A number of common issues emerge as barriers to the adoption and integrated use of ICT in the small firm (Small Business Forum, 2006). The primary reasons relate to a lack of appreciation amongst owners/managers of the contribution that ICT can make to their business, lack of ICT management skills, difficulty in accessing independent advice and the costs associated with acquiring and maintaining Information Technology (IT) systems (Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, 2006). Similar findings emerged in a study undertaken by CSO (2007) which concluded that the low level of usage of ICT by entrepreneurs was in the main related to a lack of knowledge or education on what ICT entails or indeed how it can specifically benefit their business. The adoption of ICT by entrepreneurs is prevented by a “lack of understanding of the opportunities available to small businesses”, by a “lack of understanding on how to implement these techniques” and a “lack of skills amongst the workforce to use them”. Similar Feuer, Messnarz & Sanchez (2002, p. 2) found that one of the main barriers to eBusiness is a “lack of technical skills” in the business resulted in a slow up on ICT in the small firm. These issues are now discussed in more detail below.
• Lack of perceived need of the benefits of ICT for the small firm: Owner/managers acts alone in researching the need for and the type of ICT required for their business.
• Insufficient ICT Education: The lack of education amongst owner/managers in relation to eBusiness and ICT has lead to uncertainty around its use and implementation (Chapman, Szczygiel & Thompson, 2000; Elsammani, Scown & Hackney, 2001; Lewis & Cockril, 2002; Moussi & Davey, 2000; Nath, Akmnakigil, Hjelm, Sakaguchi & Schultz, 1998; Smith & Webster, 2000; Van Akkeren & Cavaye, 1999). This claim is backed up by findings by the Irish Chamber of Commerce (2002) who found that in many cases “companies ignore…opportunities offered by ICT’, “eBusiness is often confused with having a webpage”, “the opportunities offered by ICT are underestimated’ and finally eBusiness is “not considered a priority and by owner/managers”. It is advanced that entrepreneurs in the main are not aware of the total range of services which can be exploited via ICT.
• Lack of Technical skills: In the small business where there is only the owner/manag — er or a few staff, then the technical remit of managing ICT falls with the entrepreneur. The Irish Chamber of Commerce (2002) found that a lack of understanding of ICT from the technological viewpoint and an inability to maintain and manage ICT were dominant reasons for the failure of ICT in an integrated manner into their business.
• Training for ICT: A key issue relates to the dearth of training and education courses that address the needs of the non-technological entrepreneur that provide the level of understanding and awareness of the strategic importance of ICT and how it can leverage a competitive advantage for the firm (Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, 2005; Small Business Forum, 2006). Where such courses are available, their direct relevance, cost, ease of access and time required to undertake them are critical to their success. Owner/ managers need to see value in taking time away from immediate business needs to participate in such programmes.
• Cost of ICT implementation: The price of technology was identified as a major barrier. Feuer, Messnarz, & Sanchez (2002, p. 2) also alluded to the fact that “the cost of hardware/computer equipment" and “the cost of specialist eBusiness technical skills"" are major barriers for entrepreneurs. Thus, the lack of financial resources in SMEs combined with the perceived cost of eBusiness implementation form a formidable barrier to ICT implementation.
• Security Fears and Concerns: Research conducted by Jacobs & Dowsland (2000),Moussi & Davey (2000), Nath, Akmnakigil, Hjelm, Sakaguchi & Schultz, 1998; Strader & Shaw, 2000; Van Akkern which was cited by Jones, Davies & Muir (2003) all indicated that SME’s have fears and concerns over security when implementing an eBusiness initiative. However, more recent research conducted by CSO (2007, p. 6) in Ireland found that “virus checkers or protection software were used by 91% of enterprises in 2007. Firewalls were used by 81% of enterprises while 46% of enterprises indicated that they backed up data offsite". These statistics indicate that whilst Irish SME’s do have concerns over the security of their IT infrastructure, the majority are taking proactive steps to avoid any issues by utilising virus checkers, firewalls and frequent offsite data backups.
• Knowing where to source advice and information: Entrepreneurs will have knowledge of where to source finance and or marketing expertise of advice, however this is not the case with advice for ICT. Given their own lack of knowledge in the technical aspects of ICT entrepreneur are often inhibited and do not have the confidence to source advice from technical experts.
Overall the aforementioned issues encountered in the adoption of ICT in the female small firm are manifested in a broader range of challenges encountered by mompreneurs in growing their business.