Adoption of information technologies in Fiji : issues in the study of cultural influences on information technology acceptance

The Pacific Islands of Fiji present an opportunity to explore the cultural differences in approaches to accepting information technology (IT). Fiji has two predominant, but different cultures: the Indigenous Fijians and the ethnic Indians (commonly referred to as IndoFijians). This paper sets the background to the situation within Fiji and lays the groundwork to describe the approach that will be taken to explore the problems of the adoption of IT in Fiji. Cultural factors in the acceptance of IT are notoriously difficult to quantify, despite their clear importance in the analysis of information technology adoption. This paper argues that the kind of overviews emergent from the work of Hofstede and Rogers need to be supplemented with qualitative work from within different communities in the country. It proposes such a follow-up study through reference to the experiences of people in IT training programs in Fiji.