The Adoption of Information Technologies and Behaviour of Consumers - Research Paper Example

Impact of IT Advancements and Innovations on Consumer Behavior Contents INTRODUCTION 2 1.OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC 2 2.BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH STUDY4 1.3.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH 7 1.4.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 7 2.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 8 2.1.RESEARCH DESIGN 8 2.2.RESEARCH STRATEGY 8 2.3.TYPE/APPROACH TO RESEARCH 9 2.4.DETAILS OF THE RESEARCH METHODS  9 2.5.RESEARCH TOOL 10 2.6.SAMPLING STRATEGY 10 2.7.FIELDWORK DETAILS 11 2.8.ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 11 3.DATA ANALYSIS 12 4.CONCLUSION 25 5.REFERENCES 27 6.Appendix 31 Questionnaire 31 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC The world has witnessed some great technology innovations in the recent past. This has made an effect on the lives of the people. The fast growing technologies and economic globalization have provoked the changes in the behavior of a consumer. Individuals feel comfortable and are more dependent on using telecommunication and information technologies for communication. Whether it is inside or outside the organization adaptation of these technologies, improves the flow of information (Desmond, 2003). Consumer behavior comprises of different factors including feelings, thoughts, experiences and actions which are executed during the process of communication. These feelings, thoughts and actions are influenced by all the elements existing in the environment (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard, and Hogg, 2010). Consumer behavior is changing with the passage of time as feelings, actions and thinking of individuals, and consumer groups are changing continuously (Hawkins, &Mothersbaugh, 2009). Since the advancement in information technologies, a consumer’s daily life and activities have changed a lot. Today, consumers from around the world are aware of information technologies and the majority of them adopt these information technologies (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). The behavior of consumers has changed due to the advancement in information technologies (Evans, Jamal, and Foxall, 2009). The process of adopting information technologies is fairly low but once it is adapted, there consumers become highly used to technology and its usage. Statistics reveal that since 2004, the use of the internet has been doubled each year. At the beginning of 2008, it was estimated that almost half of the world’s population have been engaged in using the internet (Weber, 2008). There are numerous theories that explain what affects the adoption of information technologies and behavior of consumers. For instance, the most vital elements are the following: The point when an individual considers that it would be helpful for him, or her to achieve benefits in a work environment if he or she uses the system; The point when a person feels comfortable while using the system; The point when a person sees others as using the technology; The point when an individual feels the existence of encouragement and where the use of new technologies and systems are supported (Gaile-Sarkane, 2002) The purchasing attitude of a consumer could be influenced by various factors fluctuating from social, economical and psychological to cultural. Though, it cannot be claimed clearly that whether information and communication technology do affect the behavior of a consumer and if it has an influence then to what extent. A study has been conducted to identify this phenomenon where one hundred respondents were chosen, and the study has revealed that out of these hundred respondents 30 were the producers and 30 were consumers. The results concluded that the buying behavior of the consumers is affected by information and communication technology. The study also presented recommendations that information and communication technologies should be taken as a child of essentiality by the marketing and manufacturing companies. By doing this, it will help in improving their sales promotion (Chukwurah, 2009). With the advancements in information technology, consumers have become empowered by using these new technologies. When it comes to relationships with brands, technology has strengthened the bonds between the consumers and businesses. Consumers have started buying products and services online and thus the advancement in technology has favoured the consumers. Consumers, today approaches social media as it is a critical source for information regarding products or brands etc (Empathica, 2012). The growth and advancement in information technology have produced electronic commerce. E-commerce is one of the most powerful outcomes of information technology. This innovation is only few years old, but it may change the economic behavior and the social environment (Chaffey, 2006). Through information technology, the world is like a small place where everybody can reach and share information rapidly and efficiently (Lee, 2002). The world has turned out to be a global village. The innovation in information technology has affected the lives of people. Individuals could communicate easily through electronic mails than before. Information technology has a strong influence on teachers and students. Overall the society has embraced the technology rather than rejecting it. Even many of us recognize that information technology has been influencing daily routines and lives of individuals and it has changed the way people live in the society (East, Wright, and Vanhuele, 2008). 1.2. