This paper discusses e-commerce in small and medium enterprises (SME) in developing countries. Small and medium-sized enterprises play a role in decreasing poverty and unemployment. E-commerce benefits SMEs by expanding business activities, boosting rewards, and improving company visibility. However, developing nations are lagging in e-commerce adoption because of internet access limitations, trust issues, and security concerns with online payment options. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review is to identify the factors that influence SMEs' adoption of EC. This systematic study was conducted in 2025 in four databases, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, SpringerLink, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar, and Google Search. The paper collection includes 21 peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2015 and 2025. Using the PRISMA guidelines, the study examines literature from selected databases to identify key determinants. The findings show that technological factors (ease of use, perceived usefulness, compatibility), organisational factors (management support, resources, CEO IT knowledge), environmental factors (competitive pressure, customer demand), and Individual factors (trust, subjective norms, security, privacy, reliability), all are playing important roles in EC adoption. For practical consequences, SMEs should invest in user-friendly technologies, increase social media involvement, and establish customer trust. Policy recommendations include establishing supportive infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and encouraging innovation to facilitate e-commerce adoption. This research improves awareness of EC adoption in SMEs and provides practical recommendations for businesses and governments to maximise the benefits of e-commerce, fostering competitiveness and expansion in the world of digital commerce.
Abdulkarem, A., Hou, W., Elia, S., Giuffrida, M., Mariani, M. M., Bresciani, S., Sila, I., Dobni, D., Kabanda, S., Brown, I., Minatogawa, V., Franco, M., Durán, O., Quadros, R., Holgado, M., Batocchio, A., Awiagah, R., Kang, J., Lim, J. I., & De Saulles, M. (2021). Decision factors for the adoption and continued use of online direct sales channels among SMEs. Journal of Global Information Management, 29(3). https://doi.org/10.4018/JGIM.2005070102
Abukar, M., Jenal, R., & Aishah, S. (2018). The impact of EC adoption for SMEs in developing countries: A case study of Uganda. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 96(18).
Achiando, H. A. (2019). EC strategy adoption and performance of micro and small enterprises: A case of private security firms in Nairobi County, Kenya. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 21(7), 35–64.
Amornkitvikai, Y., Tham, S. Y., & Tangpoolcharoen, J. (2021). Barriers and factors affecting e-commerce utilization of Thai small and medium-sized enterprises in food and beverage and retail services. Global Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509211036294
Ariansyah, K., Sirait, E. R. E., Nugroho, B. A., & Suryanegara, M. (2021). Drivers of and barriers to e-commerce adoption in Indonesia: Individuals' perspectives and the implications. Telecommunications Policy, 45(8), 102219.
Bening, S. A., Dachyar, M., Pratama, N. R., Park, J., & Chang, Y. (2023). E-commerce technologies adoption strategy selection in Indonesian SMEs using the decision-makers, technological, organizational and environmental (DTOE) framework. Sustainability, 15(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129361
Costa, J., & Castro, R. (2021). SMEs must go online: E-commerce as an escape hatch for resilience and survivability. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(7), 3043–3062. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16070166
Dahbi, S., & Benmoussa, C. (2019). What hinders SMEs from adopting e-commerce? A multiple case analysis. Procedia Computer Science, 158, 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.09.118
Gao, J., Siddik, A. B., Abbas, S. K., Hamayun, M., Masukujjaman, M., & Alam, S. S. (2023). Impact of e-commerce and digital marketing adoption on the financial and sustainability performance of MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical study. Sustainability, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021594
Gupta, P., Zhang, F., Chauhan, S., Goyal, S., Bhardwaj, A. K., & Gajpal, Y. (2023). Understanding small and medium enterprises' behavioural intention to adopt social commerce: A perceived value perspective. Journal of Enterprise Information Management.
Hardiyansyah. (2024). Impact of external factors on determining e-commerce benefits among SMEs in Jakarta and Palembang. International Journal on Informatics Visualization, 8(1), 213–219.
Hassen, H., Rahim, N. H. B. A., Othman, A. H. A., & Shah, A. (2021). A model for e-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries. In Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69221-6_39
Hendricks, S., & Mwapwele, S. D. (2023). A systematic literature review on the factors influencing e-commerce adoption in developing countries. Data and Information Management.
Honey, Y., Soni, U., Gupta, S., & Kumar, G. (2022). Evaluation of barriers in the adoption of e-commerce technology in SMEs: A fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 20(1), 1–18.
Hossain, M. B., Dewan, N., Senin, A. A. (2025). Evaluating the utilization of technological factors to promote e-commerce adoption in small and medium enterprises. Electronic Commerce Research, 25, 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-023-09692-7
Hossain, M. B., Shin, H., & Sim, W. (2019). Critical success factors on e-commerce adoption in Bangladesh SMEs.
