REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
E-commerce is the use of the Internet for marketing, identification, payment and delivery of goods and services. Through the e-commerce technology, the Internet has revolutionized the mode of business transactions by providing consumers with the ability to bank, invest, purchase, distribute, communicate, explore, and research from virtually anywhere, anytime where there is Internet access (Anup, 1997). Most importantly, it has created electronic markets and provided opportunities for businesses to reach consumers in a very direct way. Also by virtue of the technology, it has enabled consumers’ immediate access to these electronic markets. Nigeria is the fastest growing telecommunication country in Africa (Ayo et al., 2007). The growth of a number of Internet users from year 2000 to 2010 is sporadic as it recorded 21,891.1% growth rate! According to the Internet World Start (2010), there were 200,000 internet users in Nigeria in year 2000. This number is however less than 1% of the national population (precise 0.1%). In the year 2006 – the number has grown to 5,000,000 (again just 3.1% of the national population). This figure doubled in 2008 with 10million people having access to the Internet. In 2009, the figure went above double as 23,982,000million people used Internet in Nigeria. By June 2010, the number of internet users in Nigeria has grown to 43,982,200 that is 29.5% of the country’s population. The increasing users of internet in Nigeria from 0.1% in 2000 to 29.5% of its population in June 2010, revealed that the use of internet in the country is growing at a sporadic rate and still has the potential to grow higher. Despite the growth of internet users in Nigeria, much research work has not been done in accessing the B2C e-commerce activity. Presently, many online shopping sites are thriving in Nigeria, servicing thousands of searchers every week. Some of them are: www.234world.com, Xtaples.net, www.booksng.com, www.orderbay.com. Some of these sites make the transaction process so easy buyers to forget about the open market. A site like 234world.com allows buyer to pay to a designated bank account after making online purchases. The items purchased are then shipped to the buyer at the speed of light. SoftPay allows individual to receive money online and thereafter use it to pay for purchases made. It even helps online shopping sites to collect payment for purchases made. Considering all these, it is expected that the number of people engaging in e-commerce activity will increase. E-commerce has however not been widely tapped into. Many Nigerians still treat its benefits with deep skepticism. They do not believe that e-commerce transactions could be successfully conducted. While there is proliferation of Internet usage, e-payment systems and online presence of businesses, much work has not been done about business-to-consumers activities. There is need to understand how and why people participate in e-commerce activities. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the prospect and challenges of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce implementation in Nigeria from the consumers’ perspective. The study treats consumer ecommerce as a technology adoption process and evaluates the suitability of extended technology acceptance model to determine factors that might explain ecommerce adoption among consumers in Nigeria. disapperforming a specific behaviour. According to the TRA, individuals’ attitudes towards behaviours are determined by their most important beliefs and the consequences of performing specific behaviours. As Fishbein et al. (1975) demonstrated through their theory, behaviour is best predicted by intentions, and intentions are jointly determined by the person’s attitude and subjective norm concerning the behaviour. TAM’s proposition posits two constructs: Perceived usefulness (PU) which is defined as “the prospective user's subjective probability that using a specific application system will increase his or her job performance” and perceived ease of use (PEOU), which refers to the degree to which the prospective user expects the target system to be free of effort (Davis et al., 1989). Both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have been used in examining users’ acceptance of information systems. Perceived usefulness has been proven consistently as significant in attitude formation (Moon et al., 2000; Venkatesh, 2000; Venkatesh et al., 2000). TAM has also been employed to predict consumers’ adoption of Web technology (Pavlou, 2003; Tang et al; Klopping and Mckinney, 2004). Lee et al. (2001) extended TAM with perceived risk (PR). They found that the TAM predicted individual purchasing behaviour online and that perceived risk affects perceived usefulness. Chen et al. (2002) also found TAM effective in evaluating online shopping at “virtual” on-line store. Building on these empirically validated views, the TAM is suitable for determining e-commerce but may not fully determine the users’ intention to adopt the technology. Therefore, the study proposes an extended TAM, with integration of task-technology fit model, trust, and perceived risk to better predict consumers’ adoption of ecommerce. The original TAM was also modified by dropping perceived ease of use perceived usefulness the path based on previous e-commerce adoption studies which argued that Web tools are exceptionally easy to use (Klopping et al., 2004). Also, to simplify TAM, the attitude construct was dropped and focused on the relationship between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on intention to use.
