Adoption of Internet Shopping: Cultural Considerations in India and Australia

Abstract

The current research paper examines the adoption of internet shopping patterns exhibited by Indian women currently residing in India and Australia emphasizing on the prevailing cultural dimensions. A conceptual framework has been developed based on the theoretical background which links intention to shop over internet and Hofstede's cultural dimensions to adoption of internet shopping. In order to test the stated hypotheses, the proposed relationships between the variables were empirically verified. A web based survey was employed by using online questionnaire as a research instrument and the respondents were approached by posting the questionnaire to various newsgroups. The results of the study reveal that intention of internet shopping as measured with the perceived attributes significantly influences the actual adoption of internet shopping. With regard to the prevailing cultural dimensions in the country of origin (India), the results obtained are as expected and significantly influence the internet purchases. Where as with regard to the prevailing cultural dimensions in the country of residence (Australia), most of the results obtained are as predicted except for the dimension masculinity versus femininity. The results obtained are promising for internet marketers to formulate effective marketing strategies apart from venture capitalists and e-commerce business strategies.