As per the report published by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) and IMRB International in 2015, the number of internet users in India is expected to reach 402 million by Dec 2015. In 2013, the contribution towards GDP by the internet was US$ 60 billion which is 3.2%. The report of IAMAI and IMRB International further estimates that contribution by internet towards India's GDP would grow up to 4.6% by 2018. Given the prospect of internet growth, it is essential to understand the needs of the consumers seeking to satisfy over the internet. It is the need of the consumers which the marketers would be interested. However one has to consider that needs of individuals vary due to several reasons and culture is one among them.
India is the fastest growing and highly competitive economy of the world. At the same time, it is one of the most culturally diverse countries of the world. The huge population of the country makes it lucrative to the business fraternity for the possible success of any product or services. However, the consumers of the country cannot be segmented in one group. This is particularly due to the diverse cultural background of the population.
The present study focuses on the internet usage of the Indian users. It tries to explore the role of the strength of ethnic identity and degree of consumer acculturation on the internet usage behaviour. Their impacts on the internet usage have been analysed. Also, the study investigates whether the internet users differ on the needs they try to satisfy using the internet. It critically analyses how the internet users are different from each other. The research questions of the study are firstly, whether the internet usage vary with the ethnic identification of the states for the Indian consumers and secondly what impact consumer acculturation and ethnic identity would have on the internet usage.
This dissertation contains six chapters.
Chapter 1 starts with ‘Introduction’ which explains the context of the research highlighting the marketing challenges, differences in subcultures, ethnic digital divide and impact of ethnic identity and acculturation on online behaviour. The chapter provides a brief background of the three states of India where the study is conducted, rationale of the study and research objectives. Chapter 2 provides the details of literature survey which comprises the theories and models of technology use, ethnic identity and acculturation in consumer behaviour context followed by how online behaviour of consumers differ in different cultures and finally how ethnicity impacts online activities. The literature survey analyses the cross-cultural studies as well as studies related to Indian consumers. Chapter 3 starts with the theoretical background of the study describing each theory in detailed form. It then presents the conceptual model of the study. The conceptual model is a link to the consumer behaviour literature and the hypotheses developed. It discusses the variables in detail from all perspectives. Every variable is presented with the background of literatureand has been specifically defined for the purpose of the study. Chapter 4 discusses the research design and methodology describing the tools and techniques used in the research for the quantitative analysis. It also discusses the research instrument used and its development. The chapter closes with the report on the pilot study conducted before the final data collection. Chapter 5 provides the statistical analysis of the primary data collected for the research. The results are described with the help of tables and charts. Also, the statistical outputs have been interpreted for the comprehensive understanding and logical understanding. Chapter 6 has the discussion related to the statistical analysis of the primary data of the study. The findings are compared with the previous similar research to gather the understanding of the theoretical aspects. It presents the summary of findings, implications, limitation and future scope of the study. The thesis ends with the collection of references used to prepare the thesis and the annexure.
