Mobile ICT use in early adopter vs. late majority countries

The rapid global diffusion of smartphones has not been uniform.
This study uses Triandis’ theory of interpersonal behaviour to investigate what
drives smartphone use in early adopter (USA) versus late majority (Slovakia)
countries. By surveying both current and potential owners, we also revisit
Karahanna et al.’s question: Do potential adopters and users of IT hold the
same behavioural and normative beliefs? Partial least squares analysis finds
that habit, affect, and perceived social norms explain 65% of the intention to
buy a smartphone. Surprisingly, perceived consequences (i.e., perceived
usefulness) and whether people live in an early adopter versus late majority
country, are not significant. Comparing users and non-users finds that they
differ in almost every attribute measured in the study, and that users intend to
continue using a smartphone whereas non-users have more ambivalent
intentions.