2011 10th International Conference on Mobile Business
Explaining the Adoption of Mobile Information Services From a Cultural Perspective Shang Gao1,2, John Krogstie1 1
Department of Computer Science and Information Science Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) NO 7491 Trondheim, Norway 2 School of Business Administration Zhongnan University of Economics and Law Wuhan, 430073, P.R. China Email:
[email protected],
[email protected] some users are afraid to use some mobile services because of the lack of technological knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to consider also non-technical factors which might impact mobile services diffusion. The cultural perspective is one of the important concepts in the information systems research (e.g., [4]). In this study, we would like to study the adoption of mobile information services from the cultural perspective. As cultural characteristics have a fundamental effect on how users perceive mobile services, the appropriateness of a mobile service for one culture may not be appropriate for others. Despite the importance of these cultural characteristics, little research has been performed on the effect of cultural issues on mobile services diffusion. Therefore, the objective of this research work is to investigate how the different cultural dimensions influence users’ adoption of mobile services. In order to address this, we carried out an exploratory study with a mobile information service called eMSIS with domestic students and Chinese students at a Norwegian university. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we review relevant literature on culture and mobile services adoption. The research hypotheses are presented in section 3. In section 4, we describe the mobile commerce in Norway and China. Section 5 explores the different cultural dimensions on mobile information services adoption by an exploratory study with a mobile information service called eMSIS. This is followed by a discussion of the findings and limitation of the study in section 6. Section 7 concludes this research work and points out directions for future research.
Abstract—Little research has been done to explore the adoption of mobile information services from a cultural perspective. This research is designed to study mobile information services adoption from a cultural perspective. Based on the three cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance), three research hypotheses are presented. To examine these hypotheses, an exploratory study is carried out with a mobile information service called eMSIS with both Norwegian students and Chinese students. Support was found for the three hypotheses. The findings indicate that the cultural dimensions play important roles in how mobile information services are used and adopted in two different cultural settings: the Norwegian culture and the Chinese culture. The results also highlight the relevance of the cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance) as the factors affecting the adoption of mobile information services. Keywords-Cultural Dimensions; Individualism vs. Collectivism; Uncertainty Avoidance; Power Distance; Mobile Services Adoption
I.
INTRODUCTION
The rapid growth of mobile communication and usage of mobile devices in recent years has provided a great opportunity for creating a variety of mobile services. Despite this growth, there is a big difference in terms of the mobile service penetration rate among various countries. For example, although the mobile communication infrastructure is quite advanced in Europe, The European mobile commerce market is frequently presented as less advanced compared to markets in east-Asia, such as South Korea and Japan [1] [2]. This highlights the need for research for cultural influence on mobile services adoption. The advanced mobile devices enable users to try out new mobile services, but the adoption of mobile services often do not progress as expected [3]. On one hand, unlike some old technology-based products (e.g., landline phones), some users are not aware of some of the mobile services which mobile devices are able to offer. On the other hand, 978-0-7695-4434-2/11 $26.00 © 2011 IEEE DOI 10.1109/ICMB.2011.31
II.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This section presents some literature relevant to this research. A. Cultural Dimensions Culture has been defined in a number of ways because of its multi-dimensional characteristics. In [5], Hall 243
femininity. In [7], Hofstede and Bond subsequently added the fifth dimension: long-term versus short-term orientation. In [8], Schwartz identified two fundamental dimensions of cultural variables: openness to change (includes selfdirection and stimulation value types) versus conservation (includes security, conformity, and traditional value types), and self-enhancement (includes hedonism, power, and achievement value types) versus self-transcendence (includes universalism and benevolence value types). In Table 1, we summarize the most commonly cited cultural dimensions.
distinguished cultures along two dimensions: contextuality and time perception. Hofstede defined culture as mental programming [6], which refers to patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting, which were learned throughout people’s lifetimes. Hofstede’s study with a survey of IBM employees in 40 different countries found that the values of employees differed more based on their nationality, age, and education than their membership in organizations [6]. From the study [6], four dimensions have been identified to distinguish among different cultures: uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-
Table 1. Cultural Dimensions
Cultural Dimensions
Description
Citations
The extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. The extent to which members of a culture expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Degree to which people in a culture to act as individuals rather than as members of groups. Masculinity describes cultures in which social gender roles are distinct, whereas femininity describes cultures in which social genders roles overlap.
