Abstract:
The economic rise of China and India has created huge market opportunities for western IT providers. However, users in those countries have information system adoption patterns that are different from those of their western counterparts. As a result, many western companies have encountered difficulties in penetrating these markets. Thus, understanding the uniqueness of adoption habits of information system software in these two nations is critical for capturing future revenue streams. To explore how Chinese culture shapes the features of information systems, and subsequently how Chinese culture and technology interact, can have an impact on user behaviours. Facebook and RenRen were the two chosen websites for this study. Feature differences between the two sites were observed. A semi-structured interview with 30 Chinese immigrants (aged 20-35 years) was conducted in New Zealand. Participants were asked to reflect on their motivations and user experiences on the two social networking sites, and their understanding of Chinese culture in relation to western culture. The study found that Facebook is designed to cater for a multicultural online community: any specific culture becomes relatively diluted on the site. Compared to Facebook, RenRen can provide more customised service for a mono-cultural online community. People who prefer Facebook over RenRen have a tendency to become either more internationalised, or aim to be absorbed into the local western culture. People who use both RenRen and Facebook want to preserve some part of their cultural identity through using the website. In conclusion, technology can maintain the cultural identity of its users. As cultural identity is embedded in a person’s self-concept, it can subsequently have an influence on their technology preferences. The most popular technology does not necessarily mean the best technology. In an era of globalisation, more attention should be paid to mono-cultural websites.