2.2 THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL AND ONLINE SHOPPING
Technology acceptance model (TAM) is currently the most effective tool for describing information systems adoption. It was developed by Davis (1989) to explain and predict computer-usage behaviour. It has it’s theoretical root in theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein et al., 1975). TRA depicts that beliefs influence attitudes, which lead to intentions, and finally to behaviours. The TRA introduced two independent determinants, attitude towards behaviour and subjective norm. Attitude toward behaviour refers to the degree that an individual has a positive or negative reaction towards a specific behaviour. Normative beliefs consider the probability that important persons or groups approve or disapprove of disapperforming a specific behaviour. According to the TRA, individuals’ attitudes towards behaviours are determined by their most important beliefs and the consequences of performing specific behaviours. As Fishbein et al. (1975) demonstrated through their theory, behaviour is best predicted by intentions, and intentions are jointly determined by the person’s attitude and subjective norm concerning the behaviour. TAM’s proposition posits two constructs: Perceived usefulness (PU) which is defined as “the prospective user's subjective probability that using a specific application system will increase his or her job performance” and perceived ease of use (PEOU), which refers to the degree to which the prospective user expects the target system to be free of effort (Davis et al., 1989). Both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have been used in examining users’ acceptance of information systems. Perceived usefulness has been proven consistently as significant in attitude formation (Moon et al., 2000; Venkatesh, 2000; Venkatesh et al., 2000). TAM has also been employed to predict consumers’ adoption of Web technology (Pavlou, 2003; Tang et al; Klopping and Mckinney, 2004). Lee et al. (2001) extended TAM with perceived risk (PR). They found that the TAM predicted individual purchasing behaviour online and that perceived risk affects perceived usefulness. Chen et al. (2002) also found TAM effective in evaluating online shopping at “virtual” on-line store. Building on these empirically validated views, the TAM is suitable for determining e-commerce but may not fully determine the users’ intention to adopt the technology. Therefore, the study proposes an extended TAM, with integration of task-technology fit model, trust, and perceived risk to better predict consumers’ adoption of ecommerce. The original TAM was also modified by dropping perceived ease of use – perceived usefulness the path based on previous e-commerce adoption studies which argued that Web tools are exceptionally easy to use (Klopping et al., 2004). Also, to simplify TAM, the attitude construct was dropped and focused on the relationship between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on intention to use.
2.2 ADDING TASK-TECHNOLOGY FIT TO TAM
task–technology fit model (TTF) developed by Goodhue (1995), provided sufficient theoretical basis for exploring the factors that explain software utilization and its link with user performance. These models though differ from each other, offer similar perspectives on utilization behaviour. TAM focuses on the attitudes toward using a particular IT which users develop based on perceived usefulness and ease of use. TTF focuses on the match between user task needs and the available functionality of the IT. The core of a task-technology fit is a formal construct known as task-technology fit (TTF), which is the matching of the capabilities of the technology with the demands of the task, that is, the ability of IT to support a task (Goodhue et al., 1995). Earlier adopters of TTF model have successfully applied it to predict users’ adoption of information system in accounting and decision support system (Michael, 2008; Benford et al., 2000; Zigurs et al., 1999). Usoro (2010) reported a successful combination of TTF and TAM to predict users’ adoption of e-tourism. Dishawa et al. (2002) proposed a combination of TAM and TTF to predict adoption of workplace technology. The use of TAM and TTF in consumer e-commerce adoption is found in the work of Klopping et al. (2004) and Sun et al. (2007). Dishawa and Strong (1999) earlier reported that TTF is more effective than TAM for predicting usage in work related tasks; however, their study concluded that a combination of TTF and TAM into one extended model is superior to either of the models alone. Also, their study revealed that TTF affects perceives ease of use and actual use.
