các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc áp dụng kế toán đám mây tại các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ ở việt nam factors affecting the adoption of cloud accounting in vietnamese small and medium enterprises Scientific significance: The study contributes to refining the theoretical system of cloud accounting; determine the factors affecting the decision to accept cloud accounting software of SMEs’ managers. Practical significance: The study has identified a number of factors and their influence on the decision to accept cloud accounting software from the perspective of SMEs’ managers. Research results are the basis to help managers of SMEs make informed decisions to apply cloud accounting to meet the organizations current and future computing resource needs. In addition, the research also helps cloud accounting software developers have solutions to reach customers more effectively, as well as develop software to better meet potential customer requirements.
General information
Topic FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF
CLOUD ACCOUNTING IN VIETNAMESE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Confidentiality level secret open access
Table 3 1 Construction and coding of the scale 23
Table 4 1 Descriptive statistics of the study sample 33
Table 4 2 Results of testing the scale's reliability by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient 35
Table 4 3 Rotation Matrix of Independent Variables 37
Table 4 4 Rotation Matrix of Dependent Variables 39
Table 4 5 Summary of the research model 40
Table 4 7 Linear regression analysis results 42
2.1 Theoretical foundations of cloud accounting 10
2.1.4 Technology - Organization - Environment (TOE) Model 13
2.2 Research model and research hypothesis 16
2.2.1 The relationship between technology factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting 16
2.2.2 The relationship between organizational factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting 17
2.2.3 The relationship between environmental factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting 18
3.2 Scale of factors in the research model 23
3.3.1 The method of choosing the sample and sample size 29
3.4.1 Reliability testing by Cronbach's Alpha 29
4.1 Descriptive statistics of the study sample 33
4.2.1 Checking the reliability of the scale by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient 35
4.3.2 Check the fit of the model 40
5.3 Research limitations and future research directions 51
INTRODUCTION
Research background
The accounting information system (AIS) acts as an intermediary to help collect, process and provide accounting information to inform users so that they can make reasonable economic decisions In the context of increasingly fierce competition between businesses, AIS becomes more and more important in providing relevant information for decisions in a timely manner However, as companies grow in size and spread geographically, traditional AIS (the AIS whose data are stored on premises of organizations) gradually reveal their weaknesses in information transmission Additionally, from 2019 to the present, the covid-19 pandemic has forced many parts of the world to apply blockade measures, which worsened information transmission speed of the traditional AIS While large enterprises have various solutions for AIS to minimize the mentioned issue, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have limited choices to enhance their AIS in terms of information transmission.
The development of information technology (IT) through the 4.0 technology revolution has a strong impact on the accounting work of enterprises In particular, Bagranoff (2010) said that cloud computing - an achievement of the 4.0 technology revolution - has a close relationship with the AIS and affects the change of accounting information Cloud computing systems help employees and stakeholders access applications through computers and mobile devices from anywhere and anytime With new technological achievements, accounting information will be real-time financial data streams instead of historical data (Khanom, 2017) Accounting information can be more timely, accountants can detect erroneous and fraudulent information faster to help limit risks, and at the same time analyze financial trends and make recommendations for managers in real time The economic performance of an enterprise is determined by objective and timely information, which must be provided by the accounting system Therefore, the impact of cloud computing on the timeliness of the publication of economic information is considered significant.
In 2013, FAST accounting software company launched FAST accounting online (FAO) operating on cloud computing platform This is a big step forward, an effective support tool for SMEs in Vietnam SMEs can inherit the outstanding advantages of cloud computing at a reasonable cost, and most importantly, improve the efficiency and speed of information provision of the accounting system However, with only nearly 7000 customers using it after 8 years of launch (Fast Software Company, 2021), it is clear that FAO has not effectively reached its customers This raises a big question for FAST in particular and other companies that have just developed cloud accounting software such as MISA (with AMIS accounting) and Softdreams (with Easybook) about what factors customers care about when choosing cloud platform for their accounting software.
