How technology (e-commerce platforms) affected merchandising for SMEs in Sharjah during the pandemic period?

Introduction

The world has witnesses an escalation of pandemics, from SARS in 2003, H5N1 in 2006, and H1N1 in 2009. Each of the crisis has considerable impact on businesses and economic growth of countries globally. However, none of the previous pandemics had a worse impact that the current Covid-19 pandemic. The primary impact of COVID-19 on businesses is the policies implemented to curtail its spread, such as social distancing and lockdowns within and across countries (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020; Nicola et al., 2020). Scientists have always warned that infectious diseases can change business activities and force them to entirely different directions in the effort to control their spreading (Huang et al., 2020; Silva et al., 2020). Pandemics alters the direction of companies so fast that managers are left with without any clear guidance about how to deal with the situation. Many have been confused to the point that they have closed their operations (Bartik et al., 2020). Besides, by the time they have a clear solution, the pandemic will have already affected the financial performance of the firm. The COVID-19 have forced managers and leaders to make urgent decisions to prevent the long-term effect on their operations.

Many companies have invested in technology to support their marketing activities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The e-commerce platforms have become increasingly important as they facilitate virtual interactions to support social distancing measures that curtail the spreading of the infectious disease (Li et al., 2020). However, the actual impact of e-commerce platforms for merchandisers remains unclear in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a recent phenomenon and its effect is still underway. E-commerce platforms are argued to increase revenue as they serve customers during the crisis, but their impact on merchandising is still inconclusive (Hasanat et al., 2020). Therefore, the proposed study will explore the perceived benefits (or lack thereof) of e-commerce platforms for SME merchandisers in in Sharjah during the pandemic period. The author will explore the perceived impact regarding the ease with which merchandisers engage in their activities and the overall economic impact, such as supporting sustainable consumption behavior.

The Research Question

The proposed study will explore the question of the perceived impact of technology (e-commerce platforms) on merchandising for SMEs in Sharjah during the pandemic period. The COVID-19 has created major changes in business that should be understood. While research on e-commerce and their impact on businesses has been largely explored, the effect on merchandising during the COVID-19 pandemic remains inconclusive because the pandemic is underway. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct the study from the perspective of merchandisers regarding what they perceive as or have experienced from the use of e-commerce platforms to support their activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research answers the question: What is the perceived impact of e-commerce platforms on merchandising for SMEs in Sharjah during the COVID-19 pandemic period? The researcher expects that e-commerce, if implemented and managed correctly, will support merchandising activities for SMEs in Sharjah during the COVID-19 pandemic since it reduces physical interactions between them and customers.

Justification for the Proposed Research

SMEs are among the leading contributors to economic growth and development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many entrepreneurs establish the small and medium enterprises to leverage opportunities in the market to meet customers’ needs. However, due to their capital limitations and their size, they are usually more vulnerable to economic shocks than larger companies. Many SMEs have collapsed or at the verge of collapse in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their inability to overcome the challenges of adapt their business strategies to success amid the crisis (Amankwah-Amoah, Khan, & Wood, 2020). However, others have managed to overcome the impact by changing their business models to overcome the negative impact of the crisis. For example, the use of e-commerce platforms have helped SMEs to change their operations amid the economic impact of the pandemic. However, research remains inadequate regarding the impact of e-commerce on merchandising for SMEs.

The gap in research is the lack of adequate research findings regarding how e-commerce platforms affect merchandising for SMEs. Therefore, the proposed exploratory research will help to fill the research gap and answer the research question. The study will explore the perceptions of merchandisers regarding the perceived impact of e-commerce on their operations during the crisis period when they are unable to connect with customers directly. The findings of the study will help merchandisers in SMEs and other companies to improve their use of e-commerce platforms to achieve financial performance benefits during and after the crisis. For example, if the study reveals that e-commerce platforms improve the financial performance (profitability) of companies during a crisis, the findings will other firms to implement the technology. Furthermore, the study will provide managers with the knowledge of the factors, such as IT administration and necessary resources that they should improve to gain the benefits of e-commerce during and after the crisis.

