Obstacles and Solutions of MSMEs in Electronic Commerce during Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced business actors and/or MSMEs to adapt to the wave of disruption. There was a change in the way people shopped, a channel shift. People are abandoning traditional shopping in favor of shopping in the market online. However, there are barriers to MSMEs going digital, such as perceptions of benefits, business age, and HR competencies. This study aims to assist MSMEs in overcoming barriers to e-commerce use during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Because, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises are the most vulnerable businesses in a pandemic situation. This is a qualitative type of study. Data collection techniques include listening for and recording important information in order to conduct data analysis through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. This study concludes that in the crisis era, MSMEs that have been in operation for a long time must determine a change in mindset and level of maturity in determining the stance or belief of each step of adopting new technology. Several education, training, exhibition, and mentoring programs must be implemented in order to meet the needs of qualified human resources in e-commerce.

Analysis of Factors Leading to E-commerce Adoption

“…A company's age is determined from the day it was founded till the date of the investigation. Experiments by [3], suggest that established businesses have learned a great deal over the years. As a corporation ages, more information becomes available to the general public.…”

“…Because of this, corporate actors are under constant pressure to develop novel information technology-based services in order to gain widespread acceptance, particularly in commercial exchanges [2]. E-commerce, or electronic trade, is one example of the lightning-fast development and improvement of information technology [3]. This means that the role of information technology is employed for electronic commerce in the commercial world.…”

Buying and Selling Online from an Islamic Legal Poin of View

“…The marketplace in today's modern period is a location for online buying and selling, offering menus or options for items that do not match the description of the goods to be returned goods and money or replace defective goods acquired by the buyer. In addition to offering guarantees to consumers and sellers, the marketplace is legitimate and binding on both buyers and sellers [25]. Because you need a stateissued business license in Indonesia in order to open a business [26].…”

An Entrepreneur‘s Character from Professor Musa Asy'arie's Perspective

“…Nowadays, a lot of people, particularly young people, have dabbled in entrepreneurship, a field that the general public considers to be elegant. Additionally, when the business world is supported by sophisticated technology, information, and communication that are closely connected and shared [1], it encourages individuals to be enthusiastic about operating a business and to aspire to the status of an entrepreneur [2]. We cannot, however, turn a blind eye to the fact that many young people still lack a solid understanding of what business objectives are and what qualities an entrepreneur should possess in order to avoid them making mistakes or going in the wrong directions when operating a business or determining whether they have succeeded.…”