Cultural influence on consumers' usage of social networks and its' impact on online purchase intentions

Information technology has created an innovative way in which people communicate and interact. Particularly, social networking websites have become a popular virtual meeting place for consumers to converge and share information. Social networks allow consumers to voluntarily post personal information, upload photographs, send and receive messages, join groups, and blog at their leisure. Consumers now have the means to communicate their opinions about products and companies to other consumers "like themselves" at a critical point in the sales cycle the beginning. Retailers have a lot to gain by utilizing and harnessing the power of social networking to enhance their overall marketing strategy. Social networking provides the opportunity to learn about their consumers' needs, and then respond proactively and offers creative and effective ways to obtain insights not previously available. Additionally, social networking has moved from the fringes, become more mainstream and started influencing culture. Even though cross-cultural differences may exist and have an impact on the way people use social networking, at the end of the day it is all about being connected to each other and sharing information. It is imperative for retailers to incorporate social networking in their marketing strategy, as in today's business having social networking as a part of the business model is the rule rather than the exception. This conceptual paper puts forth a research model using Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Technology Acceptance Model 3 to examine the cultural influence on social networking and its influence on purchase intention. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.