perceived behavioral
control are represented by the sum of control beliefs (cbk)
weighted by the perceived facilitation (pfk) of the control belief
 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705
in either inhibiting or facilitating the behavior (PBC = Σcbk ⁎
pfk). For instance, a person may think that he/she does not have
the knowledge to use e-commerce (cbk) and that knowledge is
extremely important in determining the intention to adopt e-
commerce (pfk).
Questionnaire items regarding behavioral (bbi), normative
(nbj), and control beliefs (cbk) are generated from a preliminary
elicitation study applied to a small sample of the target
population, and items regarding evaluation (evi), motivation
to comply (mcj), and perceived facilitation (pfk) are directly
generated from the behavioral, normative, and control beliefs,
respectively. According to the TPB, the direct measures of these
constructs should correlate strongly with the indirect, belief-
based measures. Although the TPB proves to have a good
explanatory power in American firms (Harrison et al., 1997;
Riemenschneider et al., 2003; Taylor and Todd, 1995), the
theory's robustness in predicting business behavior in a
developing country is not well known.
4. Chile: a good case study
The Global Competitiveness Report (World Economic
Forum, 2006) identifies Chile as the highest ranking country
in all of Latin America and the Caribbean, in terms of potential
for sustained economic growth. Government stability, transpar-
ency in conducting business, commitment to responsible
macroeconomic management, low business costs, and a
favorable business climate are some factors that make Chile a
good case study for the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs
among developing countries in Latin America (International
Institute for Management Development (IMD), 2006; Moody's
Investors Service, 2006; Standard & Poor's, 2004; World
Economic Forum, 2006).
The business-to-business segment (“transactions conducted
between businesses on the Web”, Schneider, 2002, pp. 521)
accounts for most of the e-commerce in Chile (Santiago Chamber
of Commerce, 2003). Total B2B sales are US $2.47 billion in
2002, representing a 75% increase from 2001. The business-to-
consumer segment (“transactions conducted between shoppers
and businesses on the Web”, Schneider, 2002, pp. 521), on the
other hand, is only US $40 million in 2002 (Santiago Chamber of
Commerce, 2003), representing a 30% increase from the previous
year. Even though these percentages are high when comparing to
Internet users in other developing countries in Latin America, e-
commerce in Chile is still not fully developed. A WIP study by
Godoy and Herrera (2004) confirms this assertion. The
researchers find that only 17% of Chilean Internet users buy
products or services via the Web, with an average of 4 purchases a
year. Thus, there is ample opportunity for Chilean companies to
implement e-commerce for corporate growth.
The question remains whether e-commerce adoption re-
search that is conducted mostly in American settings applies to
different cultures of the world. Hofstede's (1997, 2001) research
on cultural dimensions provides a theoretical underpinning that
may help to explain differences in e-commerce adoption
between developed and developing countries. Hofstede's
research examines survey responses from employees of the
699
IBM Multinational Corporation from 72 countries including the
US and Chile. He labels four dimensions that can be used to
distinguish among different cultures: power distance, individ-
ualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance. The US is an
individualistic culture whose residents are comfortable with
uncertainty, whereas Chile is a collectivist culture with high
uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 2001).
These cultural differences can result in different business
approaches toward e-commerce adoption. For instance, Chi-
leans are more collective and are therefore influenced by what
others in the country are also doing. If Chilean managers know
that other managers are also adopting e-commerce, will that
increase their likelihood of adopting as well? Likewise,
adopting a complex technology, like e-commerce, may lead to
uncertainty (e.g., Will employees be able to implement the
technology? Will technical problems be addressed quickly and
seamlessly?). As most Chileans seek to avoid uncertainty, they
may not adopt e-commerce due to the uncertainty surrounding
implementation.
5. Hypotheses in the current study
The first set of hypotheses tests the predictive effect of
direct measurement of the TPB constructs on intentions to adopt
e-commerce among managers/owners of SMEs in Chile. These
relationships are established in previous TPB research, but not
in predicting e-commerce adoption intentions among SMEs in
developing countries.
