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Technology readiness and usage: a global-identity perspective

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Abstract

The past several decades have witnessed the rapid globalization of consumption markets and widespread diffusion of information and communication technologies. However, the use of technology by consumers is not a foregone conclusion. We investigate the role of global self-identity on the orientation toward technology readiness and usage. Relying on a social-identity model of motivation as our theoretical framework, we propose a model which incorporates global self-identity (i.e., cosmopolitanism/parochialism and global/local identification) and self-regulation (i.e., promotion and prevention focus) in predicting technology readiness and usage in a self-service technology context. The proposed model is tested in two different cultures, the U.S. and China, and is contrasted with two theoretically-competing models as well. Results provide support for the hypothesized model, and a number of limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and International Business, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, OH, 43606, USA

    Stanford A. Westjohn

  2. Department of Marketing, Saint Louis University, 3674 Lindell Blvd., Davis-Shaughnessy Hall, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA

    Mark J. Arnold

  3. Department of Marketing, Northern Illinois University, 128 Barsema Hall, Dekalb, IL, 60115, USA

    Peter Magnusson

  4. Department of Marketing, Bryant University, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI, USA

    Srdan Zdravkovic

  5. School of Business, Emporia State University, 1200 Commercial St., Emporia, KS, 66801, USA

    Joyce Xin Zhou

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  1. Stanford A. Westjohn
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Westjohn, S.A., Arnold, M.J., Magnusson, P. et al. Technology readiness and usage: a global-identity perspective. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 37, 250–265 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-008-0130-0

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