A Cross-Cultural Study of Communication Technology Acceptance: Comparison of Cellular Phone Adoption in South Korea and the United States

This paper examines why and how cellular telephones are adopted and used by people in two different cultures. 176 cellular telephone users from the United States and 117 users from South Korea were surveyed about their perceptions regarding cellular telephones and their motivations to use them. The results suggest that despite some similarities in the adoption of cellular phone technology between the U.S and South Korea, significant differences exist. These differences parallel differences in usage levels and cost structures of cellular services in the two countries. Ironically, although cellular phones are more widely available in the U.S, users—for a variety of reasons—did not use them as often or as intensively as those in South Korea. Thus South Korea has a smaller, but more active user base of cellular phone subscribers compared to the U.S, which has a larger, but less active user base.Results of this study caution against developing stereotypical images of Western and Asian cultures. For instance, contrary to conventional wisdom, South Korean users were motivated to use cellular phones more from their perception that such technologies are useful and less as a consequence of social pressure. On the other hand, and just as unexpectedly, American users were motivated to use cellular phones more from social pressure and less from their individualistic needs. The changing social fabric of these cultures and their effects on new communication technologies need to be considered by those who study and those who provide these technologies.