2.3 TRUST AND TAM
Trust is a belief that one can rely upon a promise made by another (Pavlou, 2003). Stewart et al. (2001) defines trust in electronic commerce as the subjective probability with which consumers believe that an online transaction with a web retailer will occur in a manner consistent with their expectations. Scholars have identified lack of trust as one of the main reasons for consumers’ cynicism towards electronic commerce. In the context of ecommerce, trust beliefs include the online consumers’ beliefs and expectancies about trust-related characteristics of the online seller (McKnight and Chervany, 2002). The online consumers desire the online sellers to be willing and able to act in the consumers’ interests, to be honest in transactions (not divulging personal information to other vendors), and to be capable of delivering the ordered goods as agreed. According to Mahmood (2004), the trust factor has significant positive contributions to consumers’ online shopping behaviour. Jiang et al (2008) argued that consumer trust is a critical enabler of successful online retailing and knowledge is one important factor influencing the level of trust. The work of Gefen (2003) and Al-Dwairi et al. (2009), among others presented an integrated trust model with the technology acceptance model for business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce.
2.4 PERCEIVED RISK AND TAM
Risk is defined as “the state of being open to the chance of injury or loss” (Bernard, 1989). Logically following on from this definition, perceived risk is the subjective probability that loss or injury will occur. In the context of Ayo et al. 5111 online transactions, consumers are likely to perceive risks when they are uncertain about the probability of occurrence for each possible outcome for the transaction (Stone and Gronhaug, 1993). Perceived system risk is the overall amount of uncertainty perceived by an organization in a particular purchase situation. The perceived risk associated with online transactions may reduce perceptions of behavioral and environmental control, and lack of control is likely to negatively influence e-commerce usage intentions (Pavlou, 2003). These possible outcomes, both negative and positive, will affect consumers’ intention to transact with a B2C EC system. TAM’s proposition tends to focus on the positive aspects of technology use – usefulness and ease of use, and less on the immediate loss that could result from usage. This weakens the argumentative power of TAM in situations where potential loss due to usage is a concern. Therefore, there is the need for an extended TAM to include perceived risk construct. Several other works had been done using perceived risk to support the explanatory power of TAM in examining consumers’ behaviour in B2C e-commerce; such include Tzy-Wen et al. (2005), Li et al. (2009), and Belkhamza et al. (2009). Building on previous views on the argumentative power of TAM, an extended TAM is adopted as the model for this study.
2.5 BUSINESS TRANSACTION METHODS
According to Ayo and Babajide (2006), the focus of every processing transaction electronically is meant to minimize the transaction risk. In parallel, a trust framework in etransaction must address scalability and cost. A business process is understood as a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a well-defined business outcome. A well accepted definition of etransaction is that it “is the sharing of business information, maintaining business relationships and conducting business transactions by the means of information technology networks and online”. In most developing countries like Nigeria, the processes available for online transactions could take the following method:
Traditional Transaction Methods:
Cash on delivery. Many online transactions only involve submitting purchase orders online. Payment is by cash upon the delivery of the physical goods.
Bank payments. After ordering goods online, payment is made by depositing cash into the bank account of the company from which the goods were ordered. Delivery is likewise done the conventional way
Electronic Transaction Methods
Innovations affecting consumers include credit and debit cards, automated teller machines (ATMs), stored value cards, and e-banking.
Innovations enabling online commerce are e-cash, e-checks, smart cards, and encrypted credit cards. These transaction methods are not too popular in developing countries. They are employed by a few large companies in specific secured channels on a transaction basis.
Innovations affecting companies pertain to payment mechanisms that banks provide their clients, including inter-bank transfers through automated clearing houses allowing payment by direct deposit.
