Developing and Validating a Cultural User Satisfaction Instrument in Developing Countries

ABSTRACT

The competition among international cell phone providers necessitates the measurement of the cell phone technology success in developing countries in which African cultural heritage plays an important role. Efforts have been made to validate the end user computing satisfaction (EUCS) instrument of Doll and Torkzadeh as well as Hofstede’s Value Survey Module 1994 (VSM-94) instrument in cross-cultural settings. However, the culture measurement items derived from VSM-94 could not be applicable without taking into account cultural dimensions that have been found to be appropriate to developing countries which share African culture. Data were collected from 220 cell phone users from Haiti to validate EUCS and to expand its content with items from an instrument newly developed for measuring fatalism, conformism, snobbism, time management, and information sharing. The Churchill instrument development approach was adapted to develop and validate the instrument. Practical and theoretical implications are offered.

KEYWORDS:

• Cell phone
• culture
• developed countries
• developing countries
• IT measurement
• IT satisfaction