An Examination Of The Determinants Of Electronic Portal Success For Small And Medium Enterprises In Arab Region

This dissertation examined the influential economical, social, economical, social, and personaland personal factors that may determine the Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs use ofE-technologies in Arab countries and may construct a clear picture of the issue of E-portal usesin the studied area in comparison with world similar region like South-East Asia region.IntroductionSmall and medium enterprises of the Arab nation have grown in numbers greater than largecompanies. SMEs have also proven their effectiveness in innovation and fierce competition.Their vital role in improving most industries, including the internet industry, is what makesthem one of the perfect subjects for scrutiny. SMEs have spread their businesses nationally andinternationally through the use of the World Wide Web which have brought their success rateseven higher and the factors that lie behind their success are unknown.Problem statementTo the best knowledge of the researcher, there aren’t any studies done previously investigatingthe determinants of SME portal success in the Arab region. Therefore, this fact is themotivation in order to investigate this issue. The researcher formulates the problem statementof his intended research by the question:"What are the determinants of E-portal success ofsmall and medium enterprises in the Arab world?"Research questionsThe study setting here is aimed to answer the following questions:I. What is the influence of the performance factor on: Acceptance of E-services, UserSatisfaction, and Net Benefits?II. What is the influence of the effectiveness factor on: Acceptance of E-services, UserSatisfaction, and Net Benefits?III. What is the influence of the cost factor on: Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction,and Net Benefits?IV. What is the influence of the Acceptance of E-services factor on: User Satisfaction andNet Benefits? V. What is the influence of the Socio-demographic characteristics on: Heuristic,effectiveness, performance, Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction, and NetBenefits?VI. How can the findings of this research assist small and medium enterprises in the Arabworld on similar circumstances in planning and up-taking e-portal?Research aims and objectivesThis research aims:To determine the influences of the performance factor on: Acceptance of E-services,User Satisfaction, and Net BenefitsTo determine the influences of the effectiveness factor on: Acceptance of E-services,User Satisfaction, and Net BenefitsTo determine the influences of the cost factor on: Acceptance of E-services, UserSatisfaction, and Net BenefitsTo determine the influences of the Acceptance of E-services factor on: User Satisfactionand Net BenefitsTo determine the influences of the Socio-demographic characteristics on: Heuristic,effectiveness, performance, Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction, and NetBenefitsTo formulate ways on how to assist small and medium enterprises in Arab worldin similar circumstances in planning and up-taking e-portalResearch methodologyThe design of this research shows the components and their relationship to one another as theyare surfaced from the research as a whole. With this come the processes of data collection andthe techniques used in order to obtain them and also, the modes of presenting the techniques incollecting the data have been very useful tools in the research. The research instruments usedcontained closed-ended, Likert-type scale questions based on previous studies and the qualityof answers and other information are confirmed to be high and exact due to the carefultranslation of Arabic-English of the instrument and vice versa. Results of the translation haveshown only minor errors and slight corrections made tipping the scales closer to accuracy andprecision. Research population and sampleThe Arab World consists of twenty-two countries which dispersed in two regions in the MiddleEast and North Africa. Also, Arab countries have a diversity of ethnic cultures, dialects, andseveral religious communities. As mentioned in the recent statistics to estimate population atthe Wikipedia website, there are about371,039,000Arabs. Arabic language is the officiallanguage and the majority prevalent in the Arab world. Arab dominant culture is derived frominteraction among alienated and radical group levels. There are different patterns of living suchas: rural, urban, or Bedouin or by social formations such as: mercantilist or agricultural or byreligious and sectarian affiliations such as: Sunni, Shia, Druze, Orthodox and others (Barakat,1993).The majorityChristian religion. During2008, the economy faltered which created lay-offs and financialcrisis. One way of bouncing back from the crash is through the use of the internet andinformation technology. The World Wide Web has served as a huge virtual marketplace for thepeople of the Arab world to make business transactions which has started the beginning of aflourishing economy. E-commerce has been widely accepted around the nation which is mostlybeing used in the work place and in almost every industry existing in Arab world. Despite thecontinuing improvement of the economy of the Arab countries, more corrections and additionalreforms must be done as soon as possible to have safer and more reliable transactions locallyand globally.Research instrumentA questionnaire with closed, structured questions, mostly on Likert-type scales, was used. Thecontent, design and structure of the questionnaire were based on an item analysis of theoreticaland empirical research from existing studi The questionnaire was designed to be related tothe aims of the thesis and was based on primary data which are the samples from carefullyselected questionnaires and secondary data which are obtained from textbooks, articles,journals, electronic database and internet. Respondents were also asked to give their input onadditional information like: the length of time taken to complete, clarity of instructions, if thequestions were ambiguous or objectionable, ease of the layout to follow, and if there were anytopics omitted. The questionnaire contained four sections which are: socio-demographic variables, acceptance of e-government portals, effectiveness and other factors that include Heuristic, performance expectancy, user satisfaction, net benefits and cost.Data CollectionThis