H1. Direct measures of attitude, subjective norm, and per-
ceived behavioral control significantly predict intentions to
adopt e-commerce by managers/owners of SMEs in Chile.
H1a–c. Each TPB construct (attitude, subjective norm, and
perceived behavioral control) has a significant and positive
linear relationship with the intention to adopt e-commerce.
Hypotheses 2 and 3 reflect predictions regarding indirect,
belief-based measures of the TPB constructs, and their ability to
predict e-commerce intentions. Using indirect measures is
especially important in this study, as the beliefs generated from
the elicitation study (explained in the next section) may provide
substantive information about the kinds of considerations that
guide the behavior of managers/owners of SMEs in Chile.
Beliefs concerning consequences of behavior are viewed as
determining attitudes toward the behavior, normative beliefs are
viewed as determining subjective norms, and beliefs about
resources and opportunities are viewed as underlying perceived
behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). Since both belief-based and
direct measures are indicators of the same underlying theoretical
constructs, they should be correlated in this international
sample. Previous research finds correlations between direct
and indirect measures that range from .40 to .80 (Ajzen, 1991;
Davis et al., 2002; Hrubes et al., 2001).
H2. The belief-based measures of attitude, subjective norm and
perceived behavioral control are significantly related to the
corresponding direct measures of the same constructs.
700 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705

H3. Belief-based measures of attitude, subjective norm and owner or top manager) are identified from the business
perceived behavioral control significantly predict intentions to directories. An initial follow-up telephone call is made to
adopt e-commerce among Chilean managers of SMEs. non-respondents 2 weeks after the surveys were sent, a second
follow-up call is made 2 weeks after the first one, and a third
6. Research methodology follow-up call is made 2 weeks after the second follow-up
telephone call. Thirty-five surveys are not delivered due to
6.1. Instrument development incorrect mail addresses.
In total, 228 surveys are returned over a 12-week period,
According to Ajzen's (1991) guidelines, the first steps are to representing a response rate of 20.27%. A respondent is
identify the population of interest (managers and owners of eliminated from the final analysis if the firm did not meet the
SMEs in Chile), determine the behavior of interest (adoption of definition of an SME, as established by the corporation for
e-commerce), and execute an elicitation study to identify the promoting the national productive activity in Chile, which
specific elements of the questionnaire. A written survey defines SMEs as companies that have between 10 and 200 full-
assessing the utilization of e-commerce is sent to a sample of time employees (CORFO, 1994). In addition, a respondent is
130 small firms (between 10 and 200 employees) in the Bío-Bío also eliminated if he/she is not a top manager, or if the firm has
region of Chile, randomly selected from a guide of enterprises e-commerce already in place. Based on these criteria, 212 cases
(GEEP, 2002). Subsequently, 28 managers respond to a second are analyzed.
(Internet) survey that elicits perceived consequences of
adopting e-commerce, as well as social referents associated 7. Results
with adoption and possible obstacles.
Based on this elicitation study, a final questionnaire is 7.1. Respondent demographics
created, consisting of 22 items representing behavioral beliefs to
perceived consequences of adoption, eight items measuring Table 1 presents demographics of the respondents. Respon-
normative beliefs of the social referents of adoption and ten dents have been with their respective firms for an average of
items measuring control beliefs regarding obstacles to adoption. 10.4 years (SD = 9.1). Seventy-six percent of the firms have
The belief measures are used to calculate indirect measures of access to the Internet and 62% have a website, which is mainly
attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control used to collect data (29%), promote products or services (49%),
constructs. Indirect measures of the attitude construct are and provide customer service (32%). These results are
created from behavioral beliefs and evaluations (A = Σbbi ⁎ ei), consistent with the economic report generated by the Santiago
the subjective norms construct is created from normative beliefs Chamber of Commerce (2003), which specifies that 70% of
and motivation to comply (SN = Σnbj ⁎ mcj), and the perceived Chilean companies have Internet access.
