Factors Influencing Cloud Computing Adoption by SMEs in the Czech Republic: An Empirical Analysis Using Technology-Organization-Environment Framework

Abstract

Cloud computing technologies have come a long way and are available to virtually any company today. However, which factors will cause the company to decide to implement these services? Based on existing research abroad, we compiled a Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and proposed questions that support individual factors in our model to address this problem. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic actively participated in the research, from which we received 99 valid responses. Our results show a significant influence of four factors. The first factor is relative advantage, and the second is competitive pressure. In our case, companies are convinced that thanks to cloud computing, they will gain a more advantageous position over competitors, especially in the area of costs, increased productivity and entry into new industries. At the same time, they are convinced that competing cloud computing companies are implementing and taking advantage of it. The third factor is compatibility. This factor may be the cause of the temporary expansion of only simple implementations. The fourth factor is industry. So, companies perceive pressure to implement cloud computing in their business area. To support the further expansion of cloud computing, it is necessary to continue highlighting the cost benefits of cloud computing. At the same time, it certainly makes sense to bring new applications with a simple billing model and simple integration between the most used applications.

Keywords

• cloud computing
• toe framework
• small and medium enterprises
• saas
• paas
• iaas