Shortage of knowledge/information
Research on information technology adoption provides several theoretical models that use different constructs to explain the mechanism of technology adoption To some extent, these theoretical models can also help explain the deployment of cloud accounting software However, a closer look at existing theoretical studies reveals some gaps that prevent the full application of these theories to the modern environment.
The first theoretical gap is related to the fact that existing theoretical models do not contain all the variables that explain potentially significant factors that can affect the intent of SMEs using cloud accounting software Accounting is a special area in businesses where financial information recorded and reported by accountants not only has a tremendous impact on a business's operations and performance (Soudani, 2012), but is also related to tax and external reporting compliance issues (Benjamin & Stanga,
1977) Therefore, businesses are often especially concerned about possible risks to accounting data (Beard & Wen, 2007) However, no research has mentioned how this factor affects the intention behavior of enterprises when choosing accounting software.
Second, in Vietnam, there has not been a specific study on the factors affecting the intention to use cloud accounting software for small and medium enterprises The studies so far have only studied the factors affecting the intention to choose accounting software in SMEs (Hoa, 2017; Thảo, 2017), but the mentioned software is in offline form, i.e data is stored concentratedly at enterprises On the other hand, the research on cloud computing in small and medium enterprises does not specifically mention its application in the field of accounting Therefore, specific research on the factors affecting the intention to use cloud accounting software should be conducted.
Significance of the research
- Scientific significance: The study contributes to refining the theoretical system of cloud accounting; determine the factors affecting the decision to accept cloud accounting software of SMEs’ managers.
- Practical significance: The study has identified a number of factors and their influence on the decision to accept cloud accounting software from the perspective of SMEs’ managers Research results are the basis to help managers of SMEs make informed decisions to apply cloud accounting to meet the organization's current and future computing resource needs In addition, the research also helps cloud accounting software developers have solutions to reach customers more effectively, as well as develop software to better meet potential customer requirements.
Research objectives/questions
This research aims to answer two questions as follows:
- RQ1: What factors influence the decision to accept cloud accounting of SMEs in Vietnam?
- RQ2: How are the factors affecting the decision to accept cloud accounting of SMEs inVietnam?
The study was conducted to determine and measure the influence of factors on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises.
Scope
- Scope of space: Research space is the SMEs in Ho Chi Minh city.
- Time range: The study period is from May 2022 to Sept 2022.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical foundations of cloud accounting
Cloud accounting definition was first introduced by CHENG & HE (2011) It has been defined as the use of cloud computing on the internet to build a virtual accounting information system.
Cloud accounting is built on the evolution of cloud computing and hosted on data center servers It serves as a platform to put data into accounting software to handle online work anytime, anywhere on any device In cloud accounting, data is sent to the “cloud” where it is processed and returned to the users (Khanom, 2017).
Cloud accounting is a cloud computing application that specifically handles financial data It moves the installation, processing, and data storage of accounting systems and services from on-premises to remote servers of cloud service providers (Dimitriu & Matei, 2015; Mihai, 2015) Cloud accounting applications are delivered as a service over the Internet According to Ping & Xuefeng (2011), “cloud accounting is the use of cloud computing on the internet to build a virtual accounting information system That shows that the essence of cloud accounting combines cloud computing and accounting.” As a means to provide specific and relevant information to all stakeholders, accounting has adopted cloud computing solutions to enhance competitiveness, dynamism, and initiative in saving Keeping data and information in a real-time state and adapting it logically leads to the formation of cloud accounting This new business model supports the accounting profession (Dimitriu & Matei, 2015) Cloud resources are flexible and can be accessed using different permission devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones (Cleary & Quinn, 2016).
Thus, the foundation of cloud accounting is cloud computing, specifically cloud computing described by Feuerlicht (2010), related to providing computing services, data storage, and software through the Internet Cloud computing has the potential to deliver on-demand services, at a lower cost than current options, along with less complexity, greater scalability, and broader reach According to Coombe (2009), cloud computing is a paradigm shift that enables scalable processing and storage across distributed, networked computers Cloud services can be defined as service solutions based on cloud computing.
