Electronic commerce between businesses and consumers is rapidly spreading across the globe. As e-commerce expands, it is important to understand whether those from different cultures perceive e-commerce similarly. We use diffusion of innovation theory, coupled with theory on cultural norms, to examine the perceptions of subjects from Brazil, China and Malaysia. There are significant differences in the Brazilian and Malaysian subjects' perceptions of the relative advantage, compatibility, result demonstrability and visibility of Web-based shopping. Brazilian and Chinese subjects differed with respect to perceived visibility. There were no differences in the perceptions of Chinese and Malaysian subjects.
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