Mobile Application Diffusion: An Exploration of Trust and Privacy Amongst Rural Enterprises in South Africa

This review paper presents academic literature exploring why there is a slow adoption of mobile technologies amongst rural enterprises in South Africa. The researchers conducted a thorough literature review of studies related to trust and privacy on mobile applications published in journals between January 2020 and April 2023. The study reviewed two main external variables: trust and privacy of technology adoption. The systematic review shows that common trust concerns for rural enterprises include untrusted service providers, weak security, and security attacks. Additionally, the review revealed common privacy issues and concerns, including integrity, user awareness, unobservability, and deniability as obstacles to the fast uptake of mobile applications in rural marketplaces in South Africa. Considering these factors, the paper concludes by offering practical and theoretical suggestions that can assist rural entrepreneurs in enhancing the diffusion of mobile technology.