Catteddu et al (2013) argue that (1) cloud computing is a new way to provide computing resources; (2) cloud services, from data storage and processing to software, are available immediately and on demand; and (3) especially in times of austerity, the growth of cloud services is promising According to NIST, the key characteristics of cloud services are on-demand self-service, universal network access, location-independent resource aggregation, rapid elasticity, and measured service.
One of the first areas where cloud accounting outperforms traditional accounting is cost. With a cloud-based information system, businesses reduce IT fees, specifically reducing installation costs When there are changes in accounting rules and tax regulations, accountants will not have to purchase and install updates Instead, the monthly or yearly subscription cost already includes the update cost (Khanom, 2017).
One of the common problems with traditional accounting systems is updating accounting information If data needs to be changed, this means that accountants must manually record the change at each location where the character appears, including forms, general ledgers, and other documents With cloud accounting, when there is a change in data, everywhere it is needed is filled in when entering new data This saves time and money (Khanom, 2017).
Cloud accounting benefits the entire business team as well as the accountants because data is always available to all authorized users Adding a new user is simple, just by setting up an authorized profile and a password Besides, it makes collaboration easier. Accountants do not need to gather in one office to review important documents, all authorized users with internet access can view accounting data at any time when they need (Khanom, 2017).
2.1.2.4 Backup and restore accounting data automatically
Cloud accounting allows automatic data backup, minimizing the possibility of human error In fact, accounting information is backed up automatically This helps keep information secure in the event of a break-in, fire, or other incident A cloud-based service provider can help restore data, get businesses back up and running, and quickly reduce the impact of inconvenience for users (Khanom, 2017).
Cloud accounting is also important with the role that it keeps all financial information secure Storing information on a desktop computer will keep the data safe, but in the long run there is a risk that the information will be stolen by an individual's bad intentions. Personal computers may be vulnerable to viruses and there is no way to recover If all financial records are stored over the Internet, when the mentioned cases of data loss occur, users can still access it via the cloud (Khanom, 2017).
One of the fundamental theories related to the decision to adopt technology is the theory of diffusion of innovation (DOI) (Rogers, 1995) This theory is a fundamental approach to examining how a new technology spreads DOI theory concerns how technological innovation evolves from creation to use The theoretical content describes applicable models, explains the mechanism of propagation, and aids in predicting whether and how a new invention will succeed The popularity of Rogers' innovation theory posits that two factors influence a firm's adoption of innovations: innovation characteristics and organizational characteristics The elements of innovation characteristics are perceived attributes of innovation that either encourage or discourage its use Rogers points out that five attributes of an innovation: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability, can explain 49-87% of the variance in adoption rates While innovation characteristics partly explain innovation spillover, these results are based mainly on studies at the individual decision-making level (Chwelos & cộng sự, 2001)
In examining the prevalence of innovation used at the organizational level, Rogers suggested that several organizational characteristics, such as centralization, scale, formalization, and connectivity, influence innovation adoption Although the popularity of Rogers' innovation diffusion theory seems to apply to investigating innovation use, researchers continue to search for other contexts that influence organizational innovation and combine them with the popularity of Rogers' innovation diffusion theory to provide more prosperous and more potent explanatory models (Prescott, 1995) Like Rogers' paradigm, Tornatzky & Fleischer (1990) constructs a framework consisting of three elements: Technology, Organization, and Environment (TOE) to explain a company's technological innovation decision-making behavior company While the Technological and Organizational elements are similar to Rogers' model, Tornatazky and Fleisher added a new and essential component, environmental context The environmental context is where a company does business in the industry, competitors, and government dealings. The environment presents both limitations and opportunities for technological innovation and development The TOE paradigm makes Rogers' innovation diffusion theory more complete in explaining innovation diffusion at the firm level Furthermore, the TOE template examines various technology adoption issues to distinguish acceptors from non- acceptors Zhu et al (2006) empirically examined seven TOE factors (technology readiness, technology integration, firm size, global reach, regulatory constraints, intensity of competition, and regulatory environment) has a strong influence on three different phases of e-business at the corporate level