Hossain, M. B., Wicaksono, T., Nor, K. M., Dunay, A., & Illes, C. B. (2022). E-commerce adoption of small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from South Asian countries. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 9(1), 291–298. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2022.VOL9.NO1.0291
Hussain, W., & Merigó, J. M. (2023). On-site/offsite social commerce adoption for SMEs using fuzzy linguistic decision making in a complex framework. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 14(9), 12875–12894.
Hussein. (2020). Factors influencing the intention to continue using B2B e-commerce in manufacturing SMEs. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 10(2), 5528–5533.
Idris, et al. (2017). E-commerce readiness of SMEs in developing countries: A model-driven systematic literature review.
Indiani, N. L. P., Keshminder, J. S., Wiratama, N. I., et al. (2025). Unlocking e-commerce potential in SMEs: An integrative framework for adoption in emerging markets. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 12, 766. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04952-3
Kuruwitaarachchi, N., & Khatibi, S. F. A. (2020). Information technology factors influence the adoption of e-commerce in small and medium scale organizations in Sri Lanka: A research agenda. International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning, 10(1), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.17706/ijeeee.2020.10.1.95-103
Lim, S. C., Lim, S. P., & Trakulmaykee, N. (2018). An empirical study on factors affecting e-commerce adoption among SMEs in West Malaysia. Management Science Letters.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. Physical Therapy, 89(9), 873–880.
Musbah, A., & Kartiwi, M. (2017). Factors hindering the adoption of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in developing countries: A case study of Sudan. Information Management and Business Review, 9(4), 28–33. https://doi.org/10.22610/IMBR.V9I4.1896
Nazir, M. A., & Roomi, M. A. (2021). Barriers to adopting electronic commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging economies. Emerging Markets Journal, 10(2), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.5195/emaj.2020.203
Nazir, M., & Zhu, X. (2018, September). E-commerce adoption factors affecting SMEs: A case study investigation of a developing economy–Pakistan. Paper presented at the British Academy of Management Conference, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Ocloo, C. E., Xuhua, H., Akaba, S., Shi, J., & Worwui-Brown, D. K. (2020). The determinant factors of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce adoption in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 23(3), 191–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2020.1792229
Rahayu, R., & Day, J. (2015). Determinant factors of e-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries: Evidence from Indonesia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 142–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.423
Salah, O. H., & Ayyash, M. M. (2024). E-commerce adoption by SMEs and its effect on marketing performance: An extension of TOE framework with AI integration, innovation culture, and customer tech-savviness. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(1), 100183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2023.100183
Sangi, N., Shuguang, L., & Sangi, A. R. (2020). Role of managerial characteristics and Internet.org in social commerce adoption by SMEs. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on E-Education, E-Business, E-Management and E-Learning (pp. 396–402).
Satar, M. S. (2022). Factors of e-business adoption in small and medium enterprises: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Computer Networks and Communications. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2445624
Sujatha, R., & Karthikeyan, M. S. (2021). Determinants of e-commerce adoption: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises in India. International Journal of Business and Society, 22(2), 574–590. https://doi.org/10.33736/IJBS.3740.2021
Suraj Kumar, & Sudhakar, K. F. (2024). E-commerce adoption and sustainability with SMEs: An advanced bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Experimental Research and Review, 40(Special Issue), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.52756/ijerr.2024.v40spl.003
Trawnih, A. A., Al-Adwan, A. S., Amayreh, A., & Al-Hattami, H. M. (2023). Investigating the adoption of social commerce: A case study of SMEs in Jordan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 18, 31–58.
Vanessa Kimana. (2020). Factors affecting e-commerce adoption among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries: The context of Kenya (Master's thesis, Mid Sweden University).
Wang, J., Hamamurad, Q. H., & Jusoh, N. M. (2024). Factors influencing e-commerce users' adoption of online shopping platforms infrastructure in Malaysia. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(14), 5441. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd5441
Wei-Loon Koe, & Sakir, N. A. (2020). The motivation to adopt e-commerce among Malaysian entrepreneurs. Journal of Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 11(1), 189–202.
Yadav, H., Soni, U., Gupta, S., & Kumar, G. (2022). Evaluation of barriers in the adoption of e-commerce technology in SMEs: A fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 20(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.4018/JECO.292472
Zhao, W., Hu, F., Wang, J., Shu, T., & Xu, Y. (2023). A systematic literature review on social commerce: Assessing the past and guiding the future. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 57, 101219.
Abdalla, A. E., Ismail, N. A. B., & Mohamed, R. (2026). Factors Influencing E-commerce Adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Developing Countries: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(6), 1088–1106.
Copyright: © 2026 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
