Adoption of Sustainable Technologies during Crisis: Examining Employees’ Perception and Readiness across Cultures

Abstract

Studies on technology adoption have generally found significant variations across cultures, with the literature suggesting a strong reluctance to adopt new technologies, particularly in non-western countries. Given the accelerated increase in remote working and collaboration during the COVID-19 crisis, this paper compares the determinants of sustainable technology adoption by employees across Western and Non-Western countries. Using a survey of 302 participants from 13 Western and non-Western countries, four proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and multi-group comparisons. The empirical results suggest a significant positive relationship between perceived ease of use and usefulness, influencing employees’ attitudes towards using sustainable technologies. We also found a significant positive effect between attitude towards using sustainable technologies and actual use. The indirect effect of perceived usefulness and ease of use on actual use via attitudes towards using was also positive and significant. We, however, found no significant differences between Western and non-Western countries in terms of the adoption of sustainable technologies.