The adoption of the internet by export firms in transitional markets

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the intention to adopt the internet by export firms in transitional markets. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 144 export firms in Vietnam was surveyed to test the model. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Findings – It was found that perceived usefulness, but not perceived ease of use, of the internet is a potential predictor of the intention to adopt the internet by firms for their export activities. It was also found that market orientation has both direct and indirect (mediated by perceived usefulness) impacts on intention to adopt the internet, and that learning orientation has a direct effect on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the internet. Research limitations/implications – A major limitation of this study is the use of a sample drawn from one transitional market. Cross‐national samples will be a direction for further research. Practical implications – The findings of this study suggest that export promotion programs should promote the usefulness of the internet as well as market and learning orientations to stimulate export firms to adopt the internet for their export activities. Orginality/value – The major contribution of the study is to incorporate market and learning orientations in the technology adoption model to explain the intention to adopt the internet by export firms.