behavioral control construct is created from control beliefs and
perceived facilitation (PBC = Σcbk ⁎ pfk). As per Ajzen's (1991) 7.2. Descriptive analysis of measurement scales
guidelines, items regarding evaluation, motivation to comply,
and perceived facilitation are simply extrapolated from the Table 2 presents the fifteen items that directly measure the
content of the behavioral, normative, and control belief items. attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control
Direct measures of attitudes, subjective norms, perceptions
of behavioral control, and intentions to adopt e-commerce are Table 1
also included in the final questionnaire and are represented with Demographics of respondents and the firms they represent
fifteen items adapted from Riemenschneider et al. (2003). All
Demographic variable (with categories) N Percentage
55 items (40 indirect measures and 15 direct measures) are
Respondent
measured on a 7-point Likert scale, with lower values indicating
demographics
higher agreement, more positive attitudes, higher perceived Gender
behavioral control and higher intentions to perform the behavior Male 155 73%
in question. The final questionnaire (in English and/or Spanish) Female 57 27%
is available from the authors. Education
High school 14 7%
Technical degree 60 28%
6.2. Respondents University degree 113 53%
Master's degree 25 12%
A random sample of 1100 small businesses is selected from Firm
various business directories in Chile: a guide of enterprises of demographics
Number of employees
the Bío-Bío region (GEEP, 2003), small firms with associations
Between 10 and 100 163 77%
to the Institute of Worker Security (IST), and ASEXMA Between 101 and 200 49 23%
(Association of Manufacturers and Exporters). The survey Company website in place (but no
package includes a cover letter, the questionnaire, and a pre- e-commerce activities yet)
paid return envelope. The firm's name, address, telephone No 79 37%
Yes 132 63%
number, name and title of the contact person (usually the firm's
 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705 701

Table 2
Measurement scale statistics for direct measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and intention to adopt e-commerce
Scale Items Scale Scale standard Reliability (Cronbach's
mean deviation alpha)
Intention 1. My firm strongly intends to incorporate e-commerce within the next year 3.38 1.93 .96
2. We have certain plans to incorporate e-commerce in our organization within the
next year.
3. Our firm has a strong commitment to incorporating e-commerce within the next
year.
Attitude 1. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be good. 2.39 1.24 .84
2. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be harmful.
(recoded)
3. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be positive.
4. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be effective.
5. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be foolish.
(recoded)
Subjective norm 1. Most people who are important to my firm think my firm should incorporate 3.48 1.60 .89
e-commerce within the next year.
2. Most people who influence the behavior of my firm think my firm should
incorporate e-commerce within the next year.
3. People whose opinions our firm value would prefer our firm to incorporate
e-commerce within the next year.
4. Most firms that are important to my firm have adopted e-commerce.
Perceived 1. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be easy. 3.65 1.40 .78
behavioral control 2. Incorporating e-commerce in my firm within the next year would be under my
firm's control.
3. Incorporating e-commerce within the next year would be simple to arrange.
Note: Responses to all items measuring the TPB constructs were based on a 1 to 7 scale, such that lower values represented more agreement with the statements, more
positive attitudes, higher intentions, etc.

constructs. Each construct is calculated by averaging the
responses to each item listed for that construct. Table 2 also
reports the scale means, standard deviations, and reliabilities.
All of the direct measurement scales have an acceptable level of
reliability, with Cronbach alpha coefficients greater than .70.
The indirect measures of each TPB construct differ from
the direct measures. A total of 40 items represent the indirect
measures, which are created through multiplicative compo-
sites to represent the attitude (Σbbi ⁎ ei, 22 items), subjective
norm (Σnbj ⁎ mcj, 8 items), and perceived behavioral control
(Σcbk ⁎ pfk, 10 items) constructs. The Cronbach alpha values
show high reliability for the indirect scales for attitude,
subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (.90, .91,
and .93, respectively).
7.3. Regression and correlational analyses
Results of the regression analysis to test H1 indicate that the
three direct measures of the TPB constructs combine to
significantly predict over 73% of the variance in adoption
intention, F(3, 187) = 171.89, p b .001. Hypotheses 1a and 1b
are strongly supported: the stronger the attitude or subjective
norm toward adopting e-commerce, the higher the intention to
adopt e-commerce in the future, Bs = .34 and .81, ts = 3.95 and
10.61, respectively, both ps b .001. Hypothesis 1c, regarding
perceived behavioral control as a positive predictor of intention,
is not supported. Of the three predictors, subjective norm is the
most important predictor, as indicated by the standardized beta
of .67; attitude is the second most important predictor, with a β
of .22.
