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

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.