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH STUDY IT plays a vital role in the lives of people. In every human activity, whether it is about official life or daily life, IT influences everything (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004). Over some years, the ideas related to e-consumer and internet marketing has been deeply evaluated. Internet has been a user friendly technology which has influenced the approach of people in communicating, working and executing business activities (Eley, & Thilley, 2009). A fresh market place and a new consumer are upcoming as a result of this innovation in information technology. Today companies are doing business with a consumer that has been described in the past as active, knowledgeable and post modern. With the characteristics of high level heterogeneity and having more access to IT, the new consumers have appeared to occupy an associated marketplace (Ganesh, Reynolds, Luckett, & Pomirleanu, 2010). With the rapid increase in information technology, the way of doing business has changed a lot globally. In B2C (business to the consumer) sector, there has been a significant increase in sales over the web over the previous few years. The adoption of new shopping channels by the consumers has not only taken place in the developed countries but also in the developing countries. Information technology not only plays a crucial role in businesses but also in everyday life of individuals. The usage of internet used by the organizations for the purpose of marketing has been increasing every year (O’Dougherty, Haynes, Davies, & O’Connor, 2007). Similarly, the amount of consumers using the internet for buying goods apart from just assembling information is increasing. Consumer seeks information or searches for products to make their purchase decision on the website (Kotler, & Keller, 2007). Through internet, organizations also witness the improvement in customer value and customer satisfaction and customer awareness which results in improved profitability and better market share. As far as the customers are concerned, services related to information technology reduce the costs for search, increase the range of vendors, deliver cheaper products/ services, and enhances the easiness, which allows more authority over the products and services being offered (Verhagen, & van Dolen, 2011). In this era of information technology, consumer behavior is the method of communicating with an online market, interacting with the business and nearing towards judgments which the marketer influences through presentations. Due to these advancements in technology, behavior of a consumer that is involved in buying and purchasing online has increased. The global competition has increased, and the bargaining power of consumers has risen due to ease of access to the internet and less occurrence of costs in making transactions (Peter, and Olson, 2008). IT has an influence on everything such as manufacturing products, raw materials, time, consumer prices, workers, consumer behavior, etc. With the help of such innovations in information technology, the product reaches the consumer with good quality and preferred quantity (Dennis, Merrilees, Jayawardhena, & Wright, 2009). Advancements in technology have expanded the media offering new opportunities and offer a whole new path to look at the current marketing. Today a new consumer is being characterized largely by pessimistic behavior manifested for internet obsession and traditional marketing. The emotional reaction towards a website, the effectiveness and the enjoyment which the online shopping website provides are some of the factors which has influenced the attitude of consumers and make them visit the website again. The age, education, gender and experience of internet affects the time of searching the information by the consumers (Schiffman, and Kanuk, 2010). The new and fresh consumers including young adults are more aware and more involved towards the adaptation of new technologies as compared to the old consumers. Today consumers are more interested in finding new products, searching for information of products/services, comparing and evaluating the alternatives. The reason behind this fact could be that old consumers may perceive advantages of internet shopping as less beneficial and thus stayed away from online shopping. It is also being revealed that men are more interested in experiencing the various types of technology in the process of shopping. A man is more optimistic in experiencing internet as a medium of shopping than the females. The online shopping provides a high level of privacy and safety which builds up the trust of consumers. With these technological advancements consumers are experiencing more benefits. For instance with online shopping a consumer could gain significant knowledge and information about firms, products/ services which in conventional shopping it is not possible (Ha, & Stoel, 2012). 1.3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH The aims and objectives of the research study are: To analyze the impact of advancement in technology on the consumers To analyze how technology has influenced and impact the businesses To analyze the changes in the behavior of consumers with advancement in technology 1.4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH This research study is highly significant for different reasons. The research study is important for businesses and managers as well. Businesses that are using information technology and businesses that are not using information technology both can use this research to improve the use of technology. In addition to this, different aspects of changes in the behavior of the consumers have been analyzed in this research study and this can be helpful for business managers and marketers as well. This research study is helpful for people in the IT department as well as this research will highlight the significance of IT in the business and its impact on the consumers. Therefore this research will also encourage more advancement in technology. 