E-commerce and small and medium enterprises (SME) in least developed countries : the case of Tanzania

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of the study was to investigate the E-Commerce phenomena in Tanzania with the goal of understanding how E-Commerce is typically made sense of by Tanzanian SMEs and how the sense making is produced, sustained and affected by environmental and organisational conditions. Structuration theory was used as a theoretical lens from which the social construction of the E-Commerce phenomena could be understood. The study primarily adopted a subjective interpretive stance. A preliminary quantitative study using questionnaires and interviews was done to gain an initial understanding of the E-Commerce status quo in Tanzania. The main study was qualitative in nature and used interviews with 33 Tanzanian SMEs as the data collection method