The Driving Internal Beliefs of Household Internet Adoption among Jordanians and the Role of Cultural Values

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a comprehensive model for the determinants of household Internet adoption through identifying the driving internal beliefs of individuals and the effect of cultural values on behavioral intention to adopt the household Internet among Jordanians. Given the widely recognized effect of cultural values on adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), this study, applying Hofstede’s multidimensional framework, investigated the effect of cultural values on the behavioral intention to household Internet adoption in micro level. The empirical examination of the research model indicated that the behavioral intention to household Internet adoption is determined directly by five internal beliefs, including perceived needs, perceived risks, perceived ease of use, perceived resources, and perceived image. The results provide supporting empirical evidence linking most of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to behavioral intention to household Internet adoption. With the exception of power distance, the results showed that collectivism (low individualism), masculinity, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance had significant effects on the behavioral intention to household Internet adoption. The results demonstrated differences in the driving forces and cultural impact on Internet adoption between households and organizations settings.