2.1.4 Technology - Organization - Environment (TOE) Model
The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) paradigm of Tornatzky & Fleischer
(1990) is an application-related paradigm that proposes a standard set of factors that explain and predict the applicability of new change Content stereotypes assume that adoption is influenced by technological developments (Kauffman & Walden, 2001); organizational conditions, organizational and enterprise reconfiguration (Chatterjee et al., 2002); industry environment (Kowath & Choon, 2001) Technology describes how adoption is influenced by the group of technologies inside and outside the company, perceived technological usefulness, technical and organizational compatibility, complexity and path learning curve, experimentation, and visibility or imagination (Awa et al., 2015) The organization describes aspects such as the scope of the company's business, senior management support, organizational culture, the complexity of management structure as measured by centralization, formalization, and vertical differentiation, quality of human capital, scale, and significant issues such as internal resources, and specialization (Sabherwal et al., 2006; Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990) The environment is concerned with the factors that promote and inhibit performance, among which are competitive pressures, availability of partners, socio-cultural issues, government incentives, and technology-enabled infrastructure such as access to quality information and communication technology consultants (Jeyaraj et al., 2006; Zhu et al., 2006; Al-Qirim, 2006) As such, the TOE framework provides a research model with a solid theoretical foundation and can be used in many different types of research on innovation adoption Within the TOE framework, three factors influence the adoption of innovation: the technological context, the organizational context, and the environmental context (Oliveira & Martins, 2011).
Regarding the technology context, in the original TOE framework, the technology context describes the internal and external technology relevant to the company (Rui,2007; Oliveira & Martins, 2011) However, later, Rogers' studies found that technological factors' impact on promoting innovation is much more diverse (Stuart, 2000) Rogers' theory is one of the commonly used theories and the technological element related to the following: relative advantage, uncertainty, compatibility, complexity, and usability to try on.
Organizational context is related to the resources and characteristics of the company, including size and management structure Specific organizational contexts include company size, senior management support, innovation, and previous information technology experience (Alshamaila et al., 2013).
Environmental context refers to the area in which a company conducts business which may be related to factors such as industry, competitors, and the presence of technology service providers Specifically, environmental factors include competitive pressure, industry, operating market scope, and computing support from partners (Alshamaila et al., 2013).
Research model and research hypothesis
2.2.1 The relationship between technology factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting
According to Rogers (1995), relative advantage is the degree to which a technological factor is considered a more significant benefit to firms Logically, firms must consider the advantages of adopting innovations (To & Ngai, 2006) Cloud accounting services that allow activities to be aggregated and mobilized through internet transactions can replace or complement enterprise resource planning (ERP) software Cloud accounting has advantages over other technologies, such as cost reduction, scalability, flexibility, mobility, and resource sharing Companies spend a large percentage of their finances on
IT infrastructure while less than 10% of their servers are used, resulting in avoidable costs when using cloud accounting (Marston et al., 2011).
Additionally, cloud accounting frees organizations from year-round IT infrastructure administration and maintenance Thus, radically reducing the total cost of IT operations. Cloud accounting provides rental services on a pay-as-you-go basis that results in the adjustment of usage to the organization's current needs (Feuerlicht & Govardhan, 2010).
