Abstract:
Digital accounting systems represent an important component of accounting
information systems that support financial recording, reporting, and decisionmaking
in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, SMEs operating in
environmentally constrained regions may face contextual challenges that alter the
determinants of digital accounting adoption. This study examines factors
influencing digital accounting system adoption among SMEs in South Kalimantan's
wetland ecosystems. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, Diffusion of
Innovation Theory, and the Resource-Based View, this research develops an
integrated framework to assess the relative influence of perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, digital infrastructure, and digital literacy on adoption
intention. Survey data were collected from 86 SME owners and analyzed using
Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate
that digital literacy (β = 0.439, p < 0.001) is the strongest predictor of adoption
intention, followed by perceived usefulness (β = 0.310, p = 0.001) and digital
infrastructure (β = 0.233, p = 0.004). Perceived ease of use is not significant (β =
0.092, p = 0.435), suggesting that in chronically volatile environments baseline
expectations for technological friction may be elevated, a phenomenon we term
friction tolerance. Wetland ecosystem characteristics show no direct or moderating
effects. The model explains 72.4% of the variance in adoption intention, indicating
strong explanatory power. These findings contribute to accounting information
systems literature by demonstrating that capability-based mechanisms,
particularly digital literacy, assume greater explanatory weight than perceptual
mechanisms in environmentally constrained settings. Practical implications
emphasize prioritizing capacity-building initiatives and strategic infrastructure
investment to support SME digital accounting adoption in wetland regions
