ECOFORUM [Volume 3, Issue 2 (5), 2014] 37 Charles OLUPOT Department of Business Computing, Makerere University Business School olupot@mubs.ac.ug Geoffrey Mayoka KITUYI Department of Business Computing, Makerere University Business School kimayoka@gmail.com Jose NOGUERA College of Business Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA 70813 jnogmer@aol.com Abstract The recent global recession has pushed businesses to search for means to efficiently and effectively manage their customers so as to remain competitive. This has led to the rise in the adoption and use of information technology in different business functions. These developments have yielded into the adoption of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CM). However, as this technology sees more prominence the developed countries, many initiatives in developing countries have failed. This study was intended to examine the factors that affect the adoption of e-CRM in developing countries. A case study was conducted in Uganda, in which 150 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) where purposively selected from 30 districts to participate in the study. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data, which were then coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Although the findings indicate that e-CRM was very beneficial in promoting SMEs’ new products, marketing existing products, keeping their customers updated and sharing information, most SMEs faced challenges in adopting to the technology. The main challenges were highlighted as lack of knowledge about the e-CRM, lack of ICT skills, poor infrastructure, lack of top management support and resistance to change. The study gives some valuable recommendations for better adoption of e-CRM in SMEs. Key words: e-CRM; e-CRM adoption, SMEs; Technology adoption, Uganda. JEL Classification: M15 I. INTRODUCTION The recent global recession has pushed businesses to search for means to efficiently and effectively manage their customers so as to remain competitive. This has led to the rise in the adoption and use of information technology in different business functions. One such business function is Customer Relationship Management (CRM). According to Chen and Popovich (2003) and Almotairi (2009), CRM is an integrated approach of managing customer relationships through a combination of important components namely people, process, technology, culture and relationship. Customer Relationship Management has been widely adopted by both large and small businesses worldwide with the primary goal of enhancing relationship between the organization and its customers (Sophonthummapharn, 2009; Rajan and Bhatnagar, 2009). The application of technology in customer relationship management has given birth to what is known as electronic Customer relationship Management or simply put as e-CRM (Ortega et al., 2008). Adoption is the acceptance of new innovations or technology at a given period of time. Nguyen (2009) defines adoption as the decision to use a new technology. In this research, the concept of adoption is defined as a decision by an organization to accept and use technology enabled tools, methods and techniques for managing customer relations that were not previously used by an organization. To contextualize the adoption concept, different models have been put forward. Among these include adopter centered process oriented model (Pereira, 2002) that deals with individual perceptions and attitudes that form part of the adoption process; diffusion of innovations model (Rogers, 1995) that deals with user perceptions and attitudes towards adoption; theory of planned behavior (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) that deals with behavior, attitude and subject norm that can be used to determine adoption; theory of reasoned action (Ajzen, 1985) that deals with the attitude and subject norm and behavioral control that determine intention towards adoption; technology acceptance model (1986) used to predict the adoption of the technology based on the ease of use and usefulness of the technology; TOEM (Tornatzky and Klein, 1982; Tornatzky and Fleischer, 1990; Thong, 1999) that deals with Technology, Organizational, STUDY ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION OF ELECTRONIC CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN UGANDAN SMES