This article presents findings of a study that aimed to identify key factors in the adoption of e-commerce. The study involved a bibliometric analysis of statistical information from 408 scientific publications related to the theme, registered in the Scopus database, through a structured search equation. The collected records were used to calculate bibliometric indicators of quantity, quality and structure. Additionally, an analysis of increasing, decreasing, and emerging thematics was carried out to identify the topics of greatest interest on this subject. Findings indicate that this is a prolific research field, in which the fastest growing topic is the study of e-commerce adoption in small and medium sized enterprises in emerging economies. The analysis also revealed the current use of new models to evaluate adoption factors. That is the case of the Technology Organization Environment Framework used as an alternative to the Technology Acceptance Model--which remains the most widely used. Likewise, Structural Equation Analysis was found to be one of the most frequently used options for statistical analysis in the publications studied. A research agenda intending to contribute with directions for further research in the area is presented at the end of the article. from previous studies, and allowing the construction of better research designs that could focus on the issue with greater theoretical end empirical validity.The paper is structured as follows: Drawing on the work of various authors, the first section presents a conceptual framework that elaborates on the most important concepts related to electronic commerce, points out some milestones in its historical development, highlights its importance, and exposes the factors that promote or inhibit its adoption. In a second section, the methodology used for bibliometric analysis is described. In a third section, the obtained results are laid out along with their interpretation. Finally, conclusions and limitations of the study are presented followed by a research agenda.
Conceptual BackgroundThis section presents the conceptual framework that supports the bibliometric analysis used in the research methodology. This framework introduces the conceptualization of e-commerce, presents some milestones of development, and highlights its importance in strengthening supplier-customer relations in today's organizations.Electronic commerce has been defined as a useful tool to reduce the economic gap between countries [149] and as a channel to deliver products and services through the Internet. However, although it has become a source of competitive advantage due to the possibilities offered to both buyers and sellers, its use, especially in emerging economies, is limited [52]. The main advantage mentioned by the authors in the use of electronic commerce relates to the opportunity that it provides for companies to expand their number of customers [18] and its potential to become a medium to boost micro, small and medium sized enterprises--which represent a source of econ...
