The Adoption of IBM's Spoken Web in Information Poor Communities: A Pilot Study with Farmers in Gujarat, India

摘要

IBM's Spoken Web Service enables illiterate and disadvantaged communities in the developing world to create and access VoiceSites over the phone. A pilot study was used to examine the adoption of this service by a community of farmers in rural Gujarat, India. Data analysis carried out using the principles of grounded theory helped us identify the factors responsible for the adoption of the service by a community of information poor farmers. The over-arching themes that emerged were: community of practice among farmers, gatekeeping, and characteristics of the service. In particular, we find that endorsements and word of mouth are important disseminating mechanisms and that community and individual interests, norms of reciprocity and trust motivate participation in the service. In addition, gatekeeping mechanisms and gatekeepers play an important role in the adoption of this service.