An e-transaction system (ETS) is a system of financial exchange between buyers and sellers in the online environment that is facilitated by a digital financial instrument (such as encrypted credit card numbers, electronic checks, or digital cash) backed by a bank, an intermediary, or by legal tender. ETS plays an important role in e-commerce because it closes the e-commerce loop. In developing countries, the underdeveloped electronic transaction system is a serious impediment to the growth of e-commerce. In Nigeria, entrepreneurs are not able to accept credit card payments over the Internet due to legal and business concerns. The primary issue is transaction security. The absence or inadequacy of legal infrastructures governing the operation of e-transaction is also a concern. Hence, government, corporate individual’s operations employ service agreements between themselves and their clients. The relatively undeveloped e-transaction in many developing countries is also a barrier to e-commerce. There is also the problem of the requirement of “explicit consent” (i.e., a signature) by a card owner before a transaction is considered valid- a requirement that does not exist in the developed countries (Ezeoha, 2006). Many developing countries are still cash-based economies although most recently the cashlite (not cashless) economy has been introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Cash is the preferred mode of payment not only on account of security but also because of anonymity, which is useful for tax evasion purposes or keeping secret what one’s money is being spent on. For other countries, security concerns have a lot to do with a lack of a legal framework for adjudicating fraud and the uncertainty of the legal limit on the liability associated with a lost or stolen credit card. In sum, among the relevant issues that need to be resolved with respect to ETS are: consumer protection from fraud through efficiency in record-keeping; transaction privacy and safety, competitive payment services to ensure equal access to all consumers, and the right to choice of institutions and payment methods and the Legal frameworks in developing countries should also begin to recognize electronic transactions schemes (Ojo 2004).
2.6 FRAUD RISK ASSOCIATED WITH E-TRANSACTION
According to Larry (2008), the global networks, credit, debit and charge cards can never avoid the risk of crime entirely”. The individual crime victims, merchant service providers and retailers always encountered the conflict of interest. After sloping by around half between 1991 and 1995, plastic fraud losses have risen steadily and are estimate of plastic fraud doubling in the next two years and with recorded fraud statistics rising. The pattern of fraud is changing. Electronic transaction frauds are rapidly emerging in the organization. It becomes a major problem for business today. As organizations struggle to remain competitive in a global marketplace, the business is more complex, systems are left open to employee manipulation and without a finely tuned internal control system, and the opportunity for significant loss is always present. Electronic transaction fraud and computer crime are found in Nigeria (Yahoo boys, Hackers, etc). There are several internal forces which can make electronic transaction fraud more likely to prevail in the organization, such as poor internal controls, poor personnel policies and practices, and lack of honesty at the top levels of management.
2.7 MONEY LAUNDERING ASSOCIATED WITH E-TRANSACTIONS
Money laundering is defined as the act of disguising the origin or ownership of illegally gained funds to make them appear legitimate. The huge sum of money is obtained through illegal activities and has been linked to nearly all kinds of crime for profit including organized and white collar crimes. This money must be laundered in order to avoid seizing by the law enforcements and handed to the government. There was a growing concern on money laundering in Nigeria as it is often associated with drug trafficking, bank savings abuses, real estate fraud, and tax evasion. The process of transferring funds through electronic messages between banks is known as wire transfers. It acts as the primer step in money laundering where the profits from organized crimes, for instance drugs, gambling, racketeering, and prostitution must be somehow slipped into the banking systems before it can be safely spent. It is the duty of the bank staff to report any detection of potential money laundering via direct telephone notification to the bank regulators and financial enforcers (Maiami 2005). The high number of transaction and the flow of wire transfer through fully automated systems have made it hard for it to be detected by law enforcements and confuse audit traits.
2.7 PRIVACY AND ANONYMITY ASSOCIATED WITH E-TRANSACTIONS
With the increasing usage of the Internet, the fears of privacy abuse become a top concern of most of the Internet users. In fact anonymity features of electronic transaction systems play a vital role in protecting privacy in an electronic world, and as the safeguard for a privacyprotecting Internet. Nonetheless, the anonymity of an Internet user is mainly compromised through the transaction method that is employed widely on the Internet – credit card, since most of the information is being collected on the Internet when users enter their credit card purchasing details. As consumers prefer to keep the details of their transaction private, conversely merchants and issuers in favor to ensure they capture and possess enough an appropriate and sufficient record of their transactions. Then privacy may become a thorny issue here. For instance, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and allied Commission (ICPC), and other law enforcement bureaus have participated in a wide-ranging look at the issues of the emerging e-money technologies. Last but not least, privacy must be regarded as a political right that consumers enjoy and ought to be respected (Olesin 2006). At the same time, precautions need to be put in place to ensure that electronic transaction systems are not used as a means to thwart existing laws.
