Factors Affecting the Adoption of B2B E-commerce in Traditional Trade Enterprises (the Case «HEINEKEN» Company)

Over the past decade, the B2B E-Commerce market has grown significantly from 5.8 to 12.2 trillion dollars. According to Statista research, the turnover of the global B2B E-Commerce market is 6 times higher than B2C indicators. Companies around the world have begun to change the sales system for working with B2B clients, creating online stores with personal accounts for clients who have taken over part of the functionality of sales agents. As of 2017, about 27% of manufacturer’s profits worldwide were generated through the E-Commerce channel. This trend is also reflected in Russia – in particular, such companies as LUKOIL, Severstal, Wal-Mart and Coca Cola are actively developing their electronic sales channels. Meanwhile, companies face a number of obstacles to implementing B2B e-Commerce platforms. Despite the urgency of the problem from the business side, there are no studies on relevant topics in the Russian academic literature, which makes it necessary to conduct this research. The purpose of the master's thesis is to identify factors that influence the adoption of B2B e-Commerce. As part of the review of academic literature, existing models of innovation acceptance were considered: TAM, DOI, TOE, and TBD (Rogers, 1983; Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990; Ajzen, 1985; Davis 1989). Based on them, a research model was developed that examined the factors that contribute to the adoption of B2B E-Commerce-the characteristics of innovation (perceived complexity; technical disadvantages; perceived benefits; perceived costs), the characteristics of the decision-maker (technical skills; online shopping experience) and external factors (the influence of a sales representative; the influence of competitors). To build a model of factors contributing to the transition of traditional retail customers to B2B E-Commerce, structural Equation Modeling was used. The analysis revealed a positive relationship between the adoption of the B2B E-Commerce platform and the online shopping experience, perceived complexity, external influence from sales representatives and competitors, as well as a negative relationship with technical shortcomings. Based on the results of the analysis, recommendations were made that will help improve the experience of interaction with the platform on the part of customers and influence their preferences for the channel of interaction with the company. Such as exclusive promotions, unique types of service, simplified access to the platform, training materials, and much more.