Hypotheses 2 posits that the indirect, belief-based measures
of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control
are significantly correlated with the direct measures of attitude,
subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, respectively.
This hypothesis is supported: the correlation between the direct
measure of attitude and the indirect measure of attitude (the
summed multiplicative products of the behavioral beliefs and
evaluations) is .43 (p b .01). The correlation between the direct
measure of subjective norm and the summed products of
normative beliefs and motivation to comply is .67 (p b .01).
Finally, the correlation between the direct measure of PBC and
the indirect measure (control beliefs multiplied by perceived
facilitation) is .31 (p b .01).
Hypothesis 3 replicates Hypothesis 1, but uses the indirect
measures of the three TPB constructs as predictors of intentions
to adopt e-commerce among Chilean SME managers (instead of
the direct measures). Taken together, the three indirect scales
combine to significantly predict adoption intention, R2 = .46, F
(3, 203) = 57.24, p b .001. Examining the indirect predictors
individually, the stronger the subjective norm toward adopting
e-commerce and the stronger the perceived behavioral control
over the adoption decision, the higher the intention to adopt e-
commerce in the future, Bs = .15 and .098, ts = 10.04 and 4.31,
respectively, both ps b .001. Similar to direct measures, the
indirect measure of subjective norm is the strongest predictor of
intention, with a standardized beta of .54. Unlike direct
measures, the indirect measure of attitude is not a significant
predictor of intention and the indirect measure of PBC is now a
significant predictor of intention, albeit less important than
subjective norm (PBC β = .25).
702 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705

Table 3
Hierarchical regression results predicting e-commerce adoption from respondent and firm demographics (model 1), TPB indirect measures (model 2), and TPB direct
measures (model 3)
Model Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients
B Std. Error Beta t R2 ΔR2
1 (Constant) 4.65 .02
Decision Resp −.01 .01 − .08 − .93
Gender −.15 .42 − .03 − .35
Age (30–50 yrs) −.52 .60 − .12 − .87
Age (older than 50) −.87 .67 − .19 − 1.31
Firm size −.13 .43 − .03 − .31
2 (Constant) .87 .43 .41 a
Decision Resp −.01 .01 − .11 − 1.63
Gender .17 .32 .04 .53
Age (30–50 yrs) −.53 .47 − .13 − 1.13
Age (older than 50) −.29 .54 − .06 − .54
Firm size .20 .34 .04 .59
Attitude_Indirect .03 .02 .11 1.43
SubjNorm_Indirect .17 .02 .56 8.32 ⁎
PBC_Indirect .08 .03 .18 2.60⁎
3 (Constant) .32 .70 .27 b
Decision Resp −.01 .01 − .09 − 1.80
Gender .13 .24 .03 .54
Age (30–50 yrs) −.27 .34 − .06 − .77
Age (older than 50) −.21 .40 − .05 − .54
Firm size −.34 .25 − .07 − 1.36
Attitude_Indirect −.01 .02 − .03 − .54
SubjNorm_Indirect .03 .02 .09 1.43
PBC_Indirect .01 .02 .03 .55
Attitude_Direct .46 .12 .28 3.79⁎
SubjNorm_Direct .66 .11 .55 6.29⁎
PBC_Direct −.01 .08 − .01 − .14
⁎ p b .01.
a
Fchange (3, 137) = 33.08, p b .01.
b
Fchange (3, 134) = 40.69, p b .01.

