E-Business in Developing Countries: How Much Does Culture Really Matter?
23 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2016
Date Written: August 2008
Abstract
Researchers have pointed to relationships between technology diffusion and culture. To contribute to this existing knowledge base, this study investigates experts’ assessments of the pertinent cultural factors affecting e-business in Africa’s least developed countries compared to developing countries of Latin America. The authors surveyed experts concerning cultural factors affecting e-business in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The PLS analysis shows that experts believed that ICT Transfer Implementation directly influences e-business capabilities in SSA and Brazil, and e-business value in the rest of Latin America. In SSA, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and technology culturation has no effect on e-business outcomes. In Latin America, power distance interacts negatively with transfer implementation; uncertainty avoidance has no influence anywhere; and technology culturation positively influenced capabilities in Brazil only. These results contradict the common notion that “native culture” inhibits e-business adoption in developing countries.
Keywords: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Technology Transfer, Technology Implementation, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Technology Culturation, ICT for Development
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