Title: Crafting digital success: unveiling e-commerce adoption factors among handicraft enterprises in Uttar Pradesh, India

Authors: Sandhya Dwivedi

Addresses: Central University of Gujarat, Kundhela, Taluka-Dhabhoi, Vadodara – 391107, Gujarat, India

Abstract: This empirical study examines the factors influencing e-commerce adoption among handicraft micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Uttar Pradesh. It is based on the premise that enterprises unable or unwilling to adopt e-commerce risk becoming obsolete. Addressing a gap in the literature, the study focuses on handicraft enterprises, which are often overlooked in research from developed countries. Using the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, it analyses technological, organisational, and environmental factors affecting adoption. A survey of 545 handicraft MSMEs found that 353 firms (64.8%) had adopted e-commerce. Data were analysed using correlation and hierarchical multiple regression techniques. Results show that ICT availability, owner/manager education, managerial support and skills, trained employees, competitive pressure, and government policy support significantly influence e-commerce adoption. Organisational factors exert the strongest influence. Unlike many technology adoption studies, technological attributes were found to have no significant effect on e-commerce adoption.

Keywords: factors; determinants; E-commerce adoption; technology; organisation and environment; TOE; model; handicraft enterprises; micro small and medium enterprises; MSMEs; Uttar Pradesh; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEA.2026.155810

International Journal of Economics and Accounting, 2026 Vol.12 No.3, pp.218 - 250

Accepted: 24 May 2026
Published online: 14 Aug 2026 *

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