Is the Decision of SMEs to Establish an Online Shop Influenced by Institutional Pressure?

The aim of this paper is to investigate factors that influence the intention of an SME to launch an online shop. A PLS model is used based on the Technology Acceptance Model and is extended with neo-institutionalist elements. Drawing on a sample of 864 SMEs from different sectors of retail and wholesale trade, 52.8 % of the variance of the intention to launch an online shop is explained with the proposed model. The results indicate that the perceived usefulness and mimetic and coercive isomorphism influence the intention to establish an online channel.