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1. RESEARCH DESIGN One of the main factors that play a decisive role in the conducting the research is a well devised research design. The research design outlined and developed in this chapter will provide a guideline to the researcher in scientifically exploring the results from the data collected for the purpose (Beiske, 2007). This in turn will enable the researcher to fulfill the research aims and objectives of the study. The aim of this research being the exploring and describing the impact of advancement in information technology on the consumer behavior, the research method employed for the purpose is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Hence, the researcher with the systematic tools will explore and describe the impact of IT on the consumer behavior. 2.2. RESEARCH STRATEGY The strategy refers to the system of plan that will be employed for the achievement of the stated objectives (Beiske, 2007). The systematic and scientific implementation of the strategy implies that the well proven systems are taken on board for the achievement of result in an authentic manner (Goddard, & Melville, 2004). With this definition of strategy at work, the research strategy employed is deductive in nature. The deductive research strategy is one that uses already developed theories. Impact of IT advancement is an immensely studied topic and using such theories the impact of IT on CB will be assessed. 2.3. TYPE/APPROACH TO RESEARCH For the successful implementation of strategy, the role of approach needs considerable attention (Neuman, 2005). The approach as the name implies is the system to get closer to the objective. The research methodology has developed qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Both these approaches are employed in this study for arriving at comprehensive results. The qualitative research is one that uses the information that does not provide empirical evidence and focuses on conceptual and theoretical information (Sekaran, 2006). In the underlying research, the qualitative approach is employed in developing the literature review in order to prepare and review about the already developed information in the context of the study. Additionally, the quantitative research is one that provides empirical evidence to contribute to the research objectives (Saunders, Thornhill, & Lewis, 2009). The empirical evidence in the quantitative research is developed using statistical tools on the data collected. This study will be using descriptive analysis on the data collected through questionnaire. 2.4. DETAILS OF THE RESEARCH METHODS  Data collection is critical to study as it is the source through which the research objectives are to be arrived at the conclusion. The research method used for the data collection in this study includes both primary and secondary research methods. The primary research method refers to the collection of data for assessment for the first time with the stated objectives. This method provides raw information that has not been through any assessment technique before (Patton, 2002). On the other hand, the secondary method for data collection is one that uses already collected data for some other purpose or the study and draws required and relevant information for this study (Stewart, 1993). The primary data is collected using questionnaire developed for the purpose. While the secondary data will be collected from the authentic sources such as scholarly articles, books, journals, research reports etc. Plan to implement both methods of data collection is made in order to ensure that results derived from this study are comprehensive. With the collectively using both method, the researcher will be able to developed review about the alignment of the responses of the participants of the study with the already developed research results. 2.5. RESEARCH TOOL For the collection of the primary data, questionnaire tool will be used. The questionnaire is systematically structured tool based on queries requiring responses from the participants of the study (Maylor, & Blackman, 2005). It is developed on the basis of information collected from the literature review in alignment to the research requirement. To get well defined responses for the empirical assessment, the questionnaire is based on the closed ended questions that limit the answer with respect to the given choices. Closed ended questionnaire enables the collection of information in a cost efficient and standardized form from a wider group. However, it is also faced with certain limitation such as response rate of the questionnaire with complete and usable information is often low. However, overall benefit of the questionnaire is considered to have an important role to play in the effective data collection. As this study does not aim to require any personal information which participant is hesitant to provide; therefore, expects the considerable positive response rate. 2.6. SAMPLING STRATEGY Impact of technology has been far and wide and so all those who have received the impact are the subject of this study. However, it is also a fact that all respective participants cannot be accessed and to overcome this limitation, the research methodology provides sampling technique. Sampling enables the collection of the required information from the set of people who are representative of the entire population with certain margin of error. Among different sampling strategies, the research has adopted the random sampling which enables the researcher to collect information from the wider section of the population on a random basis. As information is present everywhere; therefore, no condition with respect to age, gender, education and other factors are defined for the participants to be a part of the study. 