Cultural factors that influence the adoption of e-commerce: A Palestinian case study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of various cultural dimensions on the acceptance of E- commerce in the Palestinian context. The developed theoretical framework is a modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), wherein the trust, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use act as mediators for the intention to use E-commerce. As such, five cultural dimensions were employed in the proposed model. These are; uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity, collectivism, and long-term orientation. Data was collected from a non-probabilistic sample of 418 participants using a pre-tested and validated questionnaire. Findings demonstrate that the hypothesized model was able to explain 62% of the variability of the intention towards the use of E-commerce. In particular, they signify a strong correlation between acceptance of E-commerce and the domestic culture of consumers, where uncertainty avoidance and power distance are the most vital cultural dimensions influencing the decision to transact online.