research used an online questionnaire as the data collection tool; the whole process was automated using Google Driver. The survey link was put on many websites. The online questionnaire was answered by202key informants.Data analyzingIt is about examining and summarizing the data in ways to reveal the relationships, pattern, trends that can be found within it, and to extract useful information and develop conclusions. The instrument has been measured thoroughly to ensure its validity and reliability through the use of Cronbach’s alpha, demographic variables, factor analysis, the top14factors, and independent sample T-test, the ANOVA, Post Hoc (Turkey) Test, and multiple linear regression with data analysis which leads to finding the right solution to remedy the problems that have been stated.1. Descriptive statistics:used to describe the basic features of the data.2. Exploratory data:focuses on discovering new features in the data.3. Confirmatory data:confirms or falsifies existing hypotheses.Summarythe results signify that a strong technological organizational infrastructure needs to be built in and integrate within organization for E-portal success initiatives. The results indicate that e-portal in Arab countries is not properly developed and it is not encouraged as enough as it should be in other developed word. This verifies that the socio-demographic characteristics are key success factor for e-portal initiatives.SME’s have multiplied in the Arab world and are continuing to spread its services internationally using information technology and the internet. The determinants of the success of small and medium enterprise portals in the Arab nation are existent, but unknown.The quantitative results support the hypotheses of present study concerning the essence of two main categories of key success factors for the successful implementation of E-portal initiatives. Income and Acceptance of SME portal indicate that key informants who have high or moderate income were more favorable for acceptance of SMEs portals.Education and Attitude toward using SME portals indicate that key informants who have Master’s or PhD Degree were more favorable for acceptance of SME portals.There is a significant correlation between the Net Benefits and Acceptance of E-services, Effectiveness, Heuristic, Cost Reduction, and Performance Expectations factors.There is a significant correlation between the User Satisfaction and Acceptance of E-services, Effectiveness, Heuristic, Cost Reduction, and Performance Expectations factors.There is a significant correlation between the Heuristic and Effectiveness, Performance Expectations, Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction, and Net Benefits factors.There is a significant correlation between the Performance Expectations and Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction, and Net Benefits factors.There is a significant correlation between the Effectiveness and Acceptance of E-Services, User Satisfaction, and Net Benefits factors.There is a significant correlation between the Cost Reduction and Acceptance of E-services, User Satisfaction, and Net Benefits factors.There is a significant correlation between the Acceptance of E-service factor on the User Satisfaction and Net Benefits factorThe results of this study indicate that E-portal is not properly accepted but it is not encouraged. This verifies that the socio-demographic characteristics area key success factor for e-portal initiatives.In the Chapters5and6the researcher developed and discussed the regression results, finding, recommendation and conclusions that he come out with after the different test were made.The samples were obtained from questionnaires containing data that were designed specifically for the respondents of the Arab population. The research instrument was measured with various ways to prove the quality of its dependability and questionnaires were distributed personally, as well as online. Relevance within the data was thoroughly analyzed to shape the conclusions of this research. The results and conclusions reached in the end of this research show that to larger extent surveyed CEOs consider effective management of E-portal should be a crucial component of SMEs organizational business strategy. This evidently confirms that an open nature for a determined e-portal project is quite crucial for enhancing, encouraging, and ultimate success. Further, the results signify that a strong technological organizational infrastructure needs to be built in and integrate within organization for E-portal success initiatives. The results indicate that e-portal in Arab countries is not properly developed and it is not encouraged as enough as it should be in other developed word. This verifies that the socio-demographic characteristics are key success factor for e-portal initiatives.This research has presented an extensive and in-depth study into the issue of E-portal critical success factors for SMEs and how to manage them. The present research presented a new tool, the E-portal success evaluation instrument, for measuring the implementation of E-portal success in SMEs. The new tool qualified the examination for validity and reliability.SMEs aware of the level of success which is linked with an innovative enterprise strategy can effectively utilize valuable and limited resources in more feasible positions.Certain limitations must be considered while utilizing the results of this research. The most important limitation in this research was sample. The sample in this research can be expressed as a "convenience" sample. The research comprised a instrument which was self-administered and was open to all categories of workforce. In majority of the SMEs just some degree of higher management responded. The higher management possibly can contain related information which may have skewed the results in a diverse way.This research presented a new tool, the E-portal success evaluation instrument, for measuring the implementation of E-portal success in SMEs. The new tool qualified the examination for validity and reliability. The instrument presented could be utilized to enhance the research in the field, that is yet a new area of research and have lot of research capacity.One more chance for future researchers can be to study how various large enterprises manage individually their e-portal systems. Even if several SMEs were included for diverse industries, no such association was assessed in this research.