2.8 TECHNICAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED E-TRANSACTIONS
According to Chibueze (2006), every new technology, when exposes and comes to the public, it faces to so many difficulties. It takes time that people getting familiar with it. The other point is that since the technology like epayment is new, there should be so many thing invented and prepared as a base for expanding of it. Most of equipment of e-transactions is expensive and not easy and simple to anybody to apply them. The other problem is to expand and grow the other part that are engage in or are part of e-commerce, like telecommunication and their services. In the case of e-commerce and e-transaction every end user (home or office user) must have at least one phone line and the connection to the Internet. As to be integrated system in all over the world, the infrastructure should be well developed in all country to have a real integration in this field.
2.8 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
A review of the available literature shows that there is a paucity of writings focusing on the problems in implementing e-commerce solutions in business organizations in Nigeria. In this part of the world, it is one of the most overlooked areas, where writings still focus on end-user computing and on developing models for SMEs rather than on analyzing what has happened during the implementation of e-commerce. No existing literature on e-commerce was found to offer a holistic view of the problems with statistical significance affecting e-commerce implementation in Nigeria. Very negligible work has been done to examine the available literature that does throw some light on this issue. Begin and Boisvert (2002) analyzed the strategic factors that influence e-commerce implementation in Canada. They did a micro-level study to identify these factors. In their study, the focus was on identifying the developments within each organization that influenced ecommerce implementation.They tried to classify the factors into groups that could serve as good starting points to analyze these factors and identify their influence on e-commerce implementation results; however, the biggest limitation of this study was that it did not take into account any of the external factor, and their study does not include any statistical analysis of the problems that affect the implementation of e-commerce. Teo et al. (2004) have done a meta-analysis of literature related to factors affecting the adoption of ecommerce, specifically in small and medium enterprises. Existing literature shows that it was among the first few meta-analysis of the factors affecting the implementation of e-commerce. However, their study concentrated on identifying specific factors and in the process ignored the holistic view of the problem. They have identified some meta-factors from the available studies, which are related to adoption of e-commerce. However, different studies have conflicting viewpoints about these meta-factors. In addition, none of these meta-factors measure the impact of e-commerce implementation results, nor do they identify the major barriers in its implementation at the business level. Studies undertaken by Radovilsky and Hegde (2004) and Zhu (2004) were good efforts in this direction; however, these studies were related to North America and emphasized the technological competence of the firm in the diffusion of e-commerce. They failed to identify the apparent and latent social, cultural other demographic obstacles in the implementation of e-commerce solutions. A study undertaken by Oreku et al. (2011) helps in identifying the important factors in implementing electronic commerce; however, the study was carried out in East Africa, which has a somewhat different cultural environment as compared to West Africa where Nigeria is located. Most of the research in this field suggests that factors such as culture, economic condition, consumer behavior, purchasing power and parity have a direct bearing on the implementation of e-commerce. As there is a substantial difference between East Africa and West Africa on economic, social and cultural parameters, these findings may not be specifically applicable. On the basis of overall evaluation of available literature sources, it is evident that there is clear need for a research undertaking designed to identify and analyze the factors that influence the implementation of ecommerce solutions in various organizations. In this study, efforts are being taken to address the specified issues of establishing and analyzing such factors.
2.9 GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE IN NIGERIA
The following are some of the major efforts made by the Nigerian government to foster the development of e-commerce in Nigeria:
Legislative Efforts Government had instituted a number of regulatory measures to sanitize the finance sector of the economy, such as: the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Act of 1999; the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act of 1989; the Failed Bank (recovery of debt and financial malpractice of banks) Act of 1994; and the Money Laundering Act of 1995. They were set up to check the tide of fraudulent practices in the country with a view to laundering the image of the country before the international community and within. The other bodies constituted to check the menace of fraud are: the National Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG); and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) among others (Ezeoha, 2006b). As part of the efforts to curb the tide of fraudulent practices in the financial institutions in Nigera, a Nigerian IT solutions provider is already in partnership with SAS of South Africa to introduce an anti-money laundering solution for the financial service intuitions (Chibueze, 2006).
