Title: Online trade of coir mats: perspectives of SME coir traders from Kerala

Authors: K.G. Sofi Dinesh; Keerthy S. Sayi

Addresses: Department of Management, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India ' Department of Management, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India

Abstract: India accounts for more than two-third of the world production of coir and coir products. Kerala is the largest producer of coir and coir products in India. Presently coir mats are sold through traditional channels in Kerala and also exported to other countries. The coir industry employs nearly 1 lakh people in the state. Currently, the coir industry in the state is in a bad shape and there is a need to tap the domestic market for coir-based products. The government of Kerala is also planning on setting up a marketing department to exclusively sell coir-based products. It is also planning on making eco-friendly coir machines. This study aims to check the perspective of the traders towards adopting technology for selling coir products online as this has not been looked into so far. This study has looked into the willingness of the traders to sell their coir products online through a survey. The model of the study was based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the data was analysed using SEM. The study shows that if traders perceive selling online to be useful compared to traditional selling, they are willing to switch to online selling. This will help them to come out with innovative ways to sell products online and give a boost to the dying industry.

Keywords: coir products; technology acceptance model; TAM; perception; information and communication technology; ICT; SMEs; IT adoption; self-efficacy; e-commerce; husk; coconut fibre.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2022.119830

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2022 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.106 - 119

Received: 18 Feb 2019
Accepted: 13 Jan 2020
Published online: 22 Dec 2021 *

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