As the requirements of cloud accounting increase, cloud users will be able to expand their resources and infrastructure to meet new requirements in terms of storage, the number of servers, processing, and bandwidth connectivity (Benlian & Hess, 2011) The mobility of cloud accounting allows users to access and work on their documents from anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to a computer and an internet connection (Bhardwaj et al events, 2010) Users do not need to own a computer to use cloud computing services Resource sharing is another advantage of companies powered by cloud accounting, allowing their employees to access resources in the cloud from any location and thus saving time and money (Bhardwaj et al., 2010) The technology landscape has several components, as the author mentioned above, but in the current competitive landscape, businesses all have the resources and easy access to the latest technologies With modern techniques and technologies, the relative advantage factor probably makes the difference in influencing the decision to adopt cloud accounting. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H1: Relative advantage has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
H2: Security concern has a negative impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises
H3: Compatibility has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises
2.2.2 The relationship between organizational factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting
Similar to other management areas, the theory of IT application has also recognized the role of senior management support in the initiation, implementation, and adoption of many new ITs Salwar et al (2009) explain that it is the perceptions and actions of senior managers about the use of technological innovation in creating value for the company.This factor ensures long-term vision, reinforces values, commits resources, optimally manages resources, builds a favorable organizational environment, and has a higher appreciation of an individual's self-efficacy , support overcoming barriers and resistance to change (Wang et al., 2010; Jang, 2010; Ramdani et al., 2009) From these studies, senior management support positively influenced new information technology adoption. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H4: Top management support has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
Tan et al (2007) describe organizational capacity as managers' perceptions and assessments of the extent to which they believe their organizations have the awareness, resources, commitment, and governance to adopt IT In general, it is described with two aspects, namely financial readiness (financial resources to deploy cloud accounting and ongoing costs during use) and technology readiness (Infrastructure and human resources for using and managing cloud accounting) (Musawa & Wahab, 2012; Oliveira & Martins,
2010) Companies with efficient infrastructure, highly specialized staff, and financial backing increase the usefulness of technology Organizations' technological readiness, as technology infrastructure and IT human resources, influence the adoption of new technologies (Kuan & Chau, 2001; To & Ngai, 2006; Oliveira & Martins, 2010); Zhu et al., 2006) Technology infrastructure refers to network technologies installed into enterprise systems that provide the foundation upon which cloud computing applications can be built IT human resources provide knowledge and skills to deploy IT applications related to cloud accounting (Wang et al., 2010) Cloud accounting services can only become part of value chain operations if companies have the necessary infrastructure and technical capacity As a result, technology-ready companies are often more prepared for cloud accounting adoption These views lead to the following hypotheses being proposed:
H5: IT infrastructure readiness has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
H6: HR readiness has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
2.2.3 The relationship between environmental factors to the decision to accept cloud accounting
Competitive pressure refers to the level of pressure a company is under from its industry competitors (To & Ngai, 2006; Oliveira & Martins, 2010) The experience of intense competition is an essential determinant of IT adoption (Kuan & Chau, 2001; Zhu et al.,
2004) Competitive pressure has been recognized in studies of innovation spillover as an essential driver for technology spillover As the high-tech industry is characterized by rapid change, companies face pressure and are increasingly aware of and closely follow competitors' adoption of new technology By adopting cloud accounting, companies benefit significantly from a better understanding of market visibility, higher operational efficiency, and more accurate data collection (Misra & Mondal, 2010).
Researchers (Pflughoeft et al., 2003; Sinkkonen, 2001; Windrum & de Berranger, 2004) capture influences outside a firm's network with trading partners to ensure interaction and Electronic transactions are suitable for the value chain created According to Windrum & de Berranger (2004), pressure from suppliers and partner companies is not statistically significant in determining the use of internal or external networks However, according to Awa et al (2015), most IT and communication platforms in digitizing business areas of individual enterprises need to have integrated and compatible business systems that link businesses and their other commercial partners to provide computing support services to each other That said, the synchronous integration of the company's business and accounting systems with partners such as customers, suppliers, etc., will support the application of cloud accounting more effectively Besides these two factors, in the context of the environment, there is also an industry factor according to the TOE model. However, the author believes that now many businesses in many different industries have been considering the application of IT as a part of the strategy to achieve the item works.
IT is very developed and affects all different fields and industries, and Vietnam is considered a country with a very high speed of IT application and digital transformation.Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H7: Competitive pressure has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
H8: Vendor computing support has a positive impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises
H9: Vendor lock-in has a negative impact on the decision to accept cloud accounting services of Vietnamese SMEs
This study applies the TOE model to clarify the factors affecting Vietnamese small and medium enterprises intention to accept cloud accounting services In addition, the study also inherits research results from empirical studies related to the topic as a basis for proposing specific research models as follows:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Reseach design
The author uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
- Qualitative research: one-on-one interviews to consult with experts who are chief accountants with many years of experience (from 10 years or more) who are working in small and medium-sized enterprises and have personally participated in the process of selecting accounting services at the unit to adjust and supplement factors as well as the
Study overview Define research problem
Review of previous studies Propose research model and research hypothesis
Evaluation of scale reliability (Cronbach's Alpha) exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
Regression analysis Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA) scales of factors, ensuring the factors proposed by the author and the scale inherited from Previous studies are appropriate in the research context of small and medium enterprises in the current digital transformation context.
