Adoption of Electronic Commerce by Portuguese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been operating in the context of an economic crisis, with the added effect of the pandemic crisis, leading them to rethink how to act in the markets in which they operate. SMEs have assumed a relevant role in national economies, in terms of employment, production, and turnover, with the assimilation of new information and communication technologies (ICT) becoming increasingly important, with a view to adopting e-commerce. Given the fact that SMEs represent a considerable segment of the companies in Europe, European entities (European Commission and European Parliament) proceeded to redefine their concept and sought to enable them to enjoy the economic and social benefits provided by ICT, through the adoption of e-commerce, in order to ensure a more active and influential presence with their customers. When inquiring about this matter, we came across the fact that most of the existing studies, within the scope of the adoption of electronic commerce, refer to its application in the context of large companies, in nonagricultural activities, therefore the need to carry out scientific research on this issue, which allowed us to determine the factors that influence the adoption of electronic commerce on agricultural SMEs. In this study, the factors that stood out to the acceptance/adoption of electronic commerce by agricultural SMEs are as follows: perceived utility, risk perception/intent-adoption of e-commerce, perceived ease of use, and perception of social influence.