A Model of ICTs Adoption for Sustainable Development: An Investigation of Small Business in the United States and China

As the driving force behind the economic growth of the United States and China, Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have fundamentally shaped a dramatic transformation in Small businesses, which represents the majority of all firms in both countries. However, while ICTs provide new opportunities and significant room of growth for the small business owners, the adoption of ICTs is still a challenge for the owners with limited resources in knowledge, skills, and abilities. In order to investigate how ICTs are adopted in small businesses in the United States and China, Grounded Theory is applied to code the interviews and cases. The contribution of this paper is in the comparative analysis of ICTs adoption in small businesses and the theory building that provides insight into the categories and relationships affecting the ICTs adoption in the two countries.