Definition of Terms

Various key terms are evident in the topic of discussion whose conceptual and operational definitions are necessary to understand their implication to the proposed research. Technology (e-commerce platforms) is one of the terms in the topic that needs a definition. E-commerce platforms are technological applications that enables businesses to transact online and manage their operations and interactions, such as sales and customer relations. According to Wang, Cavusoglu, and Deng (2016), e-commerce is measured by the rate of adoption in target companies to achieve their objectives, such as become more competitive or productive. Early implementers of e-commerce are likely to take advantage of the platforms to gain an advantage over their competitors in the same market. Another terms in the topic is merchandising, which is drawn from merchandise. Merchandising is the promotion of a company’s products or services which are sold through retail. The operational definition of the concept entails how the company promotes its products to differentiate itself from competitors (Park, Jeon, & Sullivan, 2015). SMEs is another term in the topic that need to be defined and operationalized. Müller, Buliga, and Voigt (2018) defines SMEs as small and medium-sized enterprises based on their size and level of capita. The pandemic is the new strain of coronavirus that broke out in China and has spread to the entire world.

Preliminary Literature Review

Infectious diseases have occurred in various instances in history, with serious impact on businesses and the economy of countries. The recent COVID-19 outbreak towards the end of 2019 has changed the business world due to the need for minimal interactions that would cause the spread of the disease (Prem et al., 2020). Companies have had to close businesses while others experienced decline in financial performance due to the impact of the pandemic. Countries, including the UAE implemented measures, such as social distancing, that would curtail the spreading of the disease and would cause many customers to avoid visiting physical stores (Chauhan & Singh, 2020). As a result, Nicola et al. (2020) indicates that the measures reduced the number of customers and the revenue from sales that the affected companies made. Companies have suffered major financial setbacks due to the effect to the pandemic. While all companies are vulnerable to the negative impact, SMEs are worse hit since they have limited capital and cash flows and rely on daily customers who visit their stores.

Many businesses have turned to e-commerce platforms, such as websites, apps and social media, to market their products and deliver them to customers once they order. Merchandisers have been communicating with their customers through the digital platforms to assess their levels of inventory and to deliver products in time to prevent them from running out of stock. Considerable literature is available to support the use of e-commerce in facilitating virtual business interactions, such as providing product information and purchase arrangements (Chandna and Salimath, 2018; Li et al., 2020). Firms increases their revenue and profitability due to effective use of technology to connect with customers. They can leverage current customers and attract new ones when they focus on e-commerce to market and sell their products and services. SMEs have realized the opportunity that e-commerce platforms during the pandemic period when they were unable to meet their customers physically, but had to market their products and services.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed and disrupted the normal business landscape, causing companies to adapt of risk closure. The use of e-commerce platforms is one of the ways managers have adapted to the changes to remain in business and profitable. Wiederhold (2020) reveals that the use of technology has increased during the pandemic period as firms seek competitive ways to market and sell their products. Marketers have moved to the position of meeting the needs of their customers online to reduce the physical contact. According to the World Economic Forum (2020), the COVID-19 pandemic has forced firms globally to close for months in complying with the social distancing policies.  However, businesses that leveraged the use of e-commerce platforms could remain in operation as they served customers without physical contact. As a result, the period of economic lockdown has witnessed a boost in the use of e-commerce platforms as the pandemic accelerated the move away from the brick-and-mortar settings to online operations (Pantelimon, Georgescu, & Posedaru, 2020). Comfort et al. (2020) add that although managers were forced to make speedy decisions, investing in IT has been the primary way for their businesses to survive. Marketers, merchandisers, and other employees have had to survive during the difficult period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contribute to the decline of department stores and other physical business operations, e-commerce has improved. The World Economic Forum report a 60% decline in department stores, while e-commerce is anticipated to increase by almost 20% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has reshaped the world, such as the increase in the number and frequency of consumers buying their products online. IBM’s U.S. Retail Index has provided additional support indicating the move away from physical stores to digital shopping (World Economic Forum, 2020).  The same report revealed that “non-essential” retailers and department store sales have reduced by 25% in the first quarter of 2020. Most customers prefer to stay home and order their products online and marketers deliver their orders at their convenient. As a result, business are likely to succeed during the challenging times by investing in e-commerce platforms and focus all their operations on virtual interactions.