IT Policy The Nigeria National IT policy, formulated in the year 2000 is responsible for the monumental developments in the sector. The vision is to make Nigeria an IT capable country in Africa and a key player in the information society. Its primary mission is to "Use IT" for: education; creation of wealth; poverty eradication; job creation; governance; health; agriculture; etc. (Ajayi, 2005). However, during the year 2006, Nigeria was reported as the fastest growing Telecoms nation in Africa.
ON-GOING ICT PROJECTS
a. The Mobile Internet Units (MIUs) These include busses equipped with ICT facilities such as PCs, peripheral devices and VSATs which are used to carry ICT education to rural areas.
b. The WIN Project This project is tagged "Wire Nigeria". It was intended to provide ICT infrastructure to all the nooks and crannies of the country. The project includes the provision of VSAT to the 774 local governments in the country, and the installation of the necessary infrastructures particularly, fibre optic backbone across the nation.
c. The E-Government Project this is part of the civil service reforms which was designed to make the Nigerian civil service proactive and respond quickly to the needs of the general populace. The project is a joint initiative between the public and private sector operators under the aegis of National e-Government Strategies Limited (NeGST) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The project was designed to reduce the bureaucracy that attends to government businesses in the country through the introduction of e-tax, e-learning, e-traffic, e-procurement, e-pricing, e-mail, e-tourism, e-payment, e-revenue, e-legislation, e-policing, e-judiciary, e-health, e-agriculture, e-services, e-kiosk, e-buka etc (Soun, 2004).
2.10 E-COMMERCE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Despite the global popularity and growth of e-commerce, developing countries like Nigeria, seem to be lagging behind. As a developing country, ICT is growing gradually in Nigeria, with Internet users making up 16.1% of the total population (Internet World Stats, 2009). This shows a considerable increase compared to users in 2006 (3.1% of total population). With more people becoming computer literate and open to adopting ICT usage, e-commerce is gradually gaining popularity among many Nigerians. However, previous studies have shown that e-commerce has not been fully adopted in the country. A study by Folorunso et al. (2006:2226) shows that 70% of the respondents surveyed had heard about ecommerce before, but only 32% had used it. This shows that, only a very small percentage of the sample surveyed actually used e-commerce (about 22%) and is evident in most researches done on ecommerce adoption in Nigeria. In order to understand reasons behind the low percentage of e-commerce users, Ajayi et al. (2008:6) identify common e-commerce activities among users in Nigeria as products browsing (74%), products selection (56%), online payment (15%), offline payment (82%), checking results online (43%). From these percentages it is obvious that though consumers were interested in shopping online (by browsing online and selecting products), only a handful were actually making online payments (Ajayi et al., 2008). This low level of adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria has been attributed to various factors by previous researchers. Folorunso et al. (2006:2224) identifies factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria as “establishing cost, accessibility, privacy and confidentiality, data security, network reliability, credit card threat, authenticity, citizen’s income and education”. Data security and citizen’s income were concluded to be the major factors impeding the adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria. Ayo (2006:2) also identifies the issue of cybercrime as a major factor responsible for the low level of e-commerce implementation in Nigeria. Ayo et al. (2008:2) state that “Internet penetration is still abysmally low and is one of the major threats to ecommerce implementation” in the country. Other factors identified in previous studies include substandard online payment methods, lack of trust in web retailers, poor technological infrastructures, and fear of inadequate security in online environments (Adeyeye, 2008; Ajayi et al. 2008; Ayo et al., 2008; Adeshina and Ayo, 2010).
It is however, noteworthy to state that although these factors exist, one aspect of ecommerce that has been widely accepted by the Nigerian population is the use of ebanking and payment systems. Nigerians engage in online banking (money transfers between accounts, obtaining bank statements, paying bills such as electricity, water, etc) because it offers quicker and more convenient delivery of banking services to customers as opposed to physical banking. However, these customers are exposed to various forms of cybercrimes when transacting online (Egwali, 2009). In addition to substandard payment methods and insecurity, the growth of e-commerce activities such as Internet banking in Nigeria has been inhibited by insufficient telecommunication facilities and erratic electric supply (Ayo et al., 2008:4). All these factors mentioned, discourage most people from fully adopting and using e-commerce, thereby hindering the development of e-commerce in Nigeria. These factors can also be considered to be environmental factors that influence people studied in that particular environment (Nigeria).