Finally, although not expressly predicted, the contribution of
the TPB (through both indirect and direct measurement of
constructs) in explaining intentions to adopt e-commerce is
explored, after controlling for respondent and firm demographics,
such as respondent age (separated into two dummy-coded
variables), gender, percentage of responsibility that the respondent
had over the adoption decision, and firm size (between 10 and
100 employees vs. between 101 and 200 employees). In a
hierarchical regression, the five demographic variables are
entered as a group of predictors first, followed by the three
indirect measures of the TPB constructs, and finally, the three
direct measures of the TPB. As a set, the demographic variables
do not predict intention (R2 = .021, F(5, 140) = .61, n.s.), nor is
any individual demographic variable a significant predictor, all
ts b 1.4. The indirect measures significantly improve prediction
of intention (ΔR2 = .41, F(3, 137) = 33.09, p b .001) and, similar
to the regression to test H3, the indirect measures of subjective
norm and PBC are significant predictors. Finally, when direct
measures are added to the equation, they significantly improve
prediction of intention, even with demographic and indirect
TPB measures already in the model (ΔR2 = .27, F(3, 134) =
40.69, p b .001). Once direct measures are added, 70% of the
variability in intention is accounted for. Out of the total 11
predictors now in the model (5 demographic variables, 3
indirect TPB measures, and 3 direct TPB measures), only
the direct measures of attitude and subjective norm are
significant predictors of adoption intention, Bs = .46 and .66,
ts = 3.79 and 6.29, respectively, both ps b .001. See Table 3
for all hierarchical regression results.
8. Discussion and conclusions
This study is intended to examine the applicability of the
Theory of Planned Behavior to predict the intention to adopt e-
commerce among Chilean firms. The TPB is extensively studied
in American business, but relatively little research examines its
propositions in a cultural setting other than the United States.
Chile is chosen as the setting for this study due to its potential for
e-commerce adoption and favorable business climate that should
make the implementation of e-commerce a success for small- to
medium-sized firms. In addition, the lack of research that centers
on e-commerce adoption in developing countries triggers the
need to conduct research in this under-studied domain.
The proposed hypotheses are examined with a sample of
212 managers and owners of small and medium enterprises in
Chile. Through a series of regression and correlation analyses,
similarities are found between the TPB's ability to predict
behavior in Chilean respondents and previous research testing
the TPB in developed countries. However, distinct differences
also emerge. In general, the three hypotheses are supported:
 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705
results show that both the direct and indirect measures of the
TPB constructs could significantly predict the intention to adopt
e-commerce (H1 and H3) and the direct and indirect measures of
the TPB are significantly correlated (H2) in this Chilean sample.
Using direct measures of the TPB, the attitude and subjective
norm constructs are significantly related to the intention to
adopt e-commerce by managers/owners of SMEs in Chile.
Managers who have positive attitudes toward e-commerce
adoption intend to adopt e-commerce in the near future. These
results from Chile are consistent with previous research that
establishes a positive relationship between attitude and the
intention to adopt information technology among top managers
of SMEs in the US (c.f., Riemenschneider et al., 2003). Other
research also finds a significant relationship between attitude
and intention to adopt IT in the workplace (Venkatesh et al.,
2003) and to purchase from a Web vendor (Pavlou and
Fygenson, 2006).
The subjective norm component of the TPB is highly
predictive of e-commerce adoption in Chilean firms. Chilean
managers who perceive social pressure from people and other
firms to adopt e-commerce report higher intentions to adopt e-
commerce in the future. TPB studies in American samples do
not show this strong effect of subjective norm on intention
(Pavlou and Fygenson 2006). In fact, Hausenblas et al.'s (1997)
meta-analysis finds that subjective norms have only a moderate
effect on intention. However, if one takes into account the
cultural dimensions discussed by Hofstede (1997), these
findings are consistent with Chile's collectivistic culture.
Chileans emphasize the co-dependency between individuals
and their groups, where “groups” often extend beyond the
immediate family. Therefore, social referent groups (persons
whose opinions the firm values, other firms, etc.) may influence
Chilean managers when making the decision to adopt or not to
adopt e-commerce in the future.
No support is found for the sub-hypothesis (H1c) that
predicts a positive linear relationship between perceived
behavioral control over adopting e-commerce and the intention
to adopt e-commerce by managers/owners of SMEs in Chile.
Previous research does not establish a consistent relationship
between PBC and intention. Whereas Chang (1998) finds that
PBC is the strongest predictor of intention, Venkatesh et al.
