Factors affecting the adoption of cloud of things. The case study of Indian small and medium enterprises
| Pages | 397-418 |
| Date | 11 November 2019 |
| Published date | 11 November 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-10-2018-0137 |
| Author | Vaibhav S. Narwane,Rakesh D. Raut,Bhaskar B. Gardas,Mahesh S. Kavre,Balkrishna E. Narkhede |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Information & communications technology |
Factors affecting the adoption of
cloud of things
The case study of Indian small and
medium enterprises
Vaibhav S. Narwane
Department of Production Engineering,
Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai, India
Rakesh D. Raut
Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management,
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India
Bhaskar B. Gardas
Department of Production Engineering,
Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai, India
Mahesh S. Kavre
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Terna Engineering College,
Navi Mumbai, India, and
Balkrishna E. Narkhede
Department of Industrial Engineering,
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, India
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to determinethe significant factors affecting the adoption of Cloud
of Things (CoT) by Indian small and medium-sized enterprises, using exploratory andconfirmatory factor
analysis.
Design/methodology/approach –Significant factors that impact CoT implementation were
identified through a detailed literature survey. A conceptual framework and hypotheses were proposed
for linking the significant factors so identified, namely, cost saving, relative advantage, sharing and
collaboration, reliability, security and privacy, technical issues and adoption intention. The data were
collected from 270 Indian SMEs using an online survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used
to test the proposed model.
Findings –It was observed that factors such as “sharing and collaboration”,“cost saving”and “relative
advantage”had a positive influence on CoT adoption. Findings of the study also supported the hypothesis
that “securityand privacy”were the prime concerns for CoT adoption.
Research limitations/implications –Sample coverage across different geographical areas with
qualitative data can be helpful. The SEM methodology is only capable of verifying linear relationships; to
counter this,a hybrid approach with tools such as artificial neural networkand multiple linear regression can
be used.
Authors would like to thank Dr Raymond Chiong, the editor of Journal of Systems and Information
Technology and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions that have
helped to improve the quality of the manuscript significantly.
Factors
affecting the
adoption of
cloud of things
397
Received30 October 2018
Revised20 February 2019
4June2019
Accepted30 September 2019
Journalof Systems and
InformationTechnology
Vol.21 No. 4, 2019
pp. 397-418
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/JSIT-10-2018-0137
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1328-7265.htm
Practical implications –This study intends to guide the managers of SMEs, cloud service providers
and regulatory organisations for formulating an effective strategy to adopt CoT. It may be noted that
CoT is the prime building block of Industry 4.0 and SMEs will benefit from government support for the
same.
Originality/value –This paper highlightsthe influence of factors on the adoption intention of CoT with a
focus on the SMEs of a developingcountry like India.
Keywords Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Internet of Things (IoT),
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Cloud computing adoption,
Cloud of Things (CoT)
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are large in number and include various
essential aspects of the manufacturing sector (Ivers et al.,2016). They play a critical role in
improving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which helps in releasing employment
pressure and getting closerto the optimised structure of the economy (Hallam et al., 2018). It
may be noted that most of the SMEs lack in research and development, operations
management and advanced technical capabilities. This highlights the need for quality
research on behalf of the SMEs,exploring current technological developments (Müller et al.,
2018).
Internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing are the essential technologies of the 21st
century. In 2016, the Deutsche Telecomof Germany coined the term Cloud of Things (CoT),
innovatively integrating cloud computing and IoT (Roopaei et al., 2017). Despite their
separate evolutionary paths, IoT and cloud computing can assist each other in providing
multiple mutual benefits (Botta et al.,2016). The data from different IoT sensors can be
published on cloud (with due permissions from the owners), thereby becomingaccessible to
many users simultaneously (Perera et al., 2014). It may be noted that CoT implementation
makes the system more reliable, allowing resources to get accessed and used from
everywhere. It also helps ensure that smart things/objects can be placed anywhere (Botta
et al.,2016). As CoT service provides unlimited storage and processing capabilities and
universal access to resources, its implementation across SMEs is considered beneficial for
the growth of the industry (Farahzadi et al., 2018). Its implementation results in improved
productivity and enables SMEs to become location-independent (Gunashekar et al.,2016).
Further, CoT implementation improves transparency within the organisation (Griffiths,
2016). Also, it allows the quick flow of information within the supplychain, which cements
the supplier-customerrelationship (Doherty et al.,2015).
A little consideration will show that the SMEs of developing countries lack sufficient
awareness about the virtuesof CoT, and the high initial investment is a prime concern for its
adoption. Furthermore, very few research articles directly address the challenges faced by
the SMEs for CoT adoption in developing countries like India. With this motivation, this
study aims to address the following research questionsand address the research objectives
mentioned below:
RQ1. Which factorsinfluence CoT adoption in the Indian SMEs?
RQ2. What is the influenceof each factor on the adoption intention of CoT?
RO1. To identify the factorsinfluencing CoT adoption in SMEs.
RO2. To establishthe relationship between each factor and CoT adoptionintention.
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