Analyzing E-commerce for Product Delivery in Emerging Markets (BUS203)

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The best strategy to delivering a new product to an emerging
market like Nigeria is on E-commerce
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Table of Contents
LO 1.........................................................................................................................................................3
LO2..........................................................................................................................................................8
LO3........................................................................................................................................................15
LO4........................................................................................................................................................17
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................18
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Task 1 Research Proposal
LO 1
Conduct appropriate research methodology, which integrates knowledge into the research
process.
Section One: Introduction
Title: The best strategy to delivering a new product to an emerging market like Nigeria is on E-
commerce
Introduction:
E-commerce has spread its wings in most of the areas of the world and its presence is intensely felt in
the retail landscape of Nigeria. The size of e-commerce industry in Nigeria was $13 billion in the year
of 2018 and the business moguls in Nigeria say that this number is going to increase in the coming
years (Ekanem and Abiade, 2016). 84% of the Nigerian population are internet subscribers and this
has made it clear that using e-commerce and various online sites, delivering of the new product to the
consumers will get easy (Abbakin, 2018).
Research Aim:
To understand the effectiveness of e-commerce strategy in delivering a new product in an emerging
market like Nigeria.
Research Objectives:
The research objectives are as follows:
 To identify the different pathways to deliver products in Nigerian market
 To comprehend the positive impacts of using e-commerce in the Nigerian retail market
 To understand the negative impacts of using e-commerce in the Nigerian retail market
 To evaluate the ways in which challenges in e-commerce can be curbed in the Nigerian retail
market
Research Questions
The research questions are as follows:
 What are the different ways that can be used in Nigeria to deliver new products?
 What are the positive impacts of using e-commerce in the Nigerian retail market?
 What are the negative impacts of using e-commerce in the Nigerian retail market?
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 What are the ways that can be undertaken by organizations in order to curb the challenges that
are experienced while delivery new products to the consumers in the Nigerian market?
Problem Statement
E-commerce has emerged at great scale in the Nigerian market; however this has brought in many
challenges for the retail shops and the local manufacturers having physical presence. In the present
times, e-commerce in Nigeria is facing some problems regarding their operations. The challenges
faced by various e-commerce sectors in Nigeria will be discussed in this project.
Section Two: Literature Review
Introduction
Literature review can be defined as a thorough summation of the researches that have been conducted
before on similar area of the topic that has been selected (Hart, 2018). The purpose of a literature
review is to specify, explain, summarise, evaluate objective along with elucidate the works of the
preceding researchers. The literature review should produce a theoretical foundation to the research,
so that the researchers can decide upon its nature. Literature Review
Emergence of E-commerce in Nigerian market
According to IOA, (2019), the success of ecommerce in Europe and United States along with the
expanding demand of alike services in Africa have acted as driver behind the retailer of e-commerce
travelling to the continent. Although there is presence of the ecommerce industry in different dynamic
markets of Africa, for instance, South Africa and Kenya, it has established most successfully in the
country of Nigeria. The nation is considered to possess a fertile ground for the retail of ecommerce as
it produces transactions on a weekly basis, which estimates at more than $2 million. Chief
organisations, such as Jumia and others have been capable of achieving noteworthy advancement into
the market of Nigeria. The organisation has been ranked as the number one online shop in Nigeria,
whereas the rank of Google Store is second. Following the model of Amazon, Jumia sells a wide
range of products, which includes fashion products, electronics as well as groceries, with a promise of
swift delivery in Nigeria, which has assisted the organisation to acquire from its current stakeholders
an amount of around $150 million.
Impact of E-commerce in Nigerian market
In the words of Ibam et al., (2018), ecommerce has been able to provide a feasible platform for
fulfilling the gap in the economy of Africa. Nevertheless, the adaptability along with the sustainability
of this process has happened to be a chief concern. The author has analysed the level at which
ecommerce is developing along with its impact on the country of Nigeria. The analysis has revealed
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that the impact of ecommerce is positive on the economy of Africa; however, there is absence of trust
in terms of transactions within as well as from the country has been a key issue. Thus, it can be stated
that investment in the infrastructure of ecommerce within Nigeria will result in swift development
within the nation, economically.
Challenges imposed by E-commerce in the Nigerian market
As stated by Kelvin (2015), Nigeria being an underdeveloped nation the experience of ecommerce is
quite different from that of Developed countries. In Nigeria, online shopping has various challenges,
such as absence of quality internet infrastructure, absence of trust, absence of payment methods that
are accepted nationally and many others. These factors mentioned above make it complicated for the
process of carrying out business with the assistance of ecommerce to be effective. In addition to that,
this complication has hindered ecommerce to become popular in the country of Nigeria.
Literature Gap
The literature regarding the emergence of ecommerce in the market of Nigeria has been discussed,
along with its impact, as well as the challenges brought in by the process. However, due to lack of
relevant and authentic substance regarding the various method of delivering process in the Nigerian
market, a gap in the literature has occurred.
Section Three: Research Methodologies
Research Philosophy: There are three types of research philosophies that can be considered for
completing a research project and they are positivism, interpretivism and realism. In this research
project, positivism research philosophy will be used as it leads to less numbers of errors in the final
results of the data that has been collected (Flick, 2015).
Research Design: In this research project, both exploratory and explanatory research design will be
used as both primary and secondary data will be collected to gain better insights about the research
topic. The explanatory research design will help in the better interpretation of the primary data
collected on the other hand; exploratory research design will help in analysing the articles reviewed
for the project (Burns et al., 2014).
Research Approach: There are two types of research approach namely inductive and deductive. In
this research project, deductive research approach will be used. The advantage of using the deductive
approach is it helps in developing questions that are based on some pre-published theories. This helps
in increasing the authenticity of the research project (Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2017).
Methods of Data Collection: In this research project, both primary and secondary data will be
collected. 100 employees will be surveyed in order to collect primary data and in addition to this, 2
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managers will be interviewed to collect more information. Secondary data will be collected through
drafting themes and reviewing different articles.
Data Analysis: In this research project, thematic analysis, qualitative and quantitative data analysis
will be used in order to analyse the themes conducted and responses gathered from surveying the
employees and managers of Jumia.
Sampling Technique: In this research project, both probability and non-probability sampling method
will be used (Bryman, 2017). The managers of Jumia will be interviewed using the non-probability
sampling technique, while probability sampling technique will be used for the 100 employees of
Jumia.
Research Limitations: Some limitations might be encountered while doing this research project; the
limitations can be regarding time, budget and unavailability of reliable resources from where
authentic data can be collected.
Cost: In order to complete the research project a budget of $1200 will be required.
Activities Expenses (£)
Collection of Quantitative Data 150
Collection of Qualitative Data 250
Collection of Secondary Data 200
Setting up Research 600
Total Amount 1200
Table 1: Tentative Budget of the Research Project
Ethical Considerations: Ethical considerations will be followed while doing this project. No one will
be forced for taking part in this research project. In addition to this, all the data gathered for the
research project will be kept private and confidential and not used for any other purpose other than the
research project.
Time Schedule
Activities 1 st Dec-3 rd
Dec
4 th Dec- 5 th
Dec
6 th Dec-
7 th Dec
8 th Dec-
10th Dec
11th
Dec-
12th
Dec
13 th
Dec-
16 th
Dec
17 th
Dec-
19 th
Dec
20th
Dec-
24th
Dec
Topic
Selection
Research
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Aim and
Objectives
Research
Questions
Drafting of
the Proposal
Submission
of the
Proposal
Drafting of
the
Literature
Review
Methodology
Structuring
Data
Collection
Interpretatio
n of the
Results
Draft
Submission
Figure 1: Gantt Chart
(Source: Created by the learner)
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Task 2 Research Collation
LO2
Quantitative Data
100 employees have been selected from ‘Jumia’ which is one of the prevalent e-commerce
organizations in Nigeria. In order to collect first hand, responses of Jumia will be gathered using a
questionnaire.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Q1. What is your age?
Options Percentage of Responses
(%)
Number of
Respondents
Total Number of
Respondents
22-32 years 15 15 100
32-42 years 45 45 100
42-52 years 30 30 100
52 years and
above
10 10 100
Table 2: Age of the respondents
Q2. What is your gender?
Options Percentage of
Responses (%)
Number of
Respondents
Total Number of
Respondents
Female 59 59 100
Male 38 38 100
Others 3 3 100
Table 3: Gender of the respondents
Q3. Has e-commerce helped you reach the consumers with ease?
Options Percentage of
Responses (%)
Number of
Respondents
Total Number of
Respondents
Yes 65 65 100
No 15 15 100
Maybe 20 20 100
Table 4: Effectiveness of E-commerce in reaching the consumers
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Q4. What are the challenges that are faced by your organization while operating on the digital
platform?
Options Percentage of
Responses (%)
Number of
Respondents
Total Number of
Respondents
Borderless Economies 32 32 100
Lack of cross-
departmental
coordination
54 54 100
Presence of disparate
systems
11 11 100
Personalization 12 12 100
Table 5: Challenges faced by the organization while operating on the digital medium
Q5. How far do you agree e-commerce is the best strategy to deliver a new product in the
emerging market of Nigeria?
