E-commerce acceptance in the dimension of sustainability

Abstract

Purpose Technology presents e-commerce as an alternative buying and selling place that is accepted by the public. The high growth of e-commerce has an impact on the sustainability of both the economic dimension, the social dimension and the environmental dimension. Indonesia is the country with the fastest-growing e-commerce but also has the second-largest plastic waste in the world. The synergy of sustainability for e-commerce is an interesting and awaited innovation. This is because sustainability has become the responsibility of all countries in the world. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical understanding of the context of sustainability in e-commerce separately focuses on a company perspective and the use of green products from a consumer perspective. It requires the involvement of e-commerce stakeholders as a whole to get comprehensive research results. The use of qualitative research methods with exploratory approaches is used in this study to reveal the concept of sustainability in e-commerce in Indonesia. Findings This study found similarities in the topic of acceptance of sustainability in e-commerce with a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence and habits. Changes to the variables were revealed due to changes in the e-commerce phase. The variable trust is in the introduction phase and builds trust in e-commerce. Currently, in Indonesia, the e-commerce phase is in a phase of growth and value formation. Habit creation and dependence is a requirement for value formation. Several new topics were proposed in this study, namely, awareness, security, logistics and user interface and user experience (UX). The establishment of an e-commerce identity through UX clearly shows its target market. The e-commerce phase and the topics involved in it can become a reference for e-commerce regulation-making in Indonesia. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to e-commerce in Indonesia with data processing limited to February 2020. Practical implications The results of this study provide an overview of increasing the intention to use e-commerce through human acceptance and engineering dimensions. This research also reveals the stages of e-commerce in Indonesia that can be used as a reference for determining the right regulations for e-commerce and the trade-offs for sustainability. Originality/value This study produces additional references to the intention to use technology by completing the UTAUT model. This study reveals changes in variables in perceived value that are interesting for further research along with technological developments and changes in people’s habits. Exploration carried out can add references to the application of sustainability in e-commerce, especially in developing countries.