ABSTRACT
Technology promises substantial efficiency gains for global trade, yet its adoption is often slow and uneven. This study focuses on the adoption of electronic bills of lading and on how awareness affects that adoption.
The authors develop a simple analytical framework to model the trade-off a firm faces when deciding whether to adopt. There are two latent firm types, depending on how the adoption decision responds to awareness: Intrinsic-Resistance firms, which do not adopt regardless of their awareness level because of structural barriers, and Awareness-Driven firms, whose adoption probability rises with awareness.
The study provides a theoretically grounded and empirically validated framework for targeting digital trade interventions.