Abstract - The Information Society 28(3)

The Role of Social Culture in Internet Adoption in Greece: Unpacking ‘I Don’t Want to Use the Internet’ and Frequency of Use

Panayiota Tsatsau

This article examines the role of social culture in Internet adoption in Greece. It employs Hofstede’s five-dimensional framework of national culture and analyses the European Social Survey 2008 data. It finds that social culture in general and particularly people’s past or future orientation in life, and to a lesser extent their degree of openness to difference and novelty in life, are significant drivers of Internet adoption in Greece. It argues that the persistently low level of Internet adoption in Greece can be explained by pointing to a traditional, uncertainty-avoidant, and novelty-resistant culture that discourages technological development and innovation. It concludes that behind the statement ‘I don’t want to use the Internet’ and frequency of use and other such behavioural patterns, one should look beyond demographics, practical, and real-life factors and examine broader and socio-culturally embedded drivers of Internet adoption.

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