Predictors of e-publishing adoption in environments of uncertainty

Purpose: Many developing environments are characterised by uncertainties and research on how these uncertainties impact development in different industries is on-going. However, there is hardly any empirical examination of how this phenomenon impacts innovation adoption in the publishing industry, notwithstanding that the education industry largely depends on publishing. This study aims to interrogate this phenomenon with a view to describing clearly the factors that influence e-publishing innovation adoption in environments of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: E-publishing data were collected from 79 websites whereas 109 firms filled out a questionnaire both online and offline. Four interviews were conducted and data were analysed using the SPSS to compute frequencies, percentages and correlates of digital publishing innovation adoption. Findings: Book piracy and curriculum uncertainty were found to play greater influential roles in the adoption of e-publishing; and though they both correlated positively with e-publishing adoption, only book piracy has a significant predictive value in the adoption of e-publishing. Originality/value: The results of this study shed light on the predictors of digital publishing adoption and should help interested publishers and scholars in environments of uncertainty to understand why efforts should be intensified to pursue copyright protection and enforcement. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.