Gender Differences in the Determinants of Sharing Information via Mobile Phones

INTRODUCTION The growth and progress of the mobile phone industry has accelerated considerably due to constant technological advancement. Mobile phones have changed significantly from serving as an engineering commodity to becoming one of the most popular consumer electronic products currently available (Catalan & Kotzab, 2003). Recently, new kinds of mobile services have made it possible to perform a number of tasks such as sending text messages, surfing the web, making payments, and purchases and engaging in digital imaging and banking (Lu, Liu, Yu, & Yao, 2005; Mao, Srite, Thatcher, & Yaprak, 2005). It is useful to understand how mobile service companies should connect with their customers and distribute services (Jain, 2005; Parasuraman & Zinkhan, 2002). Consumers' use of mobile communication devices is increasing at a rapid pace, and devices based on mobile technology have become an ordinary part of daily life for many people (Balasubramanian, Peterson, & Jarvenpaa, 2002). The extent to which consumers share information on mobile phones has allowed mobile phone developers to improve and modify their product communications and information quality considerably (Li & Lin, 2006). Research has demonstrated information sharing via mobile phones as being a significant means for decision making in informal groups (Miranda & Saunder, 2003). In team projects, members can share their available information and resources (Mesmer-Magnus & DeChurch, 2009) as well as personal knowledge gained from work-related experience. This is crucial for the development of both systems integration and the performance of projects. There is an abundant of interest in gender differences in the information technology field (Ronald, Stuart, & Jing, 2005). Contemporary studies have researched gender differences in a variety of contexts including e-mail (Gefen & Straub, 1997), Internet and Web use (Flanagin & Metzger, 2003), information retrieval systems (Venkatesh & Morris, 2000) and electronic commerce (Van Comunale & Belanger, 2002). A lot of this literature has centered on how men's and women's attitudes and perceptions differ when faced with informational technologies. Generally, men tend to have a more accepting attitude towards IT while women appear to have less experience using computers. Also, women seem to suffer greater levels of computer phobia and apprehension towards the use of computers (Van Comunale & Belanger, 2002; Durndell & Haag, 2002; Illie, Van Slyke, Green, & Lou, 2005), whereas men take a more favorable view of IT. There are, however, some conflicting results (Gefen & Straub, 1997). As aforementioned, the primary purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of sharing information by way of mobile phones. The second intention of this study is to prioritize gender differences in the determinants of information sharing with regard to mobile phone usage. This study is laid out in the following way: section two briefly reviews information sharing theories and gender differences; section three then presents the research design and methodology. Lastly, the analytical results and conclusions are displayed in sections four and five, respectively. LITERATURE REVIEW Information sharing theories What factors affect the way in which mobile phone users share information? There are various theories concerned with informational sharing. Firstly, the theory of reasoned action assumes that human beings are generally rational and have the ability to make systematic use of the information available to them (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Secondly, the economic exchange theory states that individuals' behavior is based on reasonable self-interest. Amberg, Hirschmeier and Wehrmann (2004) argue that the Compass Acceptance Model (CAM) should be considered as it is especially designed for the analysis and valuation of user acceptance for mobile services. …