2.7. FIELDWORK DETAILS The data collection using questionnaire will be administered online and also randomly at different sites close to the presence of the researcher. Online questionnaire will collect data from a wider pool. On the other hand, randomly on field and on ground presentation of the questionnaire will overcome the impact of limited online environment. Collectively, 300 questionnaires will be administered (on the ground and field), and collective response rate of the usable questionnaires is maintained at 50%. 2.8. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS To make the research concrete and valuable and to meet all the ethical consideration, the researcher has taken following measures: The participants will be clearly informed of the objective of study. Moreover, they will be given written consent that the information provided will be maintained with all the confidentiality and will not be used for any other purpose. The participants will also be required to provide written consent that all information provided in the questionnaire is correct as it plays its respective role in the development of results. 3. DATA ANALYSIS This is the most crucial section of the research as it is concerned with assessing the data collected for the stated research objectives. Data is collected using questionnaires which were administered online as well as presented to the range of customers on different locations. Using descriptive technique of statistical assessment, the results arrived at are presented in this section with graphical representation. Importantly, complete questionnaires used for the assessment of the data constituted 150 questionnaires from respondents which forms 50% of the total floated. This comprises of 81 male and 69 female respondents with the following age bracket: AGE   10-below 16 18-38 44 38-58 52 58 and above 38 The above age based segregation of the respondents implies that most of the participants fell between the ages of 18 to 58. Hence, the compilation of the information from the matured people (presumably people get matured and settled within this age bracket) implies that responses will based on well-thought selections. The question-wise assessment of the data collected is as follows: QUESTION # 1 The responses have revealed that more than 50% of people have rated I.T’s role as the most important. Moreover, additional 29% of the respondents also have considered it as important. Importantly, it is only 7% of the total participants who considered the information technology to limited or with no impact. QUESTION # 2 Though the fact remains that customers have been directly or indirectly influenced by the information technology related products and services; however, this question was aimed to explore the view of the participant. As a result, participants showed great awareness about the fact that their behavior has been under the constant influence of information technology. Importantly, only minimal percentage of the participants was of view in contradiction to the vast majority. The reason behind such opinion fell beyond the scope of the study; however, presents an opportunity to explore the factors that lead to such opinion. QUESTION # 3 Social pressures have also been playing the role in driving the society towards the certain direction and the respondents of the study also implied same results. Therefore, market growth of many social networks is also linked to this factors. Also, the technologically developed products such as mobile phones and tablets have proven social pressures leading to their adoption. Notable is the fact that customers who consider social pressures as important factors is 70% (41% rated it under very much increased while 29% rated increased). Furthermore, less than a quarter percentage of the total respondents considered social factor with limited importance. Customers with such opinion about the limited role of social pressure may constitute customer who are defined as innovators and early adopters. These are customers who influence the society rather than receiving it. QUESTION # 4 The wide 92% of the total respondents were of the view that information technology has benefitted with the information provision. It is also for the reason that it is so entitled and all technological developments in the contemporary world has given considerable attention towards the development of products and services. This has increased the information collection sources for the customers. The development over a period of time from search engines to the smart phones and tablet are aimed at serving customers to take advantage of the increased information. QUESTION # 5 The respondents were of the mix view about the growing power of the customers. The results were contrary to the presumption that growing I.T has not only reduced the time period across the product lifecycle but also with the increased number of option available at hand with the customers, I.T has significantly increased the power of customers. Moreover, the responses had comparable mix. Around 42% of the customer were of the view that such developments have increased the power while 38% of the customer were less convinced of the fact. Further, 20% remained on neutral view. Hence, this implies that influx of the excessive information has also affected the real power of customers in making an informed decision. QUESTION # 6 As a matter of fact, incremental growth of the information technology has influenced the customers and consumers in their behavior. Therefore, the above question was aimed to rate the role of some of the such factors. Broadly two types of factors were listed; first that claimed the benefit from the information technology and the second were the concerns of the consumers. For the positive aspects, increased choices, freedom from visiting the