A model of consumer eService adoption within Dubai

Abstract

This study will create a model to determine the level of adoption of eServices (consisting of eCommerce and eBanking) within Dubai, an Emirate within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and how this adoption has been influenced by an individual’s exposure to an ‘Emerging and Developing Economy’ and/or an ‘Advanced Economy’. The study investigates the ‘enablers’ and ‘inhibitors’ for individuals belonging to the Emerging and Developing Economies, Advanced Economies and a hybrid of the two. Lastly, for those individuals who do partake in eServices the researcher also identifies similar trends and differences in usage patterns between Dubai and Advanced Economy countries and regions such as the United States (US), Canada, United Kingdom (UK) and Western Europe.This research utilises a positivist methodological approach in the collection and analyses of the primary data vital to achieving the aforementioned aims surrounding the adoption of eServices within Dubai. Two anonymous research instruments, online questionnaires, were distributed to potential respondents, firstly in 2005, and then a more advanced version in 2008. Both research instruments were distributed throughout Dubai via social networking sites, expatriate website groups, multi-national companies’ HR departments, Dubai Government organisations and several Emirati only and mixed nationality universities, to both faculty and students. The research instrument posed questions covering demographics, cultural exposure, Internet usage, eServices usage, enablers and inhibitors of eServices usage, eServices companies utilised, goods and services purchased and security considerations.The primary data was captured in an online database. The following statistical tests and reports were created using SPSS, frequency tables, descriptive analysis, correlation tests, F-tests, T-tests; and, ANOVA tests. Microsoft Excel was used to convert this statistical data into table and graphical form.Arising from the statistical analyses and observations made during the course of this research, a model has been designed to determine the influence of cultural exposure on the adoption of eServices within a society rapidly moving from the ‘agrarian age’ to the ‘information age’ (Reigeluth & Garfunkle, 1994). This model utilised correlations to assess whether there is a significant relationship between cultural exposure and the eCommerce and eBanking variables. Additionally, it has assessed the relationship between each of the four components of cultural exposure, these being: the region of the last educational institute studied at; the region of citizenship at birth; the region of birth; and the current region of citizenship.The cultural exposure variable was determined separately for both eBanking and eCommerce over the two data collection periods, by computing a weighted average for each component of cultural exposure. This was performed to differentiate the four factors and provide a continuous range. Additionally, t-tests were utilised to determine whether the answers to specific questions differed between those using eBanking and those not, and F-tests to determine whether those who answered Likert-scale questions had differential answers based on the Likert-scale value for each question.The individual components of cultural exposure all had strongly significant correlations with each other. With regard to the main hypotheses, every aforementioned cultural exposure variable had a significant relationship with eCommerce, with only current region of citizenship being correlated with eBanking.The study assessed the hypotheses designed to determine the relationship between cultural exposure and its four culturally related components when tested against the 2008 primary data set and its interrelationship between cultural exposure and its potential influence in the adoption of eBanking and eCommerce. With regard to the main hypotheses, every cultural exposure variable had a significant relationship with eCommerce, except for region of birth.The findings and analysis made throughout this research provide varying levels of benefits for eService organisations, governments and future researchers.eServices organisations will now have access to comprehensive statistical analyses, providing them with insight into the enablers and inhibitors of eServices within Dubai and/or an Emerging and Developing Economy that shows the same traits as Dubai. These organisations can also benefit from the analysis conducted surrounding the cultural aspects, in particular the ‘innovators’, ‘early adopters’, ‘early majority’, ‘late majority’ or ‘laggards’ (Rogers, 1995) and eServices usage patterns in Dubai. With this information, these eServices organisations can refine their existing business plans and redevelop their marketing strategies to target a particular demographic or product range.Governments who wish to transcend from either an agrarian, pre-industrial, or industrial society to the information age can use the approach and findings of this research in the evaluation of their community’s level of technology adoption. This research will also empower government sponsored academic institutes to change their current education curricula to assist their populace in making the necessary changes to their current mindset and philosophies, so that the transition to the information age is more efficiently managed (Reigeluth & Garfunkle, 1994).There has been an extensive amount literature produced in relation to technology adoption, such as the Diffusion of Technology (Rogers, 1995), Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989), Technology adoption lifecycle (Brown & Venkatesh, 2003) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003), to name but a few. However, previous literature focused on Emerging and Developing Economies, while informative and insightful, failed to explore all aspects of eServices and its potential within these environments. This study sought to address that omission. As such, it provides a foundation for future analysis into eServices and technology adoption within Dubai, the Middle East and, potentially, all Emerging and Developing Economies.