Readiness and Resistance: Exploring Digital Adoption Behaviour among Traditional MSMEs in Mitc Ayer Keroh, Malacca, Malaysia

Abstract

The rapid diffusion of digital technologies has transformed business ecosystems globally, presenting new possibilities for operational efficiency, innovation, and market expansion for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Yet, traditional MSMEs, often characterised by resource limitations, manual practices, and deep-rooted cultural norms, continue to lag in digital adoption despite the clear potential benefits. This conceptual paper investigates the determinants of shaping digital readiness and behavioural resistance among traditional MSMEs in MITC Ayer Keroh, Malacca, a semi-urban, tourism-driven commercial cluster. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and extended with Trust as a critical construct, the study explores how perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and trust influence MSMEs’ intentions to adopt digital tools. The paper synthesises extensive literature and integrates insights from contextual challenges highlighted in regional studies, including financial constraints, skills gaps, infrastructure limitations, and resistance to change. While this study does not employ empirical data, it offers a theoretically driven conceptual framework to explain adoption behaviour, identifies external barriers affecting adoption decisions, and proposes hypotheses for future quantitative testing. The findings emphasise the need for targeted support mechanisms, user-friendly technologies, policy interventions, and ecosystem-based digital capability programmes tailored to traditional MSMEs. This work contributes to digital transformation scholarship by contextualising TAM within a tourism-centred semi-urban Malaysian setting and provides a foundation for future empirical studies on MSME digitalisation.