Factors affecting the adoption of E-Commerce by New Technology Based Firms in the UK: the role of the Entrepreneurial Founding Team

This study contributes to the existing literature of IT/e-commerce adoption both theoretically and empirically. Theoretically by combining the resource based theory and the `technology, environment, organization' framework, while at the same time considering the entrepreneurship and human capital theories in order to provide a theoretical base for the inclusion and measurement of the capabilities of all members of an entrepreneurial founding team and to investigate the effect that they have on EC adoption. Empirically by considering the actual adoption of EC by 412 high-tech firms in the UK at the end of 2005 removing therefore self-reporting bias, while also investigating those factors that differentiate between non-adopting firms and basic adopters and those that distinguish between basic and enhanced adopters.