[6]
Long-term versus Shortterm orientation Openness to change versus conversation
Short-term orientation culture focuses on the present moment, long-term orientation culture are orientated toward future rewards. The extent to which people preserve the status quo and the certainty it provides to relationships with close others , institutions and traditions, versus the extent to which people are inclined to follow their own intellectual and emotional interests in unpredictable and uncertain directions.
[7]
Self-enhancement versus Self-transcendence
People’s tendency to transcend selfish concerns and promote the welfare of others, close and distant, and of nature, versus their tendency to enhance their personal interests.
[8]
Contextuality
In a high-context culture, one prefers implicit messages and indirect communications. Low-context cultures are characterized by explicit messages and direct communications.
[5]
Time Perception
People in monochromic cultures focus on and perform one task at a time. People in polychromic cultures can act in a parallel model.
[5]
Uncertainty Avoidance Power Distance Individualism versus collectivism Masculinity versus femininity
[6] [6] [6]
[8]
adding perceived credibility, perceived self-efficacy and perceived financial cost to the model. Their findings strongly support the extended TAM in predicting users’ intentions to adopt mobile banking. Yang [12] extended TAM to study factors affecting Singaporeans’ attitudes toward mobile commerce. Evidence to support the extended TAM was found in this study. By expanding TAM, Gao et al. [13] proposed the mobile services acceptance model that examined the factors which determine consumer acceptance of mobile services. Significant support for the model was found in the data collected from a survey of potential mobile information service users.
B. Mobile Services Adoption TAM [9] has been established as a fundamental model to examine mobile service adoptions. Some studies based on TAM and the other theories presented above have explored factors affecting consumer adoption of mobile services. For instance, Lu et al. [10] studied the acceptance of wireless Internet via mobile technology (WIMT) in China and indicated that the acceptance of WIMT is related to perceived usefulness, ease of use, social influence, trust, and facilitating conditions. Luarn et al. [11] extended the applicability of TAM to the context of mobile banking, by
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services. In an individualist society, people tend to use online media as a primary platform to exchange information. In a collectivist society, people often get together to exchange information or collect information in an official or formal way (e.g., physical meetings). In [19], Doney et al, argued that people in individualists cultures attempt to maximize the gains from any opportunity that presents itself. Thus, we believe that individualists are more likely than collectivists to adopt mobile services. Therefore, we hypothesize the following:
C. Culture and Mobile Services Adoption Although it has been recognized that cultural dimensions play important roles in mobile services diffusion, not too much research work had been done to explore the influence of cultural characteristics on mobile services adoption. We exemplify some studies here. In [14], Harris et al. compared mobile commerce usage in the UK and Hong Kong. They found significant differences between the UK and Hong Kong in attitudes to mobile commerce services. They attributed these differences to the levels of collectivism and power distance in the cultures and to structural differences between the two markets. In [15], Marcus and Gould found that cultural elements are embedded in user interfaces as a set of contextual and social cues that enable effective use by applying the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede [6] to Web site design. In [16], Lee et al. constructed and verified a research model, based on interaction theory and the cultural lens model, that focuses on the relationship between users’ cultural profiles and post-adoption beliefs in the context of the mobile Internet. An examination of the current literature reveals that few studies have addressed the effect of cultural characteristics on the adoption of mobile information services. An exploratory study to investigate cultural impact on mobile information services diffusion is necessary. We believe that this research will contribute to current mobile services adoption literature, as well as provide some insights for service providers within the mobile information services community. Awareness of cultural differences will also help marketing personnel promote their mobile information services in various regions all over the world. III.