shops and convenience won the rating followed by competitive pricing and time saving. On the other hand, factors like multi-tasking and ease in decision making have received less rates as highly important factors. It also appears practical and logical that as the customers are available with the increased choices, the decision making gets difficult. In fact, mutli-tasking and ease in decision making were considered least important by a number of people in contrast to other factors considered having the positive contribution or influence of I.T on the consumer behavior. Two factors were accounted to explore the negative influence of information technology on consumer behavior. The most important factors that influnece the consumers from IT is the security and its concerns. Therefore it reveals that people are still not sure about the security of online shopping despite of development in IT. This factor is followed by the difficulty to trust the brand. It is necessary to notice that concerns of security have surpassed the positive contribution of I.T in driving consumer behavior in a certain direction. This implies that the growth and acceptance of the information technology by the customers will further increase as the security concerns are responded effectively and customers are given the trustable environment to take advantage of the ease offered by I.T. From now onward the questions assessed are aimed to explore the view of the customers about the negative impact of information technology on the consumer behavior. QUESTION # 7 Despite the high level of interconnectivity across the social media and other sources of the connectivity, people are of view that distance between and among the family members has increased. On assessment, nearly 40% of the participants agreed on this proposition while nearly 33% considered it true but only to a certain extent. However, still 27% of the total respondents retained view that such information technological developments have not caused any such harmful impact on consumers. It is necessary to understand that role of age is considerably important in these ideas. Therefore, more detailed assessment can be found by applying sophisticated techniques such as regression while controlling factors like age. QUESTION # 8 There is constant debate about the usage of the personal information by the information technology developers and other businesses in reaching the customers which is mostly without permission. These measures are a violation of freedom and also a privacy breach. This debate has received nearly full support of the wide majority of the customers considered such breach as the biggest threat from the information technology. Moreover, 30% percent of the customers considered this as limited threat while only 7% of the customers considered it as no threat. This result implies that mushroom growth of the online business will continue to face pressure as the customers are concerned for the security of the personal information and its non-permised use which will affect the customers relationship with such businesses. QUESTION # 9 Another concern that is affecting the customers behavior in an adverse manner with the influx of the information technology is the health issues. Extensive use of information technology is everywhere in the lives of consumers. In an urge to take the advantages of the convenience, fast pace and other factors, the consumers were asked to provide a view that if such drive from information technology is creating the health issues. Except 14%, majority of the customers either considered it true while some agreed with it to a certain extent. This implies that customers are growing awareness about the real value proposition from the information technology developments and also giving attention to its negative impact as well. QUESTION # 10 Finally, the respondents were required to provide opinion that regulation on the information technological development in terms of products and services of any kind will play an effective in controlling the growth of its negative impact. To this enquiry, 70% of the customers had a view that such measures will have limited impact in improving the situation. On the other hand, only 10% of the customers were of the view that such regulation will have a positive impact. Despite fact of realization, that excessive integration of information technology in our lives is having a negative impact; however, the customers are also used to with the freedom and independence that such technological development has brought in. For example, the video games has eliminated the mandatory presence of the partner even for playing the team based games such as football, tennis and even chess. Hence, it can be presumed that customers are not ready to compromise the independence that they have gained with the products and service from the information technology. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY Hence, in a nutshell following result has been derived: Customer is open to accept the growth of influence of information technology on the lives due to social pressures and other benefits offered by the I.T. Importantly customers have a mixed view about the proportionate growth of customers power with I.T. The concern of security has grown higher than the benefits of I.T as considered by the customers to influence their behavior. The increased choices and freedom from visiting shops to get something are among the most valued benefits of I.T. to influence the consumers. Consumers consider the security issue as most important followed by health concerns but still are not ready to compromise the freedom in the face of regulation. Across the analysis of the questions, the analysis has identified some of the potential explanations. Such presumption offer an important avenue that can be explored in future research. 