A Comparative Study of Internet Usage in France and the UK

The research identifies the broad factors that influence the use of the Internet in France and the UK. A survey is undertaken to assess the factors that have shaped, and continue to shape, web use in a cross-cultural setting; in particular government intervention, business pressure and socio-cultural developments such as the evolution of popular culture. The survey highlights emerging trends concerning the growing popularity of online communication, accelerating socio-linguistic change and prompting discussion in France about how to limit English jargon being absorbed into the French language. To further the investigation, web use was monitored to evaluate language use online in an everyday context. French and English-language web logs (blogs) were used to indicate the transformative power of technology and language. How Universal is Online Consumer Behaviour? The context for this question is the emergence of online communication in a professional and social framework, at a time when both domains are undergoing significant growth in ICT (information and communications technology), referred to as NTIC (nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication) in France. The purpose of comparing Internet use and adoption across two different cultures serves to identify marketing opportunities and provides a deeper understanding of cross-cultural communications. The capabilities of the Internet fall into two broad categories: firstly, a communications medium and secondly, a direct response medium enabling users to purchase and sell products and services (Cravens and Piercy, 2003). The “reach” and speed of Internet communication coupled with its unique characteristics of interactivity and personalisation made Internet communication a useful tool for individuals and business alike (Chan-Olmsted and Ha, 2003). As a communications medium, the Internet provides users with access to other web users worldwide. Individuals can choose how and when to communicate and to whom; for example using Internet telephony or a web cam, in real-time (web conferencing) or consecutively (email). As a commercial means of communication, the Internet business model gives suppliers direct access to existing and potential customers and new levels of efficiency with fewer assets and lower management overheads. By virtue of the medium, the users of this type of global communication may rarely, if ever, come into physical contact with each other. They represent a wide range of socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds which consequently results in different user behaviour. In France alone, there are significant regional differences in Internet infrastructure and psychographics, that is, lifestyle and other psychological characteristics of an individual. The lifestyle concept (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard, 1999) which states that consumers often choose certain products and services over others because they are associated with a certain lifestyle notwithstanding the way in which the Internet has been marketed to consumers may explain the key differences in consumption patterns, and levels of Internet adoption/ usage amongst the French, Britons and Americans.