(2003) find that PBC is a significant predictor of intention only
in some of the relationships, and Riemenschneider et al. (2003)
find that PBC is not a significant predictor of intention in any of
their hypothesized models. As Armitage and Conner (2001)
point out, the PBC construct, as originally defined, may have
conceptual and methodological ambiguities which may cause
inconclusive results.
Another possible explanation for the non-significant rela-
tionship between PBC and adoption intention in the present
study is again rooted in cultural differences between Chile and
the US. Specifically, the uncertainty avoidance dimension of
Hofstede's (1997) cultural analysis may play a role in
explaining the PBC result. Americans exhibit a low uncertainty
avoidance index, which means that they are more prone to risk
taking, whereas Chileans live in a culture that is less prone to
risk taking and may avoid changes. The incorporation of e-
703
commerce brings structural changes and redesign of organiza-
tions; thus, determining the required resources (financial,
technological, human, etc.) that are associated with implement-
ing e-commerce may be a difficult task. Although American
managers of SMEs may not be uncomfortable with having to
make a decision to adopt e-commerce in the face of incomplete
information, Chilean managers may feel overwhelmed with the
uncertainty of not knowing or having the necessary resources to
implement e-commerce. Therefore, managers in Chile may not
be able to determine how important these resources are to the
adoption decision and may explain, to a certain extent, why
PBC is not a significant predictor of the intention to adopt e-
commerce among Chilean managers of SMEs. These findings
illustrate more support for the Theory of Reasoned Action
(which only includes the subjective norm and attitude
constructs), rather than the TPB (which adds the perceived
behavioral control construct to the TRA). Perhaps the PBC
construct is not necessary in cultures with strong collectivist
leanings; future research will have to test the TRA versus the
TPB to validate the present results.
8.1. Indirect, belief-based measures of the TPB
It is possible to explore the cognitive foundations underlying
perceptions of behavior by breaking down the constituent
elements of the direct determinants of intention into indirect,
belief-based measures. The beliefs generated from the elicita-
tion study provide important information about the kinds of
considerations that influence the behavior of managers/owners
of SMEs in Chile. Similar to previous TPB research (Hrubes
et al., 2001; Taylor and Todd, 1995), the indirect measures of
the TPB constructs are significantly correlated with the direct
measures of the constructs. Although all correlations in the
study are significant, one should take note that the correlation
between direct and indirect measures of PBC is low (.30) and
might also demonstrate the difficulty of operationalizing this
construct in developing countries; future research must address
this PBC measurement issue. Although the indirect measures
significantly predict adoption intention as a set and in addition
to the demographic variables, once direct measures are added to
the model, the significance of the indirect measures disappears.
In addition, the amount of variance in intention accounted for by
indirect measures is only 46.2%, substantially less than the 73%
of variance that direct measures explain. Thus, indirect
measures may provide insight into the beliefs underlying
adoption intention, but direct measures still remain strongest in
the ability to predict intentions.
8.2. Limitations and future research
Even though precise theoretical and statistical procedures are
used, this study is not without limitations. The actual behavior of
adopting e-commerce by Chilean SME owners/managers is not
measured. However, a longitudinal study of this nature is difficult
to accomplish, due to anonymity offered to survey respondents;
therefore, it is impossible to follow-up respondents' decisions
regarding adoption. In addition, the regression analyses conducted
704 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705
in this project cannot control for measurement error; future
research will utilize structural equation modeling to improve the
measurement model, prior to estimating the structural model, as
recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988).
8.3. Contributions of the study
Results show that over 70% of the variance in the intention to
adopt e-commerce among managers/owners of SMEs in Chile is
explained by the TPB. These research findings contribute to
academic research and theory development in a number of ways.
First, this research enhances our understanding of the specific
beliefs that may influence a manager/owner's decision to adopt e-
commerce in a developing country. Attitudes and subjective norms
strongly influence adoption intentions in this sample, suggesting
that, in order to encourage managers in developing countries to
adopt e-commerce, one must change managers' attitudes and
emphasize the social referents surrounding the adoption decision.
