The use of ICT has the potential to contribute to the improvement of the business sustainability, especially for small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs), thus increasing community participation in entrepreneurship. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between ICT use practices in empowering rural entrepreneurs in Penang, Malaysia. The design of the study is quantitative in that the research instrument uses a questionnaire that has been distributed online (online survey) through Google Forms to the respondents. The sample of respondents in this study was selected using purposive and snowball samplings, which involved 158 rural entrepreneurs in Tasek Gelugor and Balik Pulau, Penang. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 27.0. The results of the study found that the practice of using ICT in business, such as internet application medium (? = 0.91, p <0.05) and information sources (? = 0.19, p <0.05), is an indicator or predictor of the empowerment of urban entrepreneurs in Penang. This study can provide input to the government to formulate strategies to increase awareness among entrepreneurs about the importance of ICT, in addition to organizing programs and activities that can further improve the skills of entrepreneurs in the use of ICT.
Aruleba, K., Jere, N. (2022) Exploring digital transforming challenges in rural areas of South Africa through a systematic review of empirical studies. Scientific African, 16, 1-13. doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01190
Bajpai, V., Pandey, S., Shriwa, S. (2012) Social Media Marketing: Strategies & Its Impact. International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research India, 1(7), 214-223.
Babbie, E. R. (1992) The Practice of Social Research. California: Wardsworth Publishing.
Castells, M. (2013). Communication power: OUP Oxford.
Chou, D. C., Tan, X., Yen, D. C. (2004) Web technology and supply chain management. Information Management & Computer Security, 12(14), 338-349.
doi:10.1108/09685220410553550.
Clement, J. (2019). Most popular global mobile messaging apps 2019. Statista, Retrieved on April, 2022 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/258749/most-popular-global-mobile-messenger-apps/
Dirks, L. G., Wanda, P. (2022) Technology to Support Collaborative Dissemination of Research with Alaska Native Communities. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. PMID: 35308978; PMCID: PMC8861747.
Fanggidae, R. E., Nursiani, N. P., Angi, Y. P. (2019) Women, Entrepreneurs and Online Business (Analysis of Factors that Motivate Entrepreneurial Women Through Online Business). Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Indonesian Social & Political Enquiries (ICISPE 2018), p. 199-203.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., Hinsch, C. (2017) Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126. doi:org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.05.001
Harris R. W. (2016) How ICT4D research fails the poor. Information Technology for Development, 22(31), 177–192. doi:org/10.1080/02681102.2015.1018115
Iqbal, M. (2019) WhatsApp Revenue and Usage Statistics. Retrieved on Mac 26, 2022 from https://www.businessofapps.com/data/whatsapp-statistics/
Kagermann, H., Helbig, J., Hellinger, A., Wahlster, W. (2013) Recommendations for Implementing the Strategic Initiative Industrie 4.0: Securing the Future of German Manufacturing Industry. Final Report of the Industrie 4.0 Working Group. Forschungsunion: Berlin, Germany, p. 19–26.
Kirk, R. E. (1984) Elementary Statistics. Second edition. California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Kitchin, R. (2015) Making sense of smart cities: Addressing present shortcomings. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8(1), 131-36.
Kottemann, J. E., Boyer-Wright, K. M. (2009) Human resource development, domains of information technology use, and levels of economic prosperity. Information Technology for Development, 15(1), 32-42. doi:10.1002/itdj.20114
Kursan, I., Mihic, M. (2010) Business intelligence: The role of the internet in marketing research and business decision-making. Management, 15(1), 69-86.
Maier, S., Nair-Reichert, U. (2008) Empowering Women Through ICT-Based Business Initiatives: An Overview of Best Practices in E-Commerce/E-Retailing Projects. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(2), 43-60. doi:10.1162/itid.2008.00007
Mansell, R. (2014) Empowerment and or/disempowerment: The politics of digital media. Popular Communication, 12(4), 223–236. doi:10.1080/15405702.2014.960571
Abuhashesh, M. Y. (2014) Integration of Social Media in Businesses. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(8), 202-209.