H1. People from high individualism cultures will be more likely to adopt mobile information services than people from low individualism cultures. Uncertainty Avoidance In [4], Straub identified uncertainty avoidance as having the most direct bearing on preference for and use of communication media. For countries in high uncertainty avoidance cultures, people are uncomfortable with uncertainty and show a low tolerance for risk. They want to avoid ambiguous situations by believing in truths and having formal rules and guidance. People in high uncertainty avoidance cultures are more likely to communication methods that were socially present (e.g., face to face communication). In a contrast, people in lowavoidance cultures often would like to take risk. In the other words, people are more willing to try out new innovations. Several studies revealed that uncertainty avoidance influences IT system usage. In [20], Png et al. demonstrated that enterprises in high uncertainty avoidance countries were less likely to adopt IT infrastructure. In [21], based on content analysis of the 80 U.S. domestic and Chinese websites, Singh et al. showed that high uncertainty avoidance culture in China led Chinese websites to have some localized diffusion strategies, such as free trials. Innovative products are often associated with uncertainty. Compared to traditional information services, mobile information services can be seen as an innovative product. People from high uncertainty avoidance cultures might be anxious about being in an unfamiliar situation when using mobile information services. Therefore, we make the following hypothesis:
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
This research addresses a gap in the literature about mobile services adoption, using culture dimensions as a primary explanatory vehicle. To our knowledge, most previous studies used TAM based research model to explore mobile services adoption. In this research, we try to understand users’ attitude to mobile information services from a cultural perspectives. Based on our literature review on the cultural dimensions, we have developed the following three research hypotheses. Individualism vs. Collectivism People in high individualism cultures are self-centered, emphasize individual objectives, and attach a great importance to be treated as individuals [17] [6]. The cultural characteristics in individualistic societies support individual achievement and self-serving behavior. Prior studies have found that this cultural characteristic has a significant impact on the usage of information systems. For example, Lee et al. [18] found that mobile users in South Korea exhibit a high level of individualism, whereas mobile users in Greece exhibit a lower level of individualism. It is believed that individualism versus collectivism is one cultural dimension that affects the adoption of mobile
H2. People from high uncertainty avoidance cultures will be less likely to adopt mobile information services than people from low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Power Distance People in high power distance cultures often use electronic devices or products according to their social status. They may feel like their social status could be upgraded by using better devices or products. For example, if somebody in the upper class starts using advance mobile phones. Other people who would like to keep their social status at the upper class level will buy the mobile phones at
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cultural perspective would help us understand the barriers of mobile services adoption.
the same level. In [22], Lee et al. demonstrated that users in South Korea were influenced by a higher level of power distance than users in US and Germany with regard to the usage of advanced electronic devices. In a culture with high power distance, inequalities of wealth and power are accepted as a fact of life. In a culture with low power distance, inequalities among people are minimized. Norway is a country with low power distance. Apparently, power distance is higher in the Chinese culture than in the Norwegian culture. Thus, we hypothesize the following:
C. Mobile Commerce in China According to the report from the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, the number of mobile phone subscribers in China exceeded 850 million in 2010 as more Chinese people began to consider mobile phones as an everyday necessity. However, the mainstream usage of mobile phones in china focuses on SMS, instant messaging services, and purchasing ring tongs. SMS has been the number one value added mobile service in Chinese mobile commerce market. The ratio of advanced mobile phone users is still quite low. Therefore, when it comes to advanced mobile services, not many users start trying them. Unlike the developed countries, mobile commerce can hardly reach low-income earner that constitute a majority of the population in China. But many from the young generations are comfortable with using some existing basic mobile services on mobile devices. This may help them attempt to try some advanced mobile services. As the development of mobile communication technology and the mobile commerce market in China is growing, more and more advanced mobile services will be available. And it is believed that mobile commerce has a potentially exceptional future in China given that China has the largest number of mobile phone subscribers in the world.
H3. People with high power distance cultures will be more likely to adopt mobile information services than people with low power distance cultures. IV.
MOBILE COMMERCE IN NORWAY AND CHINA
A. Why chose Norway and China Norway and China represent two distinct cultures. Norway can be seen as a representation of western culture while China represents the epitome of eastern culture. The cultural values are meant to be different in Norway and China. These facts provide us with a good basis to analyze mobile information services adoption between these two distinct cultures. In addition, previous cross-cultural studies on information systems usage were often done between China and US. To our knowledge, we have not seen any cross-cultural studies in mobile services diffusion between Norway and China. Therefore, it is worth to carry out such a study, especially since Norway has a smaller power distance than the USA. In the next section, we will examine the influence of these two selected cultures on mobile information services adoption. In general, Norwegians rank high on the scale of individualism, while Chinese people rank high in terms of uncertainty avoidance and power distance.
V.
