An international and cross-cultural perspective on ‘the wired consumer’: The digital divide and device difference dilemmas

Nicolas Papadopoulos and Mark Cleveland

Journal of Business Research, 2023, vol. 156, issue C

Abstract: This article studies the cross-cultural barriers that prevent much of the world’s population from enjoying the benefits of digitization and the ‘Wired World’. The implications and potential adverse consequences of advances in information and communication technologies for the ‘Wired Consumer’ are examined from two perspectives: The ‘Digital Divide’, which refers to levels of ownership and access to digital equipment and the Internet across cultures, and ‘Device Differences’, which focuses on how those technologies that are available and accessible are being used. Macro and micro barriers at the societal, institutional, governmental, corporate, and consumer levels, and their consequences at the societal versus individual consumer levels, are considered in detail to identify topics, key research themes, and relevant theories at the intersection between the role of culture and the wired world for individuals, cultures, and society. Implications for consumer behavior and marketing strategy are considered in the context of four main areas: Theory, policy, ethics, and practice. The article concludes by proposing a comprehensive research agenda that reflects a “call to arms” for this important but so far neglected field.

Keywords: Digitization; Culture; Cross-cultural barriers; Digital divide; Developed vs developing countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322009389
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:156:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322009389

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113473

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().