Developing a framework for adoption of cloud computing by small medium enterprises in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Small, micro and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seen as the panacea for economic growth and unemployment in Zimbabwe. Thriving SME sectors represent a thriving national economy. Conversely, the failed SMEs sector in Zimbabwe represents a failed national economy. Literature shows that 85% of SMEs in Zimbabwe fail, 60% of these close within the first year and about 25% during the first three years of operation. This high failure rate is attributed to intense global market competition from other developed countries and lack of adequate business information to penetrate other markets due to underdeveloped technological and communication infrastructures. The evidence from the literature suggests that cloud computing offers a new and better way of conducting businesses in SMEs. Adopting cloud computing increases SMEs' competitive edge; allows SMEs to access sophisticated IT resources without capital expenditure, which gives them time to focus on their core competencies. Despite these benefits of cloud computing, SMEs in Zimbabwe are still struggling to adopt cloud computing both as a technological and business strategy. Decisions to adopt cloud computing are complicated because many variables are involved in the adoption equation. Making informed decisions to migrate to the cloud requires support tools (frameworks) to help decision-makers to evaluate and analyse their legacy systems in a more systematic way and decide whether to migrate to the cloud or not. Despite the availability of many cloud adoption frameworks, the ever-changing technological landscape makes it even more challenging for SMEs in Zimbabwe to adopt a cloud computing framework developed in a different setting. Thus, the unavailability of cloud computing adoption frameworks developed in Zimbabwe makes it more difficult for SMEs to migrate their legacy systems to the cloud. For this reason, this study aims to fill this research gap by developing a cloud computing adoption framework to assist SMEs in Zimbabwe to migrate to the cloud. The Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) was applied to answer the research questions and iteratively develop the ZiCAM artefact. The main philosophy which guided the research is pragmatism. Interpretivism was applied in Phase 1 during the literature review and Phase 2 during the study's interview phase. Positivism was used during Phase 3, in which a questionnaire distributed to a sample size of 345 participants. Phase 1 of the study developed an initial cloud adoption framework based on two frameworks, the DOI and TOE, which provided the theoretical framework for this study. The interviews in Phase 2 validated the initial framework, which culminated in developing the intermediate framework. The findings in Phase 2 helped develop a web-based questionnaire administered in Phase 3 to sampled SMEs in Harare and Bulawayo (Zimbabwe). The findings from Phase 3 were used to develop the final conceptual cloud computing adoption model (ZiCAM) by SMEs in the two cities in Zimbabwe. Multilinear regression analysis was used to evaluate the ZiCAM artefact. Seven factors were identified as important for influencing the likelihood that SMEs would adopt Cloud computing successfully. The factors are trialability, compatibility (technological factors), size of an organisation, IT knowledge of employees and technological readiness (organisational factors) and lastly, competitive pressure and acceptability to up date information (environmental factors). Besides contributing to praxis and adding new knowledge to the IS body of knowledge, the findings of this study are also important to owners and decision-makers of SMEs, cloud service providers and the Zimbabwean government. The ZiCAM model will enable them to facilitate the adoption of cloud computing by SMEs by establishing strategies and a conducive environment to stimulate faster adoption of cloud computing by SMEs.