Differential effects of occupation on Internet usage

Although there has been much publicity about the Internet, empirical research focusing on it is still relatively sparse. Most research on the Internet has been carried out in Europe or USA rather than Asia. This study examines the differential effects of occupation on Internet usage in an Asian country, namely, Singapore. Data were collected on Internet users via a questionnaire placed on the World Wide Web. From three main occupational groups (students, non-IT personnel and IT personnel) 1,299 usable responses were obtained. Differential effects of occupation in terms of Internet usage patterns, tasks preferences and factors affecting an enjoyable Internet experience were examined. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy Volume 8 · Number 2 · 1998 · pp. 156–165 © MCB University Press · ISSN 1066-2243 The author would like to thank Raye Lai for his assistance in data collection. 1996), marketing (Quelch and Klein, 1996), human resource management (Greengard, 1995), electronic publishing (Wills and Wills, 1996), and for obtaining business intelligence (Pawar and Sharda, 1997). In addition, issues relating to the Internet such as information security (Doddrell, 1996), intellectual property rights (Small, 1996), data integrity (Mathieu and Woodard, 1996), and legal risks (Smith, 1996) have also been examined. Hence, it is obvious that there are a wide diversity of uses and issues pertaining to the Internet, which perhaps help to account for its growing importance among individuals and organizations. Singapore is an ideal country in Asia to examine the Internet phenomenon since it has been known to have one of the highest density of Internet users in the world, and boasts the largest number of Internet messages and chat groups (Tan, 1995). Furthermore, Singapore is also well-known worldwide for its IT2000 plan that aims to turn Singapore into an intelligent island by the turn of the century (National Computer Board, 1992). In fact, the number of Internet users in Singapore is expected to increase from about 100,000 in 1996 to 250,000 by the end of the decade (Lee, 1995). In Singapore, Palvia et al. (1995) have examined Internet awareness and usage at the local universities while other researchers such as Goren and Turban (1996) have explored the teaching of Internet in information systems classes. In a study by the Survey Research of Singapore, an overwhelming 82 percent of Internet users believed that the Internet will become a necessity in the future (Straits Times, 1996). Currently, the National Computer Board, a government institution which oversees the adoption of information technology (IT) in Singapore, has several ongoing studies on the Internet, focusing on the demographic profiles of Internet users as well as usage patterns in homes and businesses (Lee, 1996). However, most of these studies are very general in nature and have not been published in academic journals. Our study is more focused and seeks to contribute further to a better understanding of the Internet phenomenon in Singapore. Specifically, we examine the differential effects of occupation by comparing the perceptions of students, non-IT and IT personnel on the following areas: • detailed usage patterns; • tasks the Internet is used for; and • factors affecting an enjoyable Internet experience. Differential effects of occupation have been investigated in previous research in various areas such as knowledge and skills requirements (Nelson, 1991), and motivational patterns (Ferratt and Short, 1986; Im and Hartman, 1990). However, to date, few have investigated the differential effects of occupation in the context of the Internet.