REQUISITOS PARA LAS IMPORTACIONES

Firms benefit from e-commerce in terms of cost reductions in ordering, and the management of inventories, as noted by Huang and Benyoucef (2013). This was also confirmed by Baršauskas, Šarapovas and Cvilikas (2008) who added the advantage of reduced labour costs from automation. However, there can be major concerns in the first stage of e-commerce integration as firms find that their industries or business models do not fit the available technologies or systems. This has occurred frequently in developing countries due to legal and technology infrastructure inadequacies. Moreover, the literature shows that there were mixed results on performance, generally derived from the state of the

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technology at the time (Devaraj et al. 2007; Li et al. 2009; Mora-Monge et al. 2010; Sanders 2007). Molla and Heeks (2007) found that technological infrastructure issues and lack of customer demand delayed e-commerce benefits for firms in South Africa. The review of Mora-Monge et al. (2010) found that the evaluation of the benefits of e-commerce in organisations is still not clear and there is no agreement on the benefits that can positively impact organisations. In response, a number of more recent studies have examined the realised benefits of e-commerce usage.

On the other hand, in a study of small businesses in India, Jahanshahi et al. (2012) demonstrated that even in its early stages, e-commerce had a positive and significant impact on market and operational performance. Similarly, there was a strong relationship between e- commerce usage and organisational performance in the Malaysian tourism industry (Salwani et al. 2009). Moreover, Rahayu & Day (2013), in their investigation of e-commerce in smaller firms in Indonesia, found benefits based on the firms’ use of telecommunications and the Internet. Austrade (2014) pointed towards the advantages of e-commerce in terms of time, cost and improved standards; the ability to grow business through emerging technologies and across time zones; supply chain integration; and intra-organisational functions, such as marketing, finance, and human resources.

Communication through the Internet is arguably of the greatest advantage to firms, and this is shown by their use of email in preference to direct contact through telephone or facsimile. This is the first step of e-commerce, and the organisation can obtain these benefits, even without a website. Devaraj, Krajewski and Wei (2007) noted communication improvements along the supply chain as firms moved online. Internet communications from the firm extend through to suppliers, government agencies, business associations, and customers, providing product and other information, negotiating prices and contracts, placing and receiving orders, and paying and receiving payments (Huang & Benyoucef 2013). Huang and Benyoucef (2013) noted that, as e-commerce evolves, a firm’s online presence communicates to a greater audience beyond simply engaging with buyers and sellers; these include social media and ‘social commerce’ groups. They apply the model and guidelines for large United States-based firms who use social media to sell their products (Huang & Benyoucef 2013).

Given that customer satisfaction is paramount for any organisation, online customers are no exception. Eid (2011) explained that in Saudi Arabia, managing customer satisfaction

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and engendering loyalty for online customers is crucial for long-term growth. Firms selling in the online environment find that maintaining customer loyalty is difficult, even with greater customer awareness of the benefits of online shopping. Eid reported on a study (N=218) conducted in Saudi Arabia, that online customer loyalty is strongly influenced by customer satisfaction. Comparing online stores to physical stores, Kacen, Hess and Chiang (2013) surveyed United States consumers (N=224) on 18 variables of perceptions and preferences. Kacen, Hess and Chiang (2013) found that all product categories from online stores are less acceptable than purchases from physical shops. The disadvantages of e-commerce were perceived to be additional delivery costs, issues with returning goods or post-purchase assistance, a lack of shared experiences in shopping, querying of salespeople, and uncertainty in product selection. The advantages of brand selection and comparison, and the ease of browsing, did not make up for the disadvantages, according to the respondents from Kacen, Hess and Chiang’s (2013) survey. Benedicktus et al. (2010) also reported that consumer doubt about purchasing online could be reduced through buying known and unknown brands from a traditional retailer that also sells online, or through purchasing online direct from a well-known brand.

Researchers have found that technological innovation has a positive impact on business performance. For example, Jinfu and Aixiang (2009) presented an integrated online framework for a supply chain situated in the textile, clothing, and retail industries. Melnyk et al. (2010) nominated cost-related benefits for online supply chains, adding that responsiveness, resilience, and innovation were factors in maintaining the flow of goods. Chang and Graham (2010) used a balanced scorecard analysis to study an e-commerce supply chain, offering the benefits of efficiency and greater functionality among the chain members. As part of the functioning of the chain, Wang and Zhang (2009) stressed that e-commerce involves the execution of business transactions over the Internet. Companies conducting e- commerce perform some, or all, of the following activities across the supply chain over the Internet: providing product and other information; negotiating prices and contracts; placing and receiving orders; tracking orders; filing the order and delivering; and paying and receiving payments. All firms operating in different industries ought to have a succinct and clear understanding of the various activities that their business partners are engaged in if they desire to coordinate the operations of their respective supply chains. Studies conducted in the past on firms operating in the manufacturing sector have shown that their performance improves when they share information (Porterfield 2008).

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This study argues that it is important for managers or decision-makers in Saudi businesses to realise the benefits of different levels of e-commerce usage, in order to encourage themselves to move from level to level of e-commerce implementation. Based on our knowledge, there are no studies that examine the realised benefits of using e-commerce in Saudi Arabian organisations; therefore, this study will attempt to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the benefits that can be realised in Saudi businesses, particularly in the retail industry. Thefore, thr third question for this research is: what, so far, has been the outcome of e-commerce adoption in the Saudi retail industry, in terms of levels of implementation and benefits?

This study emphasizes that, in order for Saudi organizations to use e-commerce technologies appropriately, they must not only consider the motivations for, and the benefits from, the implementation of e-commerce, but should also understand the barriers that can hinder these benefits, or prevent them from applying e-commerce in the correct way. The next sections are disccuess the thoires assoicted to technology adoption at organstional level and the conceptail framework for this study.