Explaining the Adoption of Mobile Information Services from a Cultural Perspective

Little research has been done to explore the adoption of mobile information services from a cultural perspective. This research is designed to study mobile information services adoption from a cultural perspective. Based on the three cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance), three research hypotheses are presented. To examine these hypotheses, an exploratory study is carried out with a mobile information service called eMSIS with both Norwegian students and Chinese students. Support was found for the three hypotheses. The findings indicate that the cultural dimensions play important roles in how mobile information services are used and adopted in two different cultural settings: the Norwegian culture and the Chinese culture. The results also highlight the relevance of the cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance) as the factors affecting the adoption of mobile information services.