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN A MOBILE INFORMATION SERVICE (EMSIS)
To study the impact of the cultural dimensions on the adoption of mobile information services in terms of the research hypotheses proposed in the last section, an exploratory study with a mobile information service called eMSIS with both Norwegian students and Chinese students were carried out. A. Mobile Information Service (eMSIS) eMSIS is an extended system built upon MSIS [24] which was developed at a Norwegian University. The main purpose of eMSIS is to offer a number of mobile services that can assist students in their daily study-related activities on the university campus. Some main functions provided by eMSIS are: • Twitter: Allow students to follow courses updates, student activities and fellow students in a university setting. Users can share and discover what’s happening with studying-related matters through the Twitter Service of eMSIS. • Feeds: Allow students to keep updated with university news and course announcements by subscribing feeds provided by the university and the course instructor. • Project Collaboration Service: Allow the students of a project/assignment to communicate with each other anytime anywhere.
B. Mobile Commerce in Norway Norway has been considered one of the most successful countries in terms of the usage of advanced mobile services. The penetration rate of mobile phones is among the highest in the world. Norway is a pioneer in the development of advanced mobile services. For instance, a number of research and development projects are going on in Norway (e.g., Wireless Trondheim [23]). Due to the saturation of mobile voice and messaging market, mobile service providers are interested in approaching the market of advanced mobile services (e.g., mobile payment, location based mobile information services, mobile games). In Norway, the usage of advanced mobile services is more popular than China. The emergence of advanced mobile devices with touch screen has attracted many people to try out advanced mobile services. While advanced mobile services are available and most users own advanced mobile devices in Norway, the adoption of mobile services is not progressed as expected. An exploratory study from the
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Figure 1 shows screenshots of the feeds service and the project collaboration service of eMSIS as they appear on a
Windows Mobile 6 Professional emulator.
Figure 1. The screenshots of the eMSIS
were included in this survey. A seven-point Likert scale, with 1 being the negative end of the scale (strongly disagree) and 7 being the positive end of the scale (strongly agree), was used to examine participants’ responses to all items in the survey.
B. Sample A lottery with two HTC Touch mobile devices were included as incentive to attract students to participate in this experiment. We recruited the experiment subjects by posting announcements to a number of student mailing lists at a Norwegian university. Students from several departments, studying for an undergraduate program or a graduate program, were invited to participate in the experiment with the eMSIS mobile service running on a HTC Touch mobile device. Our postings explained who we are, what they are supposed to do during the eMSIS experiment, and the purpose of this experiment. The participants have also been informed that the results would be reported only in aggregate and that their anonymity would be assured. As a result, 31 students from Norway and China confirmed to participate in the experiment. All the respondents were physically from a Norwegian university. The demographic information of the respondents is summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. Demographic Information of the Subjects
Number of Participants Age Less than 20 20-29 30 or Over Department Science or Engineering Others Educational Level Undergraduate Students Graduate Students Experience in Mobile Services 0-1 Year 2-5 Years More than 5 Years
C. Survey Instrument The validated instrument measure in [25] was used as the foundation to create survey items for this study. Based on our understanding on the cultural dimensions, we put the relevant validated items to the correspondent cultural dimension. As a result, 7 survey items (see Appendix 1)
247
Norwegian Students 18
Chinese Students 13
1 17 0
0 9 4
18 0
11 2
5 13
2 11
4 7 7
6 4 3
Alpha for exploratory research. Since there is only one survey item for the culture dimension in terms of power distance, the Cronbach’s Alpha for this dimension is low. Given the exploratory nature of this study, the scales were deemed acceptable to continue. Other findings are summarized as follows:
D. Data Collection Procedure A paper based survey questionnaire was created to enable rapid onsite distribution during the experiment. Prior to completing the questionnaire, all participants were provided with an information sheet describing the mobile service - eMSIS and a mobile device having eMSIS installed. In this manner, all participants got some basic ideas about the mobile service. After using the eMSIS system in two of the four specific realistic scenarios in the university campus environment for 45 minutes, the questionnaire was distributed to all participants. The first scenario refers to twitter service. The second scenario refers to feeds service at the university. The third one refers to course related documents downloading or uploading. The last scenario is about project collaboration service in a specific project based course. Respondents were also informed that the data being collected as part of a research study. And the questionnaire is completely anonymous and respondents’ identities will never be disclosed. After filling out the questionnaire, the participants returned the completed survey to us. One week after this experiment, some of the participants were invited to participate in a postexperiment interview.
