THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN E-COMMERCE AND BUSINESS COMPETITIVVENESS OF RETAIL STORES IN ARUSHA CITY

Abstract

This Study sough to assess the relationship between e-commerce and business competitiveness of Arusha city. Specific Objectives were; to assess awareness of the e-commerce among the operators of retail stores and to determine the influence of e-commerce medium on business competitiveness as well as to determine the influence of e-commerce integration on business competitiveness. This study employed Porter's Generic Theory of Competitive Advantage. The study employed a quantitative research approach. A descriptive survey research design vies used in this study. Both secondary and primary data was used in this study. The primary data was gathered by the use of questionnaire. The questionnaire was closed-ended in which the questions and their respective responses was set in advance while the secondary data was collected using documentary review. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics provided by SPSS. Findings revealed that, there was significant between E-commerce awareness and the business competitiveness. The findings indicated a significant relationship between E-commerce medium and the business competitiveness. Also, the findings unveiled a significant relationship between E-commerce integration and the business competitiveness. According to the study, retail stores in Arusha should integrate E-Commerce and use it in their services to reduce transaction time, which improves customer service and business competitiveness. The study recommended that a study be conducted on the challenges impeding the use of e-commerce with a focus on retail stores in Tanzania in order to depict the true situation throughout the country, The study also suggests conducting a study on the relationship between e-commerce and retail store business competitiveness with a large sample size and using qualitative analysis methods,