On Trust and Security Risk: Mobile Commerce Acceptance and Readiness in Sudan

摘要

This paper looks at the mobile commerce readiness and presents an insightful look at Sudan and the rise of new opportunities for mobile technology use in the wake of emerging technology risks. Data elicited from Sudanese users of mobile applications was analysed with the objective of understanding and explaining the extent to which constructs such as trust and security risks has influenced Sudan's readiness for mobile commerce. The work applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model towards this end. A sample size of 145 Sudanese respondents working in the public sector provided useful data that was subjected to the UTAUT approach. Findings suggest that Sudanese users' perceived technology risk and trust of m-commerce services in mobile platforms tended to inhibit the desired rate of m-commerce adoption and therefore readiness. These findings are seen to be in contrast of m-commerce readiness in Sudan's neighbouring eastern and central African countries such as Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia.