E-COMMERCE ADOPTION IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SECTOR: AN ANALYSIS IN PANDEMIC TIMES

The covid-19 pandemic encouraged e-commerce adoption by companies in the fruit and vegetable value chain in response to decreased sales. Despite this, certain challenges for the efficient use of e-commerce persist in the industry. Therefore, this research sought to identify the level of adoption of this business approach in organizations that make part of distribution link of the fruit and vegetable value chain in the city of Bogotá (Colombia). The emica methodology was implemented to recognize the challenges for a more competitive management by this sector in the post-pandemic era. Our findings show that organizations in this sector make extensive use of technologies and present a medium degree of maturity regarding e-commerce, making it necessary to improve interaction with customers in order to promote their products. We could establish that the use of social networks and valuable content creation improve marketing processes, while the need to engage more complex variables —such as digital traffic and omnichannel presence— is recognized a limitation for fully understanding the factors associated with e-commerce adoption. © 2023, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved.

Technological acceptance of virtual platforms in university students: an analysis in times of pandemic

The global health emergency generated by Covid-19 has transformed the traditional learning model, generating a generalized sudden foray into virtual learning environments. Process in which ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude toward technology play a fundamental role in the acceptance of virtual platforms as a tool for the teaching-learning process. The objective was to evaluate the acceptance of the use of virtual platforms by university students in the times of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). A confirmatory factor analysis was performed in order to evaluate the four constructs of the TAM technological acceptance model (perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude, and intention to use) in a sample of 200 undergraduate students. It was concluded that the perceived utility and ease of use are antecedents of the attitude and this time it is decisive of the intention to use virtual platforms in the academic activities of university students. Similarly, it was found that gender does not affect the acceptance of technology in the use of virtual platforms. IEEE