The impact of national culture traits on the usage of web 2.0 technologies
| Published date | 17 August 2010 |
| Date | 17 August 2010 |
| Pages | 334-361 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/03055721011071458 |
| Author | Vincent M. Ribière,Maliha Haddad,Philippe Vande Wiele |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The impact of national culture
traits on the usage of web 2.0
technologies
Vincent M. Ribie
`re
The Institute for Knowledge and Innovation (IKI-SEA),
Bangkok University, Bangkok, Thailand
Maliha Haddad
School of Business, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA, and
Philippe Vande Wiele
School of Management, New York Institute of Technology, Adilya, Bahrain
Abstract
Purpose – Web 2.0 technologies are becoming popular and are being used not only for social
networking but also to facilitate communication and increase knowledge sharing in the work
environment. Extensive research has been conducted in the past to understand the factors affecting the
adoption and use of IT systems but few have studied the influence of national culture on such adoption
models. When it comes to web 2.0 usage, the literature is only emerging and the role of national culture
has not been addressed. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap.
Design/methodology/approach – In order to better understand the factors that affect the use of
web 2.0 technologies and the influence of national culture on it, data were collected from 376 young
adults in the age range of 18-29 from the USA, Thailand and Bahrain. A model was developed and
statistically tested to understand the influence of national culture traits, social grooming aspects,
efficiency, online privacy, perceived usefulness, subjective norms and gender.
Findings – Based on the type of web 2.0 usage (expressive or instrumental) different variables were
demonstrated to be significant predictors. For expressive usage, uncertainty avoidance, maintaining
relationships, online privacy and perceived usefulness were significant. For instrumental usage,
long-term orientation and perceived usefulness were significant. A ranking of various types of web 2.0
usage was also created, showing very few differences among countries.
Research limitations/implications – This research is the first step in a series of research activities
that should be conducted to better understand the influence of culture in the adoption and usage of
web 2.0 technologies. The sample was composed only of “Millennial” generation students and should
be extended to other generations and to other countries with markedly different cultural profiles.
Practical implications – The findings of the paper help to better understand the usage of web 2.0
technologies by young adults who are about to enter the labor market and are likely to use Enterprise
2.0 applications in their work environment. Since web 2.0 technologies are centered on the concepts of
communication, collaboration and information sharing, they will influence the behavior of future
knowledge workers in terms of knowledge sharing. Accordingly, better understanding of web 2.0 use
will help to improve the understanding of Enterprise 2.0 and knowledge management tools usage in a
global environment.
Originality/value – This paper’s original contribution stems from the fact that the influence of
national culture on the use of web 2.0 has not yet been addressed in the literature.
Keywords Worldwide web, Culture,Communication technologies,National cultures
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0305-5728.htm
VINE
40,3/4
334
VINE: The journal of information and
knowledge management systems
Vol. 40 No. 3/4, 2010
pp. 334-361
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0305-5728
DOI 10.1108/03055721011071458
1. Introduction
It is difficult to find a concise, generally agreed upon definition of web 2.0, a term
popularized by Tim O’ Reilly (2007). To some, such as Tim Berners-Lee, there is no real
novelty in web 2.0 since its applications are based on the internet platform and
infrastructure and use the http protocol. What many agree on is that it is a new phase
in internet evolution which represents a paradigm shif t in how individuals
communicate and collaborate with each other and the creation of their own user
experiences. A broad range of technologies and applications are categorized as web 2.0,
such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, socially-based applications such as Facebook,
Myspace, YouTube, Flickr and many others. Web 2.0 includes a wide range of web
sites where users create, produce, edit, and mix content without extensive technical
knowledge. Web 2.0, web 2.0 technologies, web 2.0 applications and web 2.0 sites are
terms that are often used interchangeably.
Generally, web 2.0 is described as being people-centric, participatory, interactive,
engaging, collaborative, emphasizing social interactions, and providing new
opportunities for individuals and businesses. A study by Tufekci (2008a)
distinguishes between the expressive (social) and instrumental (non-social) use of
the internet. Expressive internet usage is defined as the practice of social networking
while instrumental internet usage involves knowledge and information seeking as well
as e-commerce.
This paper explores the impact of national culture on the adoption and usage of web
2.0 technologies by three groups of undergraduate students from three different
countries: the US, Thailand and Bahrain. Some of the questions raised are: how do
national cultural traits, personal concerns, motives, beliefs and demographics influence
the purpose of web 2.0 usage (expressive and instrumental)? What can we learn
from the analysis of these different cultural groups in terms of internet usage and what
are the implications on cultural, social and business level? In a global survey conducted
by McKinsey & Company (2007), more than three-fourth of senior executives who
participated in the study indicated that web 2.0 applications are of strategic nature, and
plan to increase their investment in developing new applications.
2. Studies and factors related to web 2.0 usage
Many studies indicate an increasing and rapid adoption of web 2.0, especially social
networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and MySpace. Actually, studies show that
80-90 percent of college students have a profile on such sites (Gross et al., 2005; Lampe
et al., 2006; Stutzman, 2006). Several theoretical technology acceptance models, rooted
in information systems, psychology and sociology, were developed to explain user
intention and acceptance of new technology such as the ones based on the technology
acceptance model and extensions (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh et al., 2003) which provide a
useful starting point for analyzing technology adoption by individuals. However, the
technologies that are used within the web 2.0 scope require added dimensions and
understanding due to their collaborative, participatory and social characteristics. We
found that research on web 2.0 technologies adoption factors is still in the exploratory
stage and focuses mainly on social networking. A relevant study, based on the
theoretical framework of Dunbar (1998) and Goffman (1959), groups SNS activities in
two categories: social grooming and self presentation (Tufekci, 2008b). According to
Dunbar, gossip and people curiosity are the human version of social grooming in
Web 2.0
technologies
335
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