While research is underway regarding the disruptions that thee COVID-19 crisis has caused businesses, the results are not conclusive since the pandemic is underway. Besides, researchers have not concentrated on the impact of the crisis on specific industries, such as SMEs, and particular regions in the world, such as Sharjah. Besides, available research is wide and covers the general impact of the pandemic on businesses and economies. Given that the pandemic’s effect began to be felt in 2020, studies are yet to provide conclusive findings and evidence regarding how it has changed businesses across the world. Therefore, more research is critical to fill the current gaps and provide reliable data regarding how it has changed various sectors across economies and countries internationally. The proposed study will contribute to the current body of knowledge by exploring the impact of the pandemic on SMEs in Sharjah, UAE. It will help to understand the localized impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of generalizing the findings to other sectors and countries globally.

Theoretical Framework

The theories that will inform the study is technology acceptance model and task technology fit model. The technology acceptance model is a theory in information systems that focuses on how users accept and use technology to achieve their objectives. Wu and Chen (2017) suggests that the model applies to modern technologies that individuals and businesses use to achieve their goals. The model is useful from the perspective of the extent to which an individual believes that an information system would help to achieve business performance. Businesses use e-commerce from the perception that their customers will accept and use the model to transact with them, such as buying their products and services. During the COVID-19 period, research reveals an increase in the level of acceptance of technology as the most preferred channel to conduct business operations (Pantelimon, Georgescu, & Posedaru, 2020). Customers have accepted that times have changed and that they need to accept and adapt to the new business model. As a result, businesses intending to succeed should also invest in various technologies to meet the needs of customers. However, the model could be ineffective in the long-term due to short-lived beliefs and attitudes of customers.

Therefore, another model that could be useful in the research regarding the use of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic is the task technology fit model. A favorable outcome of e-commerce operations during the pandemic will depend on the fit between the technology and the task, such as merchandising. The task technology adaptation theory address the limitations of technology acceptance model in the use of e-commerce platforms and other technologies (Wu & Chen, 2017). The two models can, however, play a key role in understanding how e-commerce has affected and changed merchandising in SMEs during the pandemic period. For example, companies are investing in technology since customers have accepted them as the most suitable channels to overcome the challenges, but they should ensure that the technology implemented is a perfect fit for the task in question. The task-technology fit (TTF) model helps in evaluating how IT supports the performance of businesses, assessing the impact of usage, and judging the suitability to a specific task. Therefore, the characteristic of the task and the nature of the technology are important in decision-making among SMEs intending to use e-commerce to improve their performance during the pandemic.

Contribution of the Research

Many businesses regardless of their size have experienced an impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which is a global pandemic affecting countries around the world. Some companies that could not survive in the midst of the crisis have closed down, while others have had to make drastic decisions, such as reducing the size of their workforce. However, many companies remain afloat, but are struggling with the challenges that the pandemic has caused. They need to adopt business models that will help them to continue operating profitably and competitively. As a result, many firms have invested in technology and accepted e-commerce platforms to help them to reach their customers and continue their business. Available evidence indicate that many companies have invested in e-commerce platforms, but the actual impact of the decision is not conclusive because the crisis is underway. The current research will add to the building body of knowledge on the impact of technology in business during the pandemic period.

The study will contribute to research and practice on the impact of e-commerce platforms on SMEs during the pandemic period. In practice, the results of the study will show the extent to which e-commerce will either improve or hinder business and financial performance of SMEs. The study will help managers to make informed decisions when investing in technology to improve their business operations and interactions with customers during the pandemic period. The findings will also form the basis for long-term decision-making since changes in the business during the crisis will inform post-pandemic operations. For example, firms that realize the benefits of e-commerce for their operations, might retain the model long after the crisis. In research, the study will add to the current body of knowledge regarding the impact of technology on business operations during a pandemic. The study forms the basis for future research on the effect of technology on SMEs in the UAE and the world. Therefore, the findings are timely since the crisis is underway and will continue to affect business in the coming months or even years. Therefore, the study will be among the first research projects to address the ongoing crisis in relation to business decision-making and processes.

However, the study will have limitations that could be addressed in future research on the same topic. One of the limitations of the study is the setting, which is in Sharjah, the UAE. The study will be limited to the reality of the region, such as culture and technology adoption in the region. Therefore, the results of the study might be difficult to generalize to other regions in the country and globally. Another limitation of the study is the focus on SMEs, which means that the findings might not apply to other business settings. The results might not apply to other businesses, such as major corporations in the country and beyond. Therefore, the study will simply form the foundation for further studies involving other populations and settings since the current one has a limited scope. The findings will provide the theoretical foundation for the further exploration of the unfolding impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.

