Gender and Cultural Differences in Adoption of e-Business Infrastructure in UAE Fahim Akhter College of Information Technology Zayed University Dubai, United Arab Emirates
[email protected] part of the world. Therefore, language, culture, and infrastructure issues top the list of online vendors [4]. It is beneficial for an online vendor to be accepted in a new culture being aware of the differences in language and customs that make up the culture in which they do business. It would be added value for vendors to understand the difficulties faced by customers to access their websites. Even though access to the Internet is very cheap in Europe and North America, some countries still charge heavy amounts for accessing the Internet. A report issued in 2001 by Human Rights Watch stated that many countries in the Middle East have been hesitant about allowing their citizens free access to the Internet. The report also notes that many countries in North Africa regularly monitor their citizen’s access to the Internet and have taken steps to prevent the exchange of information outside their controls. In Pakistan and India, respective governments use proxy servers to filter content. Some countries do not directly ban e-commerce, but nevertheless do have strong local requirements that put extra pressure on vendors to compete in that segment. According to the report by US Commercial Services on Buyusa.gov, the French government requires that an advertisement for products and services must be in French. Thus, a vendor who advertises and ships his products to France may have to offer a French version of his website. Vendors could show their respect and values to local consumers by adopting a local culture’s norms in their business. Vendors could adopt local norms by observing local dialogs and their meanings, and symbols in respect to their products and services. As mentioned on English-Zone.com, Pepsi’s “come alive” advertising campaign did not achieve much success in China because its message came across as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the graves.” Therefore, it is important for venders to adjust the content of the website if the language of the website’s content is different from the language of those who will be using it. Different cultures respond differently on design, images, vocabulary, and color schemes. For example in India, it is inappropriate to use the image of cow in a cartoon or in a laughable setting. Indian
Abstract This paper presents and discusses the impact of gender on the e-business infrastructure. This study investigates differences in the adoption of e-business infrastructure among users specially focus on United Arab Emirates users. Four hundred and twenty two responses to a webbased survey questionnaire are discussed. Study also examine whether there exist any significant gender-related differences in online consumer trust.
1. Introduction While a number of studies have examined browsers’ concerns over trust, confidentiality and security, few have sought to identify gender-related differences in respect of e-business infrastructure. There is now substantial evidence that the Internet has changed the way in which customers conduct online transactions in respect of their culture norms [1]. Customers are not interested in the technology per se but how the Internet can enlighten shopping process and assist them in dealing strange online salesperson [2]. Initial studies on cross-cultural trust in an Internet store [3] did not reveal major differences among cultures. However, many researchers argue that there may be a relationship between trust and culture which requires further study [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Jarvenpaa et al., [1999] developed and tested a theoretical model involving the antecedents of trust for users from diverse cultures. The model revealed that consumers might perceive trustworthiness based on a website’s reputation and size. In addition, Jarvenpaa et al. found that the degree to which consumers trust a website affects their calculation of risk in dealing with the specific website. Online vendors who target international customers could cultivate trustworthiness by acknowledging the norms and values of consumers’ culture. Nowadays, websites are accessed from any
978-1-4244-2358-3/08/$20.00 © 2008 IEEE
462
CIT 2008
culture has a religious status for cow. Muslim countries can be offended by an image that shows human arms or legs uncovered. Some consumers may not like a Web page’s color scheme if it clashes with their norms. For example, a Web page that has large white elements can be offensive to Japanese consumers because the color white is a symbolic of death in their culture. It is also inappropriate for websites with English content in Japan to use word “four” because in Japanese this is "shi," which is also associated with the word for death. In China, the word "clock" is similar to the word for “death” and white, blue or black are associated with funerals. Websites in China could use red, yellow and pink because they seen as pleasurable colors. Websites can attract local customers by avoiding conflicting images, vocabulary or color scheme because cultural norms and values affect consumers’ motives and attitudes towards choices, intentions, and behaviors [4]. A rigorous assessment of aspects on online transactions is suggested as further work in view of the scarcity of empirical research in this area. This paper reports research carried out in United Arab Emirates, which investigated consumer’s attitudes towards using computers and the Internet and their Internet usage patterns.
suggestions such as shortening the questionnaire, changing some words, and using common vocabulary. The researcher discussed the wording and the content of the questionnaire in detail with respondents.
4. Research Results The collected data was analyzed to extract Internet usage patterns. The composition of gender and its impact by specific region is rigorously analyzed in the following figures. Figure 1 shows the Internet usage by both genders (combined) from different regions. It is observed from this figure that European and North American respondents spend more time on Internet (>11 hours a week) as compared to African and Middle Eastern respondents.