Options Percentage of
Responses (%)
Number of
Respondents
Total Number of
Respondents
Highly Agree 20 20 100
Agree 45 45 100
Neutral 10 10 100
Disagree 15 15 100
Highly Disagree 10 10 100
Table 6: Agreeability on e-commerce as the best strategy to deliver a new product in the
emerging Nigerian market
Quantitative Data Analysis
15%
45%
30%
10%
22-32 years 32-42 years
42-52 years 52 years and above
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Figure 2: Age of the Respondents
Findings and Analysis: From the above graph it can be deduced that most of the workforce in Jumia
belong to the age-group 32-42 years. This makes facts evident that the workforce of the organization
is quite young and has enough knowledge about the digitalization happening all around the work.
With the young workforce, it will be helpful for Jumia to include the technological innovations in the
e-commerce operations of the organization.
59%
38%
3%
Female Male Others
Figure 3: Gender of the Respondents
Findings and Analysis: From the results gained after conducting the survey, facts are evident that
Jumia do not practice gender inequality in its workforce. In addition to this, the results of the survey
revealed facts like Africa is now open to women working in the private and the public sector. The
gender equality in the workforce will help in the economy to grow at great pace.
Yes No Maybe
65
15 20
Figure 4: Effectiveness of E-commerce in reaching the consumers
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Findings and Analysis: From the graph deduced above, it is evident that most of the employees have
said that including e-commerce in the operations of Jumia has helped the organization in reaching the
consumers with ease. The statistical data deduced above also sheds light on the factor that e-
commerce is not only effective in the developed economies but equally important and emerging in the
developing nations of the world like Nigeria. The unanimous result of the survey has revealed facts
like most of the organizations in Nigeria in delivering the product to the consumers. As said by the
employees of Jumia, the organization has collaborated with many retail stores in order to deliver the
items to the potential consumers. In entire Africa, Nigeria has 40% of the e-commerce transactions in
the continent which makes it evident that Jumia will have many opportunities of growth in the coming
days. E-commerce makes it sure that the delivery of the goods is done on time and most of the
organizations are trying to reach this objective as number of e-commerce sites are rising not just in
Nigeria but all over the globe.
32
54
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Figure 5: Challenges faced by the organization while operating on the digital medium
Findings and Analysis: The question asked in the survey regarding the challenges faced in e-
commerce yielded results that, the greatest challenge that is faced by the organization is regarding the
lack of coordination. After lack of coordination among the employees, borderless economies are
another potential challenge that is faced by the organization. Companies in e-commerce are generally
not present in the same geographically location and is brings in a lot of smooth departmental
operations between the different departments. It is important for the mangers to implement an
integrated communication channel in order to bring in coordination between the workings of the
different departments of the various e-commerce sites. If the lack of coordination can be curbed by the
managers of Jumia, e-commerce is bound to be the best strategy to deliver goods to the consumers in
the emerging markets of Nigeria.
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Highly
Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Highly
Disagree
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Figure 6: Agreeability on e-commerce as the best strategy to deliver a new product in the
emerging Nigerian market
Findings and Analysis: From the above graph it can be deduced that, in Nigeria which is an
emerging economy and market; e-commerce is the best medium and strategy to deliver goods to the
services. The number of internet subscribers is the highest in Nigeria among the other areas of Africa
and this has brought in the need of more e-commerce sites and organizations in the country.
Compared to the traditional methods of delivering goods, e-commerce is a fast medium through which
delivery of goods can be done in no time. In addition to this, people in the developing Nigerian
economy are more into online retail therapy rather than visiting the physical stores in the market. The
other good features of e-commerce are that people can buy things at the comfort of their home,
compare the prices, and track their package delivery and so on. All the above mentioned factors have
contributed to the growth of e-commerce in Nigeria.
Qualitative Data Analysis
In order to gain better insights on the topic of the dissertation, 2 managers of Jumia has been selected
and they were asked 2 question each of answer.
Q1. Do you think e-commerce has some negative environmental implications?
Manager 1: Yes, e-commerce has some negative implication on the environment. One of the
potential negative environmental implications is the products transferred through e-commerce
includes a lot of packaging materials and this leads to a lot of solid waste. The solid waste generated
increases land and water pollution to great levels
Manager 2: According to the second manager of Jumia, there are negative implications of e-
commerce on the environment. Due to fast movement and delivery of the goods, most of the delivery
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