ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OF SMES IN ANAMBRA STATE

The study examined the relationship between electronic commerce and the sustainability of SMEs in Anambra state. The objective of the study was to ascertain the relationship between electronic commerce and sustainability of SMEs in Anambra State. Three specific objectives, research questions, and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey design which sought to ascertain the effect of online customer service on service quality; between e-payment services on business accountability; between multi-channel marketing strategy on competitive advantage and order delivery on business competency of SMEs in Anambra state. The total population of the study was 260 and also served as the sample size. The purposive random sampling technique was used in selecting the SMEs currently operating in Anambra State. The structured questionnaire was used to elicit vital information from the respondents, and this was structured on a five-point Likert scale. The data collected were analyzed using tabular presentations based on cumulative frequencies, mean and standard deviations analysis for each research question. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS ver.23) was used in testing the various hypotheses. Based on the findings, the study showed that customer service affected service quality of SMEs in Anambra State. The second hypothesis revealed that e-payment services affected business accountability of SMEs in Anambra state. The third hypothesis also revealed that multi-channel marketing strategy affected competitive advantage and also order delivery influenced business competency of SMEs in Anambra state. The study concluded that electronic commerce had a significant relationship on the sustainability SMEs in Anambra State. The study recommended among others, that SMEs in Anambra state should embrace various forms of e-commerce to ensure better survival and sustainability in the industry. State governmental agencies, policymakers, e-marketing experts, supply chain specialists should make necessary arrangements to assist SMEs who desire to deploy e-commerce systems especially online customer service so as to strengthen their ability to render quality service. Also, operators and staff of various SMEs within the state and the country at large were advised to engage more effective multichannel marketing strategies to further enhance their competitive performance within the industry. They should embrace dynamism in their operations both in serving their customers and also in strengthening their business capabilities.