Leadership Styles and E-Commerce Adoption among SME Managers in Oman: Moderating Effect of Technology Readiness

Abstract

This study investigates the moderating effect of technology readiness (TR) on e-commerce adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Oman. Data were collected from 382 participants including owner, manager or both (both here means owner who also manages the business). The study used SPSS and SmartPLS 4 software for statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The study found that technology readiness significantly influenced the relationship between leadership styles and e-commerce adoption. Transformational leadership positively influenced e-commerce adoption, while transactional leadership had a negative effect. The study also found that technology readiness moderates the relationship between leadership styles and e-commerce adoption. The findings suggest that companies should prioritise the development of transformational leadership styles and high technology readiness to enable effective e-commerce adoption.