Factors influencing adoption of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and mobile technologies by the growth engine of the U.S. economy

摘要

Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and mobile technologies help small businesses to serve as the growth engine of the U.S. economy. We propose and test a model to compare the influence of organizational, environmental, and technological factors on the decision of small businesses owners, CIOs, and CEOs to select one set of technologies over the other. Results from structural equations modeling indicate that organizational (top management support, IT staff size, and IT budget), environmental (external support for IT adoption), and technological (perceived benefits of IT and perceived barriers to adopting IT) factors significantly influence the adoption of Web 2.0 by small businesses. All of the above factors except IT budget and perceived benefits fuel the adoption of Web 1.0 technologies. Despite perceiving barriers to adopting IT, small businesses owners, CIOs, and CEOs invest in mobile technologies. Top–management support and external support for IT adoption are the only factors positively affecting the adoption of all of the three sets of technologies considered in this study. We offer strategic suggestions to small businesses for selecting Internet and mobile technology–based solutions and services.