Investigating the intention to adopt smartphone apps among the entrepreneurs of a developing country
| Date | 11 November 2019 |
| Pages | 341-353 |
| Published date | 11 November 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-12-2018-0103 |
| Author | Bahadur Ali Soomro,Naimatullah Shah,Maqsood Memon |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Business ethics,Sustainability |
Investigating the intention to
adopt smartphone apps among
the entrepreneurs of a
developing country
Bahadur Ali Soomro
Area Study Centre, Far East and Southeast Asia,
University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Naimatullah Shah
College of Business Administration,
Al Yamamah University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and
Department of Public Administration,
University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan, and
Maqsood Memon
College of Business,
Zayed University, Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose –Nowadays, in mobile communication, smartphone is one of the modern progress and emergent
phenomena for business as well as social networking. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an intention
to adopt smartphone apps among the entrepreneurs of a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach –The quantitative methods based on cross-section data are employed for
examining an intention towards adopting smartphone apps. The data are collected through a survey
questionnaire. In the initial stage, 500 questionnaires were randomly distributed among the businessmen of a
developing context. The value of the return samples is 280. The response rate has remained at 56 per cent.
Findings –By applying the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, Pearson’s correlation and multiple
regression show a positive and significant relationship of perceived usefulness, ease of use, perceived
enjoyment and satisfaction with an intention to adopt smartphone apps. On the other hand, a positive and
non-significant relationship between social needs and the intention to adopt smartphone apps is investigated.
Practical implications –The present study may provide valuable insights into the use pattern of
smartphones among entrepreneurs and contribute for nurturing an intention to adopt smartphone apps in the
developing context. Moreover, such a study may contribute to the literature of the developing country
context, especially in the perspective of developing an intention and attitude towards smartphone apps.
Originality/value –This paper offers the factors which may be supportive of the actual usage of
smartphone applications. The study is original containing data from a developing country.
Keywords Entrepreneurs, Developing country, Ease of use, Mobile technology,
Intention to adopt smartphone apps
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Today, the circulation of mobile technology has been increased (Butt and Phillips, 2008;
Ladd et al., 2010; Chung et al., 2012; Koo and Kim, 2015). Such circulation happened due to a
particular combination of technologies by which individuals are effectively communicating
with their organizations, groups and societies (Ladd et al., 2010). In mobile computing
technology, the smartphone is one of the modern progresses among others. The smartphone
is regarded as an emergent phenomenon for business and personal voices such as social
networking communications, data, e-mails as well as sharing of applications through access
of the internet (Oulasvirta et al., 2012). In addition to it, smartphones are also offering a
World Journal of
Entrepreneurship, Management
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 15 No. 4, 2019
pp. 341-353
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5961
DOI10.1108/WJEMSD-12-2018-0103
Received 3 December 2018
Revised 14 March 2019
Accepted 7 July 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
341
Intention to
adopt
smartphone
apps
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