Individualism vs. Collectivism The country effects on individualism vs. collectivism are shown in Figure 2. We found that other users’ intention to use eMSIS do affect individual’s decision to use eMSIS. Our finding on this aspect is also in line with H1. Chinese students’ intention to use eMSIS is more likely to be influenced by the behavior of their fellows. According to the result, Norwegian students are more interested to be the first one to use eMSIS. This is partially because Chinese student are more likely to be collectivist than Norwegian students. In addition, Norwegian students are more likely to believe the statement that using the system gives them an advantage over those who don’t. In an individualist society, such as Norway, people tend to use online media as a main source of information. Therefore, they might be comfortable with the information provided via Web. However, in a collectivist society, people tend to get together to share information and expect their fellow to have the same goal or objective. This might be why some Chinese students do not consider collecting information via mobile devices as an advantage. All in all, these three findings on Individualism vs. Collectivism support H1.
E. Results and Findings The reliability of the survey items was tested by using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. The coefficients of all dimension except power distance exceeded 0.6. According to previous research work [27], a reliability coefficient of 0.6 is marked as a lowest acceptable limit for Cronbach’s
7 6 5.23 5
4.88 4.11
4
4.23
4.44
3.62 Chinese
3
Norwegian
2 1 0 Friends are using it
be the first one
with advantage
Figure 2. Results on Individualism vs. Collectivism
248
Uncertainty avoidance Figure 3 shows the cultural differences in terms of uncertainty avoidance dimension in this eexploratory study between Chinese students and Norw wegian students. According to the results, most students agrreed that the data provided by the system is reliable and it iss risk-free to use the system. This can be partially attributed tto that the system provider of eMSIS is the university. Concerning the question about the confidence in keepingg eMSIS system under control, it seems that some Chinesee students do not want to be a risk-taker, so that they presentted a low level of confidence in using eMSIS. This is also confirmed by one of the observations during the experimentt. Some Chinese students had some problems with completting the assigned tasks and asked some help from the insttructors, because they would like to avoid ambiguous andd uncomfortable situations during the experiment. As for Norwegian students, we found that most of them were able to finish the assigned tasks quite quickly without askinng any help from the instructors, even though they migght have some uncertainty about eMSIS. Overall, Norw wegian students exhibit a slightly lower level of uncertainty avoidance. 7 6
5.695.94
6.22 5.69
5.54
7 6 5 4
Norwegian
0 Social Status Symbol Figure 4. Results on Pow wer Distance
VI.
0 data is reliable
DISCUSSION AND D LIMITATIONS
Little research has been done to o explore the adoption of mobile services in different culturall settings. This study can provide some insights for understanding the effect of the cultural dimensions on the adoption n of mobile services. On one hand, from an academic perspective, this study contributes to the literature on mobile services adoption and diffusion by examining the importance of the cultural dimensions to mobile information n services adoption. The findings demonstrated the appropriateness of the proposed research hypotheses in explorin ng mobile information services adoption. On the other hand, from a business perspective, the results also provideed some implications for practitioners. Overall, three reseearch hypotheses were supported in this exploratory study. Some interesting findings during the post-experiment interview are summarized as follow ws. One Chinese student indicated that a high end mobile s among students in device appeared to be a sign of status China. New users are likely to experien nce more challenges that those who have some previous experience with similar services. This is also indicated by y some Chinese students with less experience with advanceed mobile services. One Chinese student indicated that it is the first time for him to use advanced mobile services in a mobile m device with touchscreen. Therefore, he was con ncerned about possible unfamiliarity with eMSIS during thee experiment. Some students also indicated that t they prefer to stick with traditional technologies. They prefer to be in a situation, where not everything is fast paced. Some students prefer to stick with traditional technologiees. Even though some students owned high-end mobile deevices, they might not be interested in using this kind of mob bile services. They would like to plan every study related acttivities in advance. They think that it is not necessary to t access study related information via a mobile device. Th hey always use laptop to
1
System under control
Norwegian
1
4 Chinese
Chinese
2
5
2
2.72
3
6
3
4.46
risk free
Figure 3. Results on Uncertainty Avooidance
Power Distance The effect of power distance on mobile services adoption is shown in Figure 4. Chinese stuudents agree with the statement that using the mobile informaation service can be considered as a social status amonng their friends. However, most Norwegian students dissagree with this statement. This finding reflects the culturral difference in terms of power distance between Norway and China. This finding supports H3.