Ainum, N. (2017) Kerjasama KKLW-MDEC jayakan e-usahawan luar bandar. Berita Harian. Retrieved on 2 April 2022 from http://www.bharian.com.my/node/264026.
Park, J. Y., Sung, C. S., Im, I. (2017) Does social media use in?uence entrepreneurial opportunity? A review of its moderating role. Sustainability, 9(9),1-16. doi:10.3390/su9091593
Parveen, Farzana. (2012) Impact Of Social Media Usage On Organizations, PACIS 2012 Proceedings. Paper 192. https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2012/192
Ruth, C. (2007) Exploring the ICT and Rural Poverty Reduction Link: Community s and Rural Livelihoods in Wu’an, China. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 32(6), 1-15. doi:org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2007.tb00220.x
Sandeep Bhanot. (2014) A Study On Impact Of Social Media On Company Performance, research paper, India.
Schwab, K. (2017) The fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum: Geneva, Switzerland.
Ali, S. M. S., Kootbodien, A. (2017) The effectiveness of WhatsApp as an interpersonal communication medium among Abu Dhabi university students. International Journal of Media, Journalism and Mass Communications, 3(3), 11-19. doi:dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-9479.0301002
Shareef, M. A., Mukerji, B., Alryalat, M. A. A., Wright, A., Dwivedi, Y. K. (2018) Advertisements on Facebook: Identifying the persuasive elements in the development of positive attitudes in consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 43, 258-268. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.04.006
Shiau, W. L., Dwivedi, Y. K., Yang. H. S. (2017) Co-citation and cluster analyses of extant literature on social networks. International Journal of Information Management, 37(5), 390-399. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.04.007
Sima, V., Gheorghe, I. G., Subic, J., Nancu, D. (2020) Influences of the Industry 4.0 Revolution on the Human Capital Development and Consumer Behavior: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 12(10), 1-28. doi:10.3390/su12104035
Edosomwan, S. K., Prakasan, D., Kouame, J. W. (2011) The History of Social Media and its Impact on Business. The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 16(3), 119-205.
Synowiec, A. (2021) Infrastructural and Social Aspects of ICT Dissemination in Rural Areas in Ukraine in Juxtaposition with Other Post-Transition Countries-State of Play and Prospects for Rural Development. Journal of Risk Financial Management, 14(1), 1-13. doi:10.3390/jrfm14010016
Singh, J. P., Irani, S., Rana, N. P., Dwivedi, Y. K., Saumya, S., Roy, P. K. (2017) Predicting the “helpfulness” of online consumer reviews. Journal of Business Research, 70, 346-355. doi:org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.008
Thomas, P. N. (2012) Digital India: Understanding information, communication and social change. New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Tikao, K. (2013) The ‘C’ is central: A focus on communication in ICT4D. Media Asia, 40(4), 363–372. doi:10.1080/01296612.2013.11689989
Velaga, N. R., Beecroft, M., Nelson, J. D., Corsar, D., Edwards. (2012) Transport poverty meets the digital divide: accessibility and connectivity in rural communities J. Transp. Geogr, 21, 102-112. doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.12.005
Venkateswaran, R., Ugalde, B., Gutierrez, R. T. (2019) Impact of Social Media Application in Business Organizations. International Journal of Computer Applications, 178(30), 5-10. doi:10.5120/ijca2019919126.
Yeung, K. (2014) LinkedIn report says businesses are becoming more astute users of social mediafor marketing. Retrieved at 3 June 2022 from http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/02/13/linkedin-report-says-small-businesses-becoming-astute-users-social-media-marketing/#gref (accessed August 2016).
Ibrahim, Z., SulaimanTengku, A., Faziharudean M. (2008) The Roles of CommunityBased Telecenters in Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Malaysia. World Academyof Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 2(10), 77-89. doi: org/10.5281/zenodo.1055389.
In-Text Citation: (Rashid et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Rashid, S. M. R. A., Sharif, N. M., & Nor, N. N. F. M. (2022). ICT Usage In Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs In Penang, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 115– 128.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