Proposed Research Methodology

The study will be an exploratory research paradigm. The study intends to explore the effect of e-commerce platforms on the performance of SMEs in Sharjah, UAE. As the name implies, the paradigm intends to explore a phenomenon and answer the research question. The study simply explores the phenomenon without offering a final or conclusive solution to the identified problem (Ponelis, 2015). For example, exploring the impact of e-commerce during the pandemic intends to understand the phenomenon, but does not proceed to provide any conclusion or answer to the research question. After all, the pandemic is ongoing, which means that it is impossible to come to a conclusion at this point. The study is simply conducted to study a problem that has not been conclusively studied, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will help the researcher to understand the phenomenon better and form the basis for further research on the research problem instead of collecting evidence to address the problem.

Apart from being an exploratory research paradigm, the research will collect quantitative data to understand how e-commerce platforms have changed and affected business operations in SMEs in Sharjah, UAE. Quantitative studies collect objective data in numbers or numerical format. Such studies helps to understand the quantitative side of a phenomenon through numerical information obtained from participants. Thus, the researcher will use an online survey to collect data from SMEs in Sharjah that have implemented technology for their business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher will design a survey questionnaire with a list of questions related to how e-commerce platforms have changed and affected business operations in SMEs in Sharjah. All the questions are relevant to the topic, straight, simple, straight-to-the-point, and easily understandable to ensure that the participants understand and respond to without the need to seek clarification. The participants will have multiple options for all the questions to provide as detailed and adequate responses as possible.

The target population for the study will be drawn from SMEs in Sharjah, UAE. The survey will target merchandizers in the region using e-commerce platforms to manage promotion and product delivery to customers, and to ensure adequate inventory in retail settings. The researcher will send a request through social media to potential merchandizers and marketers to get volunteers to participate in the study. The study will use a purposive sampling method to ensure that the sample includes individuals with specific characteristics. The sample should include merchandizers and marketers from SMEs. Therefore, one of the conditions for the inclusion is that volunteers should indicate the name of their companies to establish whether they fit the criteria of small and medium enterprises. The researcher will verify the information to ensure that the volunteers are merchandizers and marketers from SMEs. The researcher hopes to get a sample of 100 volunteers from different SMEs to participate in the online survey. Many statisticians argue that 100 participants are the minimum sample size that a researcher can use to get significant findings for an exploratory study (Saxena et al., 2018). The data collected using the questionnaire will be analyzed using a statistical method, such as excel or SPSS, and represented through charts and graphs to enhance understanding. The analyzed data will form the basis for the findings, discussion and conclusions drawn from the data.

Research Plan

The research plan is the list of steps that will be necessary to complete the study until the final findings are presented for use in practice or further research. The first step in the plan is to decide the most relevant topic to study. Once the topic is decided, the second stage is to conduct a background research, including what others have already done on the same topic. The third step is identifying the research question that will be answered from the data collected. Although it is an exploratory study, the research will answer the question without getting a clear conclusion. The aim is to understand the phenomenon and form the basis for additional research on the impact of e-commerce on businesses during the pandemic. The next step will be a detailed review of literature to identify what has been accomplished related to the research question and identifying gaps that will be answered by the current and future studies. The literature review will lead to the research methodology to collect data, answer the research question, and fill the research gap.

Identification of the research methodology will be the beginning of the real work. The research methodology, quantitative, will inform the research process, from designing the data collection and analysis method to analysis and presentation for use in research and practice. The study will use an online questionnaire with a list of questions relevant to the question. The researcher will send the questionnaire to the identified sample of participants to respond to and submit them through the same channel. After collecting the information from the participants, an analysis will be conducted to form the foundation for final report. The analysis will include results using pie charts and graphs for clarity and understandability.  The final report will include the results of the analysis, a discussion and conclusions, and the references that are used to develop the research report. The final step in the process is the final presentation of the report for use in practice and as a foundation for additional research.

Research Timetable

The timetable includes the tasks that will be accomplished until the final thesis is presented. The beginning place will be a meeting with the professor to discuss and fine tune the topic.

References

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