- Quantitative research: The author used the survey method in this study Survey data is collected by sending printed survey questions directly to respondents and emailing survey questionnaires through the Google Docs application Collected data will be screened to remove invalid answer sheets and then analyzed using SPSS 20 software.
Scale of factors in the research model
Based on inheriting the scales of the studies and adjusting them to ensure that the scale is suitable for the context of small and medium enterprises, the author builds a scale of the factors in the specific model as follows:
Table 3 1 Construction and coding of the scale
I Relative advantage RA Ahn, B., & Ahn, H.
1.1 Significantly improved my company's operating results.
1.2 Much more convenient to use RA2
1.3 Provide accounting information more quickly.
1.4 Significantly reduce the cost of the business.
1.5 More flexibility when expanding business.
II Security concern SC Zhu, K., Kraemer,
K L., & Dedrick, J.2.1 The company's accounting data SC1 is not strictly confidential (2004)
2.2 Others may gain unauthorized access to the company's accounting data.
2.3 Supplier unauthorized access to company accounting data.
2.4 We do not know where the data is stored.
2.5 Data security regulations are not strict enough.
2.6 Data cannot be recovered if a system error occurs.
(2014). 3.1 Suitable for the current size of my company's operations.
3.2 Fits my company's workflow COMP2
3.3 Get the approval and support of the staff of the accounting department.
3.4 Accounting data can be inherited from our traditional software.
3.5 Suitable for experienced using traditional accounting software.
IV Top management support TMS Ahn, B., & Ahn, H.
(2020)4.1 Very interested in the benefits TMS1 that new technologies bring.
4.2 Always encourage employees to apply new technology in their work.
4.3 Provide the bulk of the budget for new technology adoption.
4.4 Supporting the selection of software providers for business administration.
V IT infrastructure IT Yeh, C H., Lee, G.
5.1 Allows convenient connection between units within the company.
5.2 Allows convenient connection between my company and external partners.
5.3 Excellent response to the current operating scale of the company.
5.4 Fewer interruptions during upgrades or maintenance.
5.5 Internet connection is fast and stable.
VI HR readiness HR Ahn, B., & Ahn, H.
(2020) 6.1 Get a tutorial on cloud accounting software.
6.2 Knowledge of cloud accounting HR2 software functions.
6.3 They are regularly trained to use new technologies.
6.4 Backed by in-house experts when using new software.
6.5 Have the capacity to approach and effectively use new technologies.
VII Competitive pressure CP Zhu, K., Kraemer,
7.1 There is always tremendous competitive pressure.
7.2 There is always competition for new technology adoption.
7.3 My company's products/services are easily copied.
7.4 Using cloud accounting software helps the company gain a competitive advantage.
VIII Vendor computing support VCS Kinuthia, J N.
(2014) 8.1 Technical support is excellent in helping the company use the software effectively.
8.2 Ready to send experts to support any time the company needs.
8.3 There are attractive promotions VCS3 when using their software.
8.4 Offers free training courses VCS4
IX Vendor lock-in VLI Ahn, B., & Ahn, H.
(2020) 9.1 It is possible to try a lot of software from many different vendors.
9.2 Expensive if you want to return to traditional accounting software.
9.3 Difficult to switch suppliers due to legal restrictions.
9.4 The operating procedure given by the supplier shall be accepted.
9.5 Must accept the product development roadmap provided by the supplier.
X Cloud accounting adoption CAA Ahn, B., & Ahn, H.
(2020) 9.1 Intend to use cloud accounting software as soon as possible.