4. CONCLUSION This section of the study is developed to present the conclusions and recommendation on the basis the data assessed in this study. The conclusion of the study is based on the results explored in the previous section after assessing the data collected using a questionnaire. Consequently reviewing the changes in the behavior of the participants of the study, the recommendations are developed. For the exploring the impact of the information technology on the behavior of the consumer, the study revealed massive impact in the regard. This impact is driven by a range of factors while each factor has an important role to play. The result revealed that role of information technology is high in defining the pattern of the consumer’s behavior with choice, convenience and security matters receiving highest considerations. These results are in line with the literature developed in the context. For example, Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, (2012) assessed these factors under the hedonic, price value, motivation, social pressures and found the complex roles under the influence of technology. Important factors explored in the study are about the growing maturity of the consumer behavior despite the massive influx and the resulting influence from the information technology. This maturity was evident from the perspective that despite the fact that customers agree on the increasing role of the IT in lives, the participants have equally grown concerns about the negative impact. Among the three perspectives, the customers have highest concern for the information tracking. The customers consider the rising health issues due to the influx of information technology on second place. The growing distance between the family members is given third ranking in place. The conclusions of the study have significant implications for the information technology developer as well as marketers of different business. The increase in use of information technology based products and services have raised awareness among the customers for their increased power. However, comparative percentage is also of view that not so much impact in power of customers is present on the ground. This has already started to pressure the business and will further continue to increase while also presents the opportunity. For example, realization that the customer can post dissatisfaction on the any of the virtual community platform shall be taken increasingly seriously by the business as researches have already established its considerably positive role on the customers behavior. Alongside, businesses can make strategy win the customers’ trust about their value power can also result in customers’ loyalty for certain business. Furthermore, rising concerns with the use of information technology also has significant implications. For instance, the business will catch-up the idea of the increased safety in the services will have immense potential to magnet the customers. One of such examples is the safe payment system of Paypal etc. This also implies that failure to address these factors will have a negative impact on the customers using I.T. based services. Hence, it is not only beneficial to have the mobile application for the customer but also the ensure safety for those who land up using I.T based services. Alongside, it also implies that information technology developers will be under massive pressure to review the health issues resulting from such products and products. Hence, business in I.T based product and service provision have potential to capture the market with safer products and services. 5. REFERENCES Beiske, B. (2007). Research Methods: Uses and Limitations of questionnaires, interviews and case studies. GRIN Verlag Blackwell, R., Miniard, P., and Engel, J. (2006). Consumer Behaviour 10th Edition. Mason, OH: Thomson South Western Chaffey, D. (2006). Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. Financial Times.Prentice Hall. Chukwurah, C. (2009). Influence of information and communication technology on consumer purchasing behaviour in Calabar Urban, Cross River State, Nigeria. International Journal of Education Economics and Development, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 95-102. Dennis, C., Merrilees, B., Jayawardhena, C., & Wright, L. T. (2009). E-consumer behaviour. European Journal of Marketing, vol. 43, no. 9/10, pp. 1121-1139. Desmond, J. (2003). Consumer Behaviour. London: Palgrave.  East, R., Wright, M., and Vanhuele, M. (2008). 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Very much increased Increased Somewhat increased Not Increased Not all increased 4- Do you think advancement in IT has also benefitted in terms of options for the information collection? Massive Little Somewhat Not so much Not at all 5. Do you think advancement in IT has increased the power of customers? Yes, very much Yes, but little Don’t know Somewhat Not at all 6- Rate the role of factors that have influenced your life with the information technology: FACTORS Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not so much Important Least important Convenience Time saving Increased choices Competitive pricing Reward points benefits Ease in decision making Multi-tasking Doesn’t require to visit shop Security concerns Difficult to trust new brands 7.-Information technology has also negatively impacted your lives. Do you agree? Yes No To a certain extent 8- Use of personal information for tracking the customers’ personal information is a biggest concern of IT developments. Are you aware of it? Yes No To a certain extent 9-Information technology has also created health issues. Do you agree? Yes No To a certain extent 10- Greater regulation on the usage of information technology development options will improve the condition. Do you agree? Yes No To a certain extent Read More