The influence of national culture on the acceptance and use of information technologies: An empirical study

• Main Author: Srite, Mark David
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2000
• Subjects: Anxiety; Attitudes; Business administration; Business community; Collectivism; Copyright; Cultural differences; Culture; Education; Employees; Femininity; Field study; Foreign students; Hypotheses; Influence; Information Technology; Innovations; Masculinity; Media richness; Perceptions; Personal computers; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Response rates; Software packages; Studies; Technology; Trust; User training
• ISBN: 9780599785496; 0599785497

This dissertation examines the influence of national culture on technology acceptance behaviors. The technology acceptance literature is reviewed and the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) is extended by adding subjective norms, willingness to innovate, and trust in technology. Then, based on cross-cultural research literature, Hofstede's (1984) widely cited dimensions of national culture (masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance) are incorporated into the model as either direct antecedents or moderator variables of the technology acceptance constructs and relationships. Nine specific hypotheses are then posited as to how these dimensions influence perceptions about information technology acceptance. The research model was tested through a field study using student subjects. Foreign students from thirty-three national cultures were surveyed during the first week of their first semester in attendance. A random sample of US nationals was also contacted. The final model was tested using a structural equation modeling approach. Support was found for four of the nine hypotheses. Individuals from cultures with high power distances were found to be less innovative, less trusting of technology, and to be higher in terms of subjective norms. It was also found that people from collectivistic cultures were higher in terms of subjective norms.