Problems of Electronic Commerce Applications in a Developing Country: A Descriptive Case Study of the Banking Industry of Oman

Internet banking is a relatively new area and there are several issues, which have been generally untouched and are therefore open to further investigation, especially in the developing countries. Hence, this study is a step in this direction. This research has been focused on investigating to identify and highlight the main potential factors or impediments that are currently inhibiting the incorporation or adoption of Electronic Commerce (EC) applications expansion in the Omani banking sector. Data, obtained for the first time, were collected using semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire as well as by reviewing some bank documents. The study explores the slow uptake of EC application in the banking industry. The objectives of the research, therefore, were to identify factors enabling or inhibiting the successful adoption and use of e-commerce applications within the banking industry of Oman. The results provide a pragmatic picture of the adoption of EC applications in the country's core financial sector domain. One of its main findings is that security and privacy issues were found to be a serious inhibiting factor. Other factors such as power relationships (as conflict between managers can often emerge during the process of IS/IT adoption). Banks adopting and implementing Internet banking services and applications face several management and social problems and challenges. Although the research context is quite specific, it is believed that the findings are of relevance to other industries and other developing countries.