Mobile commerce (m-commerce) has gradually increased in popularity among small and medium-sized retail businesses in developing countries in recent years. As a result, scholars and retail practitioners have been eager to understand better the factors that influence this new mobile channel usage. The article examines the primary determinants of retail personnel's use of m-commerce in Angola through the theoretical lens of Task-Technology Fit (TTF). This study followed a cross-sectional design and adopted the positivist research paradigm. As such, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from retail business personnel and actual users of m-commerce (n = 229). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was performed on the data collected using the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The findings indicated a strong correlation between the four dimensions of task characteristics (i.e., time criticality, mobility, non-routineness, and interdependence) and the task-technology fit dimensions. Additionally, it was determined that there is a strong correlation between the functionalities of m-commerce systems (i.e., Mobile Notification, Mobile Information Exchange, Mobile Information Search, and Mobile Data Processing) and the TTF dimensions. In comparison, the study discovered a minimal correlation between task-technology fit as correspondence and m-commerce use. As a result, some directions for future research were provided.

It is well established that a number of factors contribute disproportionately to the failure of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in most economies. This paperexamined the contribution of managerial and financial factors to the failure of MSEs in the context of Angola.Thepaper adopted a positivist theoretical perspective, by utilizing thequestionnaire as the primary data collection instrument within the quantitative research technique. Data was collectedfrom108 small business owners and managers with business failure experiences, approached through snowballing sampling technique.The data was analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The results ascertain that, insufficient knowledge in the domain of businesssystems, insufficient skills in the domain of financial accounting and negligence to plan and control business resources, by the small business owners and managerswere among the factors that contributed to small enterprise failure in Angola. Thisreportsthe lack ofinstitutions actively in promotingentrepreneurshipfor knowledge and skills development andthe absence of successful entrepreneurial role models, business mentors or coaches for entrepreneurial capacity building.

The high failure rate of new small enterprises in Angola calls to attention the fact that they are not equipped enough to meet the challenges of sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of wealth and job creation. The worrying impact on the Angolan landscape, as a consequence, has had economists scrambling for solutions in recent years. Moving from on the assumption that the current business climate has been a contributing factor, this paper attempts to examine the role of external environmental factors in the context of Angola. Adopting a quantitative approach, the questionnaire was utilized as the primary data collection tool with snowballing as the sampling technique. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software delivered a result to the quantitative data that indicate a severe lack of economic support and availability of fundamental business resources such as raw material, skilled people and finance, and rigid policy-making regulations. The doomed-to-fail death knell to the Angolan small business comes in the form of a high level of corruption and theft in the country

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global economy, with brick-and-mortar businesses particularly hard-hit. In Angola, the lockdown imposed in response to the pandemic forced many companies to close their doors, leading to widespread job losses and economic hardship. However, the pandemic also presented an opportunity for businesses that could adopt m-commerce or other alternative sales channels. This study aims to understand the factors that have impeded the adoption of m-commerce by brick-and-mortar retail SMEs in Angola during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also proposes a conceptual framework for overcoming the m-commerce adoption barriers that these SMEs have encountered. The study was conducted using a mixed-method approach, with data collected from 306 retail business managers/owners and professionals through a structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The study's findings suggest that the factors impeding m-commerce adoption were the lack of experience in using m-commerce, skills to configure forward and backward distribution systems, personnel with IT skills; the cost of m-commerce infrastructure; and the lack of support from the external environment. The study concludes by proposing a framework/strategy for stimulating the adoption of m-commerce in Angola. This strategy includes providing training and support to businesses on using m-commerce, developing a supportive regulatory environment, and investing in m-commerce infrastructure.

This paper argues that brick-and-mortar retail Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can benefit significantly from the capabilities of mobile commerce (m-commerce) to respond to the unpredictable changes in the business environment, accommodate new consumer experiences, boost sales of products/services, and achieve a competitive advantage. Consequently, this study explored the potential application of the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework for m-commerce by brick-and-mortar retail SMEs. The study adopted the positivist paradigm and followed a cross-sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 263 retail business personnel. The Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software was used to analyse the data. The findings unveil that all the proposed constructs associated with the organisational context and technological context are critical for the use of m-commerce. The proposed framework provides a fresh set of contextual variables which align with brick-and-mortar retailer operations and mobile commerce practices. It is envisaged that the extended framework may help conventional businesses to understand and identify the requisite factors in the adoption and use of m-commerce and assist business supporters in the process of technological innovation transfer.