By incorporating e-commerce into their businesses, which involves
not only new technology, but also changes the way business is
carried out, SMEs can grow and help decrease the existing gap
between developed and developing countries. Secondly, since
Chile's culture is characteristic of other countries in Latin America,
it is expected that the findings from this study can help other
developing countries to determine managers/owners' beliefs
toward e-commerce adoption. In addition, because such rigorous
techniques are used in the elicitation study to develop the survey
instrument (specifically, the indirect measures), the present
questionnaire can be used in the assessment of e-commerce
adoption by SMEs in other countries that share the collectivist and
uncertainty avoidance cultural dimensions with Chile.
Third, by focusing on SMEs, and considering that SMEs
contribute greatly to the economy of developing countries, this
research should create awareness among managers/owners of
the beliefs that may stimulate the adoption of e-commerce.
Adopting e-commerce may place SMEs in a better position to
compete in the global market they face these days. Finally, by
grounding the research in an established theory such as the TPB,
the gap in IT research involving SMEs in other parts of the
world can be bridged. Previous research that examines SMEs
outside of the US is often descriptive only, and is not based on a
strong theoretical foundation. This project is the first to apply
the TPB to predict e-commerce adoption among managers/
owners of SMEs in Chile.
References
Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior. Org Behav Human Decis Process
1991;50:179–211.
Ajzen, I. 2002a. Constructing a TPB questionnaire: conceptual and methodo-
logical consideration. Retrieved April, 2003, from www.-unix.oit.umass.
edu/~aizen/.
Ajzen I. Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the
theory of planned behavior. J Appl Soc Psychol 2002b;32:665–83.
Ajzen I, Fishbein M. Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; 1980.
Anderson JC, Gerbing DW. Structural equation modeling in practice: a review
and recommended two-step approach. Psychol Bull 1988;103(3):411–23.
Armitage CJ, Conner M. Efficacy of the theory of planned behavior: a meta-
analytic review. Br J Soc Psychol 2001;40:471–99.
Awad EM. Electronic commerce: from vision to fulfillment. NJ: Pearson
Prentice Hall; 2004.
Ceballos, E. 2001. Digital economy in Chile. Retrieved November, 2002, from
http://www.seminar.com.tw/Economy Reports/d5.htm.
Chang MK. Predicting unethical behavior: a comparison of the theory of reasoned
action and the theory of planned behavior. J Bus Ethics 1998;17:1825–34.
CORFO. PYME: Un desafío a la modernización productiva. Corporación de
fomento de la producción; 1994.
Cragg PB, King M. Small-firm computing: motivators and inhibitors. MIS Q
1993;17(1):47–60 (March).
CyberAtlas. 2000, April. Latin American e-commerce showing signs of growth.
Retrieved March, 2003 from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/
geographics/article/0,,5911_348161,00.htm.
Davis LE, Ajzen I, Saunders J, Williams T. The decision of African American
students to complete high school: an application of the theory of planned
behavior. J Educ Psychol 2002;94(4):810–9.
Farhoomand AF, Tuunainen VK, Yee LW. Barriers to global electronic
commerce: a cross-country study of Hong Kong and Finland. J Organ
Comput Electron Commer 2000;10(1):23–48.
Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: an introduction to
theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; 1975.
GEEP. Guide of enterprises, executives, and products of the Bío-Bío region; 2002.
GEEP. Guide of enterprises, executives, and products of the Bío-Bío region; 2003.
Godoy S, Herrera S. Internet usage in Chile and the world: first results of the
World Internet Proyect-Chile. Cuadernos de Informacion, vol. 16. School of
Communications UC; 2004.
Harrison DA, Mykytyn PP, Riemenschneider CK. Executive decisions about
adoption of information technology in small businesses: theory and
empirical test. Inf Syst Res 1997;8(2):171–95 (June).
Hartwick J, Barki H. Explaining the role of user participation in information
systems use. Manage Sci 1994;40(4):440–65.
Hausenblas H, Carron A, Mack D. Application of the theories of reasoned action
and planned behavior to exercise behavior: a meta-analysis. J Sport Exerc
Psychol 1997;19:36–51.
Hofstede G. Cultures and organizations. Software of the mine. Intercultural
cooperation and its importance for survival. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill; 1997.
