Individual and Structural Factors of E-Commerce Adoption in Latin America: An Analysis During the Pandemic Period

This study examines the relationship between individual and structural market factors in e-commerce adoption within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin American countries. Grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the study employs a quantitative approach based on secondary data from the Latinobarómetro Corporation (2020) for individual-level variables and the Market Potential Index (Global Edge, 2020) for structural variables. The sample consists of 13,056 individuals with internet access across 18 Latin American countries. The dependent variable is e-commerce application adoption, whereas independent variables include interpersonal trust, social media usage, market size and intensity, consumer capacity, and commercial infrastructure. A multilevel regression model with random intercepts and fixed slopes was employed to simultaneously assess the influence of individual and structural factors. The results indicate that interpersonal trust and social media usage have a positive and significant impact on e-commerce adoption. Among structural factors, market size, consumer capacity, and commercial infrastructure exhibited positive effects, although less pronounced. In contrast, market intensity did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect. The study concludes that e-commerce adoption in Latin America results from the interaction between individual and structural factors. Commercial infrastructure and economic capacity determine access to e-commerce, while interpersonal trust and social media engagement directly influence consumer adoption. In addition to contributing to the theoretical debate on technological adoption, the study has managerial implications by providing subsidies for the development of business strategies and public policies aimed at digitizing and boosting markets in Latin America.