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usability can reduce users’ uncertainty about mobile information services. As for people with high collectivism and high power distance cultures, customized marketing strategies might be needed. According to our findings, people with these cultures are more likely to consider opinions of their fellows and their personal social image. For instance, a number of people treat high-end mobile devices and using advanced mobile services as new fashions and cool items to show off public in China. Owning high-end mobile devices and using advanced mobile information services may be seen as a symbol of a high social status. Therefore, marketing personnel may aim at promoting mobile information services to those users first.
access these information in a physical location (e.g., home, lab). In addition, during the interview, we got an impression that students from China are on the whole not necessarily interested in expanding their use of mobile devices to include more advanced mobile services. Individualism vs. Collectivism According to the results, Chinese students, as the representation for people from high collectivism cultures, are less likely to adopt eMSIS. During the interview, one Chinese student indicated than social networks are the main source for Chinese to get relevant information. Making phone calls and meeting with other friends are the primary ways for Chinese to share information.
Limitations We are also aware of some limitations of this work. To confirm the results with greater validity, the number of participants and countries should be increased. Secondly, there might be other factors which influence the adoption of mobile services. Future research is needed to further explore the role that other factors might play in mobile services diffusion. Third, since most participants are male, we did not study the impact of culture dimension (Masculinity/Femininity) on mobile information services adoption in this study. Last but not least, the reliability and validity of the survey items needed to be examined in further research.
Uncertainty avoidance Compared with Norwegian students, students from China are more likely to rely on the opinions of other fellows in order to avoid uncertainty in using mobile services. During the interview, some participants indicated that some uncertainty and discomfort with usage of eMSIS is raised by navigation issues in the system. They suggested that the navigation function of eMSIS could be organized in a better way. An easy to use interface and navigation system of a mobile service minimizes efforts from users to plan what to do and how to use the service.
VII.
Power Distance Power distance seemed to play a role in Chinese students’ perceptions about the mobile service. During postexperiment interview, a student from China, a high power distance culture, indicated that he felt uncomfortable about using Twitter service to communicate with course instructors in a formal context. He said that “It might be not good to send a message to a professor, who is well respected in China, via Twitter. If we do so, it could be considered as disrespectful to the professor. I prefer to communicate with the professor in a formal manner.”
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH
This research was designed to study mobile information services adoption from a cultural perspective. The research question which drives this study is: how do the cultural dimensions influence the adoption of mobile services? This study addresses this question by exploring the effect of the cultural dimensions in terms of individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidances and power distance, on the adoption of a mobile information service at a university campus setting. The results indicate that the cultural dimensions play important roles in how mobile information services are used and adopted in two different cultural settings: the Norwegian culture and the Chinese culture. The research findings provide support for our three research hypotheses. We believe this research contributes to both the literature and practice on mobile services adoption. There exist several opportunities for future research. First, the research hypotheses on the cultural dimensions can be tested in another empirical context, such as mobile banking. Second, we plan to conduct another cross-culture study with people from other countries.
Practical Implications On the practical aspect, the results and discussions presented above will support the university management board to plan for a wider spread of eMSIS at the university setting in the near future. In addition, the results of this study also provide some implications for service providers to develop better mobile services to tailor for various users with different cultural background, and for marketing personnel to better promote their mobile information service. To encourage consumers to adopt mobile information services, services providers and developers should pay more attention to the issue of information representation on mobile devices. Unclear navigation interfaces can possibly lead users to uncomfortable situation. The improved
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APPENDIX 1. SURVEY INSTRUMENT Cultural Dimensions
Item Number
Individualism vs. Collectivism
IC1
I could use the system, if most people around me are using the system.
IC2
I prefer to be the first one using the system. Using the system gives me an advantage over those who don’t. I could use the system, if I feel confident that I can keep the system under control. I could use the system, if I feel confident that the data returned by the system is reliable. I could use the system, if I believe it is risk-free to use the system. Using this mobile system can be considered as a social status symbol among my friends.
IC3 Uncertainty Avoidance
UA1 UA2 UA3
Power Distance
PD1
252
Survey Items