Hofstede G. Cultures consequences. Comparing values, behaviors, institutions,
and organizations across nations. CA: Sage Publications; 2001.
Hrubes D, Ajzen I, Daigle J. Predicting hunting intentions and behavior: an
application of the theory of planned behavior. Leis Sci 2001;23:165–78.
International Institute for Management Development. 2006. World Competi-
tiveness Yearbook 2006. Retrieved October 2006, from http://www.imd.ch/
wcy.
Kendall K, Kendall J, Kah M. Formulating information and communication
technology (ICT) policy through discourse: how internet discussions shape
policies on ICTs for developing countries. Inf Technol Dev 2006;12(1):25–43.
Lee J, Runge J. Adoption of information technology in small business: testing
drivers of adoption for entrepreneurs. J Comput Inf Syst 2001;42(1):44–57
Fall.
Moody's Investors Service. 2006, July. Chile in the eyes of the international
rating agencies. Retrieved April, 2007 from http://www.foreigninvestment.
cl/index/plantilla2.asp?id_seccion=3&id_subsecciones=76.
OPEN Small Business Network. 2002. Monitor. Retrieved November, 2002,
from http://www.americanexpress.com/homepage/smallbusiness.shtml?
mtpers_home=smbustab.
Pavlou PA, Fygenson M. Understanding and predicting electronic commerce
adoption: an extension of the theory of planned behavior. MIS Q 2006;30(1):
115–43.
Raymond L. Organizational characteristics and MIS success in the context of
small business. MIS Q 1985;9(1):37–52.
Riemenschneider CK, Harrison DA, Mykytyn PP. Understanding IT adoption
decisions in small business: integrating current theories. Inf Manage
2003;40:269–85.
Santiago Chamber of Commerce. 2003. Comercio electrónico en Chile llego a
US$ 2.500 millones en 2002. Revista Comercio, No 8.875. Retrieved
December, 2003, from http://www.ccs.cl/index.html.
 S.A. Nasco et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 697–705
Schneider G. Electronic commerce. MA: Course Technology, Thomson
Learning, Inc; 2002.
Schneider G. Electronic commerce: the second wave. MA: Course Technology,
Thomson Learning, Inc; 2004.
Simpson P, Swatman P. An exploratory study of small businesses Internet
commerce issues. Inf Manage 1999;35(1):9–18.
Standard & Poor's. 2004, January. Chile in the eyes of the international rating
agencies. Retrieved April, 2007 from http://www.foreigninvestment.cl/
index/plantilla2.asp?id_seccion=3&id_subsecciones=76.
Stansfield M, Grant K. An investigation into issues influencing the use of the
Internet and electronic commerce among small–medium sized enterprises. J
Electron Commer Res 2003;4(1):15–28.
Street CT, Meinster DB. Small business growth and internal transparency: the
role of information systems. MIS Q 2004;28(3):473–506.
Stylianou AC, Robbins SS, Jackson P. Perceptions and attitudes about e-
commerce development in China: an exploratory study. J Glob Inf Manag
2003;11(2):31–47 (April-June).
705
Sukkar A, Hasan H. Toward a model for the acceptance of internet banking in
developing countries. Inf Technol Dev 2005;11(4):381–98.
Taylor S, Todd P. Understanding information technology usage: a test of
competing models. Inf Syst Res 1995;6(2):144–77 (June).
Turban E, King D, Lee J, Viehland D. Electronic commerce. A managerial
perspective. NJ: Pearson, Prentice Hall; 2004.
Venkatesh V, Morris V, Davis G, Davis F. User acceptance of information
technology: toward a unified view. MIS Q 2003;27(3):425–78.
Weiss P. Small companies play cath-up on the Internet. Information Week. July
26; 2004. p. 70.
World Economic Forum. 2006. Global Competitiveness Report 2006–2007
Retrieved April 2007, from http://www.weforum.org/en/fp/gcr_2006-07_
highlights/index.htm.
Wresch W. Initial e-commerce efforts in nine least developed countries: a review
of national infrastructure, business approaches and product selection. J Glob
Inf Manag 2003;11(2):67–78 (April-June).