2. Data Collection Since the nature of the information needed in this research is related to opinions, attitudes, and beliefs, the questionnaire was best suited for collecting data. Therefore, qualitative research method in the form of a Web-based survey was used to explore and understand how the consumers perceive and evaluate the risks of B2C commerce. The survey included one open-ended question at the end, which allowed the respondents to comment in his or her own words. Respondents were asked to express their opinions with a number of statements on their online shopping experience. Web-based questionnaires were posted online along with a note that provided general information on the nature and the importance of the study and the significance of the contributions. Participants were assured of the confidentially of their responses and promised a summary of the study results if they desired them. According to the statistics for the Web-based survey, 1985 people accessed the survey and 422 actually filled out the form.
Figure 1: Internet usage by region Figure 1, shows the breakdown of Internet usage by Emirati gender. It shows that men and women in almost equal numbers use the Internet, with a marginally higher percentage of men going online. This study reveals that men and women in almost equal numbers use the Internet, with a marginally higher percentage of men going online.
3. Instrument Validation The instruments used in this research are adapted from the advice of fellow colleagues and experts in the research domain. The instruments used in this research were checked for validity, appropriateness, reliability, and accuracy. A number of steps were taken to meet this requirement. A panel of students, staff, and faculty at Zayed University were asked to answer the questionnaire and provide their comments on the wording and the content. Their feedback helped significantly in reforming the questionnaire. The analysis provided valuable
Figure 2: Internet usage by gender (Middle East) Figure 2 shows that Middle Eastern male respondents spend more time (57.1%) on the Internet as compared to females (32.8%). Figure 5 show that male respondents also hold more full-time employment (94.3%) as compared to females (41.4%).
463
It has been noted that respondents who spend more time on Internet also hold a higher percentage of full time jobs as compared to those who spend less time on the Internet and hold less percentage of full time jobs.
Figure 4: Purchase on Internet
5. Conclusion
Figure 3: Employment distribution by gender (Middle East)
In this paper, the Internet usage from the perspective of cultural anthropology was studied, focusing on its influence on Emirati society. The purpose of this study was to carry out a preliminary exploratory analysis of the role culture plays in the way users build trust. Differences have been reported in attitudes toward Internet searching and Internet usage patterns between women and men; although women and men have little difference in general attitudes toward the Internet. Patterns of gender difference show Emirati male users are likely to have positive attitudes towards the Internet, spent more time on the Internet, and used the Internet more extensively. They have reported more confidence in using the Internet. The Middle East and Africa are “novices” in Information technology, and most Middle Eastern users have just recently started using computers in the middle of the 1990s [5]. The present analysis found significant gender differences in Internet usage in European, North American, Middle Eastern, and African respondents. The finding that European and North American female respondents spend more time on the Internet and also hold more full-time jobs might be a reflection of gender differences in approaches to professional work attitudes. Another aspect of difference in respect of Internet access between European, North American and Middle Eastern female respondents could be associated with the different social roles between them. In respect of technology use in the Middle East, traditionally men are considered as ‘high tech’ and expected to take a lead role in managing technology related tasks, while women are considered as ‘domestic engineers’ and expected to take care of home duties.
However, European and North American male respondents spend less time on the Internet such as 65.7% and 55% respectively as compared to 76.2 percent and 62.5 percent of female respondents. It also reveal that male respondents hold a smaller proportion of a full-time employment in Europe and North America such as 74.3% and 73.3% respectively, compared to female respondents who hold 81 percent and 75 percent of full-time jobs, respectively. This study support the interpretation that the gender that spends more time on the Internet in Europe and North America also holds more full-time employment. This analysis indicates that users who spend more time on the Internet are likely to hold fulltime jobs as compared to those who spend less time on the Internet. The other interpretation of this analysis might be that more users access to the Internet from work places as compared to from home. Figure 4 shows that online shopping is positively related to the time spent on the Internet. It has been observed that respondents who spend more time surfing on the Web also tend to buy products from online vendors. The study shows that the more years of experience users have with the Internet, the more time they spend online. For example, European respondents are on the top of both lists as leading Web surfers (69.6%) and leading Web shoppers (91.1%). Likewise, African users are at the bottom of both lists as 34.3 percent and 45.7 percent, respectively. This analysis tends to point that users who spend more time on online surfing probably have a higher tendency to become potential customers.
464
6. References [1] Fahim Akhter., & Lami Kaya, (2008). “Building Secure e-Business Systems: Technology and Culture in the U.A.E”. In E-Business Applications Track of ACM SAC. Fortaleza, Brazil, March 16-20. [2] Fahim Akhter., (2007). “A case study: adoption of information technology in e-business of United Arab Emirates”. In IEEE International Conference on e-Business Engineering. Hong Kong, China, October 24-26. [3] Jarvenpaa, S. L. Tractinsky, J. and Saarinen, L. (1999). Consumer trust in an Internet store: a cross-cultural validation. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Vol. 5 (2). [4] Karake-Shalhoub, Z. (2006). Trust and Loyalty in Electronic Commerce: An Agency Theory Perspective. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. [5] Madar Research (2006). Dubai Knowledge Economy – Volume 1. Available online: http://madarresearch.com/upload/UserItems/11.p df.
465