9.2 Appreciate the idea of using cloud accounting software.
9.3 Have a reasonable opinion about using cloud accounting software.
9.4 Having a thorough discussion about the application of cloud
9.5 Preparing for cloud accounting software adoption.
Methods of data collection
3.3.1 The method of choosing the sample and sample size
Sampling method: it is challenging to determine the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam and the approach to building a sample frame, so the author uses a non-probability sampling method, precisely the sampling method convenience template. This method is commonly used for data collection at a point in time (Sauder et al., 2012).
Sample size: The study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) The EFA method requires at least 200 observations (Gorsuch, 1983) According to Tabachnick & Fidell
(1991), for regression analysis to have good results, the sample size must be five times the number of observed variables.
In this study, the number of independent variables included in the analysis was 9, with 47 observed variables Thus, the minimum number of variables of the thesis must be n 5x47= 235 samples Here, the author uses the official research sample n = 403 > 235 per the above formula, and it is suitable for running EFA analysis and multiple regression.
Data collection method: Data was collected through direct interviews with survey subjects through paper questionnaires sent directly to respondents and through Forms- google docs by sharing the link to the respondents Survey subjects through platforms such as email, zalo, facebook,
Methods of data analysis
3.4.1 Reliability testing by Cronbach's Alpha
A scale is considered valid when it measures exactly what it is supposed to, meaning that the measurement method is free from systematic and random bias The first condition is to have the applicable scale to achieve reliability Many researchers agree that when Cronbach's Alpha is from 0.8 or more to close to 1, the scale is good, and from 0.7 to close to 0.8 is usable Many researchers suggest that Cronbach's Alpha of 0.6 or higher is usable in cases where the concept being measured is new or new to the respondents in the research context (Nunnally & Burnstein, 1994) in Nguyen Dinh Tho, 2011) In this study, the author decided to use Cronbach's Alpha standard from 0.6 to 0.9, and the observed variables with a total correlation coefficient (Corrected item-total correlation) less than 0.3 will be excluded.
After analyzing the reliability of the scale of each factor, the author continues to evaluate the value of the scale in order to ensure that the observed variables converge on the same factor and that the observed variables belonging to the same factor about this factor be distinguished from other factors When the scale is reliable, the observed variables will be used in EFA exploratory factor analysis with the following requirements:
- KMO coefficient (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) ≥ 0.5 with the significance level of Bartlett test
- The scale is accepted when the total variance extracted ≥ 50% and the Eigenvalue coefficient >1.
- The difference between the factor loading coefficient of an observed variable must be greater than 0.3 to ensure the discriminant value between the factors.
When analyzing EFA, the author uses the Principal Component Analysis method with Varimax rotation and stops to extract factors with eigenvalue >1.
Correlation analysis: Correlation analysis is used to test the linear correlation between the variables in the model (between the dependent variable and each independent variable, between the independent variables) In this study, the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to quantify the closeness in the linear relationship between two quantitative variables, the closer the absolute value of this coefficient is to 1, the more correlated these two variables are more closely linear.
Multivariable regression analysis: After analyzing the correlation between the variables, the author performed a regression technique, and the adjusted coefficient of determination R2 was used to determine the model's fit Then, determine the influence of the factors affecting the decision to accept cloud accounting services of small and medium enterprises: the factor with the more significant β coefficient, the stronger the influence on the dependent variable.
Detecting model assumptions: Multicollinearity is considered to be tested through the variance exaggeration factor VIF and if VIF > 10, multicollinearity will occur The next step is to test the assumption of a linear relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable through the scatter plot Test the assumption of normal distribution of residuals through Histogram and Q-Q Plot, test the assumption of independence of error through Durbin - Watson statistics
The author uses the variance analysis method (ANOVA) to test the mean difference between sample groups of different sizes and types However, to understand more deeply the different results of groups (type of ownership of enterprises) in the sample, the author uses the deep analysis technique Anova one factor (post-hoc One-way Anova).
Some assumptions when analyzing ANOVA:
The comparison groups must be independent and randomly selected.
The comparison groups must have a normal distribution, or the sample size must be large enough to be considered asymptotically normally distributed.
The variances of the comparison groups must be the same.
