Impact of national institutions on cloud computing adoption. Comparison to mobile broadband adoption

Abstract

Research shows that the adoption of cloud computing varies across countries, giving a rise to the obvious question as to why is that the case. This paper tests the proposition that national institutions, both formal and informal (such as national culture), affect cloud computing adoption in a country. To develop hypotheses, a specific perspective from neo-institutionalism theory has been drawn, focusing on the impact of national institutions on technology adoption. In an empirical examination of 38 countries’ cloud computing revenues over a five-year period, it was found that four out of six selected national institutions significantly impact cloud computing adoption in a country. Those institutions being power distance, uncertainty avoidance, trade union strength and government effectiveness. Those results are further contrasted and compared to mobile broadband adoption as an example of an also recent; however, it is consumer-oriented technology, while cloud computing is predominantly business-oriented technology. The comparison is done to test if cloud computing has different institutional drivers when compared to a very different technology such as mobile broadband. In an empirical examination of 41 countries’ mobile broadband revenues over a three-year period, it was found that none of the six selected institutions significantly impacts mobile broadband adoption. Thus, the adoption processes of cloud computing and mobile broadband, two very different technologies, possess rather different institutional drivers.