Examining privacy concerns and ecommerce adoption in developing countries: The impact of culture in shaping individuals' perceptions toward technology

Abstract

The emergence of ecommerce has revolutionized the manner in which firms could conduct business with customers by eliminating spatial and temporal barriers. However, the personal information that customers are often required to disclose poses a threat to individuals' information privacy. While information privacy threatens the adoption of ecommerce, different countries with different cultural values can further inhibit ecommerce adoption, while increasing individuals' concern for the privacy of their personal information. As such, this study investigated the impact of national culture on the relationship between information privacy and ecommerce adoption in developing countries. We argued that the privacy concerns and ecommerce adoption of individuals within a society is dependent upon the cultural values, despite its technological and economic infrastructure. We used Hofestede's cultural dimensions to develop our research model which was tested through survey questionnaires. Our findings indicated that the level of Internet safety perceptions, ecommerce acceptance, privacy concerns and personal interest are salient factors in informing individuals' intention to transact online. Essentially, these findings reflect the effect culture has on ecommerce adoption. However, interestingly, privacy concerns were not reflective of cultural values based on the results of this study, suggesting that the concept of information privacy is more complex than reflected by a society's culture.