The basis of the results are as follows:
Sig 0.05 is not enough to confirm a difference between groups for the dependent variable.
RESEARCH RESULTS
Checking the scale
4.2.1 Checking the reliability of the scale by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient
First, the author checks the scale's reliability through the Cronbach Alpha coefficient The results of testing the scale using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient show that most of the scales have Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and the variable correlation coefficient - total correction satisfying the conditions of use.
However, some known variables have variable correlation coefficients - adjusted total 0.10).
Besides, the high acceptance coefficient and low VIF coefficient ( 0.10) The vendor lock-in variable has no negative relationship as in the research hypothesis and has no statistical significance (Sig > 0.10) Based on research, the thesis draws the managerial implications detailed below.
Implications
Cloud accounting has eliminated the traditional manual installation process All data is stored in the cloud and can be retrieved quickly and easily Besides those advantages, some of the following advantages will promote businesses to decide to accept the use of cloud accounting:
(1) More effective control of users' access to data
(2) Minimizing risks from the network environment affecting data, information, software, computer hardware
(3) Data is entered, processed, and rendered in real-time, creating faster, more accurate, and timely information for information users.
Relative advantages, organizational and IT capabilities, competitive pressures, and partnerships are significant determinants of cloud accounting adoption Therefore, enterprises' adoption of cloud accounting is driven by technological, organizational, and environmental factors, of which technology is more influential than organizational and environmental factors The implications of these conclusions are theoretical and practical. Besides the proposed research framework, the main theoretical strength of this study lies in confirming the validity of the TOE framework in deciding to accept cloud accounting.Predictably, enterprises' cloud accounting adoption relies heavily on showing relative value and IT infrastructure platform compatibility In addition, organizational factors also play a specific role in accepting cloud accounting These factors have practical significance for managers in providing and supporting decisions on the investment of IT resources, building training programs to improve knowledge about information security,and expertise in cloud computing and accounting Foster partnerships with external partners to help businesses understand their information needs, create the basis for compatibility integration and make partners believe in the value created From the cloud accounting platform, the cooperation activities of business partners will help increase the need to promote the adoption of cloud accounting in the enterprise.
On the part of cloud accounting service providers, it is necessary to improve the quality of infrastructure, complete platforms, and develop applications to suit the needs of different types of businesses One of the limitations of cloud accounting is the risk of enterprise data and information, so cloud accounting service providers must adopt most of the complex tools, processes, and updates and strive to provide better security and privacy than is available for cloud accounting The author argues that cloud service providers should focus more on promoting and validating the benefits of the cloud when marketing their services to potential adopters for the sake of understanding; perception is the most influential determinant of the decision to adopt cloud accounting If cloud accounting service providers can attract more innovative customers with good IT capabilities to use cloud services and create a particular success, bringing operational efficiency to businesses Businesses' reputation of these providers can strongly influence companies with the intention and need to use cloud accounting
On the part of state management agencies, it is necessary to issue policies, regulations, and contracts to support businesses to access comprehensively cloud accounting services easily and provide platform solutions for management effectively to help businesses see the benefits of convenience when using cloud accounting services In addition, there should be policies committed to information security in the process of using cloud accounting To do this, the author believes that the state needs to provide flexible, secure
IT systems that meet the needs of businesses Build an IT and business environment that can incentivize dynamic cloud accounting service providers and support new vendors with products that meet applicable standards and regulations.
Research limitations and future research directions
Usually, every study must have some limitations on the practical application of the results, thereby providing new perspectives for future research Therefore, the main limitations of this study are unavoidable First, the time study data show that the causal relationships identified may vary across sectors, industries, sizes, types of business, or respondents Therefore, longitudinal studies may be required to strengthen the direction of the causal relationship Second, the study focuses on the HCMC area, so other researchers can conduct it in other regions to create a meaningful result that is more integrated and comprehensive Finally, other factors will likely influence the decision to adopt cloud accounting and may not have been included in the TOE model to help understand enterprise adoption processes, thereby setting some Another big issue in the future to consider and learn more about is the decision to accept cloud accounting in the enterprise
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