The use of e-government services and the Internet: The role of socio-demographic,economic and geographical predictors

This article explores the use of e-government services from the perspective of digital divides. First, it aims to find out which socio-demographic, economic and geographical factors predict the use of e-government services. Second, the article aims to show whether these factors moderate the way in which the time spent on the Internet is associated with the use of e-government services. The article is based on survey data (N=612) collected in Finland in May–June 2011 and is analysed by using a logistic regression modelling. Results show that gender and income moderate the link between the Internet and e-government service use. The more that women use the Internet, the more they use the government's electronic services. However, among men, the use of e-services does not increase similarly with the use of the Internet. Regarding income indicators, results imply that e-service use increases with Internet use but only among the respondents with low income levels. Additionally, the article shows that education, children, income and the size of the place of residence have major effects on the use of the government's e-services. Lastly, the empirical results are briefly discussed in relation to the digital divide discussion and some policy implications are presented.     

Factors influencing the user acceptance of digital home services

Digital home services provide multimedia entertainment, communication, and healthcare services to the public in order to make their lives more convenient. Many articles predict that the digital home service market will be huge and that many will take advantage of this situation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the future market for digital home services in South Korea by exploring the existing critical information and literature. This study proposes a conceptual model for assessing the adoption of digital home services, for which survey data from 600 heads of households in Korea were collected and used to test the proposed model. This paper also examines customer characteristics and their relationship with the acceptance of digital home services. First, the findings indicate that infra-service is mainly determined by age, region, job, family type, house type, and attitude towards adoption of new products. Second, home entertainment service is also significantly affected by gender, age, region, family type, family member, house type, and attitude towards adoption of new products. Third, home healthcare service was positively affected by gender, region, job, and usage period of high-speed internet. This study may provide companies with valuable guidelines for the implementation of digital home services.     

Entrepreneurs’ use of internet and social media applications

While it is recognized that the Internet and entrepreneurial opportunity are linked, the majority of studies analyzing business use of the Internet focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address a need for adoption studies focused on new ventures, which differ from SMEs in terms of organizational stage and number of employees, this study analyzes survey data from entrepreneurs to understand factors that influence the adoption of multiple Internet and social media platforms, and the role of business incubation facilities in providing information technology assistance to these ventures. Regression analysis of survey data reveal that prior entrepreneurial experience was the most important factor in explaining a diverse number of Internet application and social media use. This finding likely stems from differences in cognitive frameworks between novice and experienced entrepreneurs, which impacts their ability to recognize opportunities and respond to technological change. The location of a new venture within a business incubation facility did not help in the diverse use of Internet applications. This result did vary by gender as model results highlighted that women in business incubation facilities were more likely to use a diversity of Internet applications than those not located in these facilities. These findings point to policy implications regarding the implementation of technology training programs for female entrepreneurs, and digital awareness/ training for novice entrepreneurs.     

Can competition-enhancing regulation bridge the quality divide in Internet provision?

About 3.5 billion individuals, half of the world's population, were estimated to be using the Internet in 2017. However, their ability to use services such as cloud computing, VoIP, media streaming, high-frequency trading, network gaming, video conferencing and telemedicine, are sensitive to the network quality of service (QoS). We examine the effects of pro-competition regulation on Internet QoS - a measure of digital divide - using 23 indicators of competition from a panel of 160 countries covering 2008–2016. We find that pro-competition regulations had a stronger positive effect on QoS in developed countries compared to developing ones. A one-point increase in the pro-competition score increases QoS, measured as average connection speed, by at least 200 kbps in developed countries. Our results control for supply and demand factors, as well as country-fixed effects. The results are also robust to different measures of average connection speed. We attribute this variation to difficulties in the contracting environment in developed and developing countries, consistent with Levy and Spiller (1996). Countries with better institutional endowments – associated with developed economies - are better able to design and enforce complex regulatory contracts compared to developing countries. Ironically, this means that more pro-competition rules on paper will not necessarily narrow the digital divide between developed and developing countries and that there is a need to consider minimum quality standards as a means to effect improved Internet QoS.     

The gender pay platform gap during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of platform gender segregation in Australia

Progress towards pay equity between men and women in the Australian economy stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting once again the gendered impact of the pandemic. However, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on the gender pay gap in the platform economy. Drawing on data from an Australian survey of platform workers (n = 947) during the early months of the pandemic (2020), this research investigates how the pandemic impacted the gender pay gap across different platform types—care, delivery and driving, microwork, and marketplace—and the platform economy overall. The findings show that the gendered segregated nature of platform work compounded by the uneven impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on particular types of platform work increased the pay gap between men and women. This research also sought to examine the mechanisms behind the gender pay gap, finding that human capital differences and platform gender segregation largely explain the gender pay gap on platforms in Australia. There was an association between parenthood and earnings, but this is moderated by human capital and platform type, suggesting that differences in earnings amongst parents are explained by these factors. The research finds that the gender gap across the platform economy increased by five percentage points, indicating that the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the platform economy.     

Revisiting the gender gap in CEO compensation: Replication and extension of Hill,Upadhyay, and Beekun's (2015) work on CEO gender pay gap

Research Summary: The increasing number of women chief executives motivates considerable interest in examining possible gender differences in CEO compensation. Recently, Hill, Upadhyay and Beekun reported that female CEOs receive greater compensation than male CEOs, which runs counter to common wisdom that the gender pay gap in the labor market favors men over women. With the goal of contributing to cumulative knowledge development in this area, we seek to reexamine Hill et al.'s finding about gender differences in CEO compensation by extending the analyses further in time, using a larger sample of firms and more rigorous empirical analyses. Our findings, which are robust to different statistical procedures and econometric specifications, do not reveal reliable evidence for differences in compensation paid to male and female CEOs. Managerial Summary : For years, a lively debate has centered on the issue of gender pay gap. The ubiquity of the pay gap between men and women has recently been questioned by Hill et al. who identify the chief executive officer (CEO) role as a workplace position where women receive greater compensation than men. Our investigation examines whether women CEOs are indeed compensated substantively more than male CEOs. We seek to replicate earlier work by Hill and colleagues, using an expanded dataset over a longer period of time and with more rigorous analytical tools. We do not find reliable evidence for a difference in compensation paid to male and female CEOs, suggesting that claims about gender gap in CEO compensation favoring women over men may be premature.     

User preference for an IoT healthcare application for lifestyle disease management

The current convergence between information and communications technology (ICT) and medical fields reflects a shared vision of seamlessly connected sensors and devices that can improve healthcare services, and an expectation of the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) healthcare. This study provides a relevant guide for IoT healthcare service developers, from the perspective of the technology user. Particularly, we propose critical factors that will potentially influence users’ acceptance of an IoT lifestyle disease management service. Information on the profession of service providers, task scope, devices, expert support, and a range of shared personal medical data were suggested as important attributes. Conjoint analysis was adopted to estimate the relative importance of proposed attributes and preferences for service specifications. Data and medical history were collected from 435 respondents. The model was analyzed and compared between the groups with different medical histories, respectively. The results showed that potential users, in general, require a safe and trustworthy healthcare service, rather than greater functionality, while medical history has a considerable influence on the perceived importance of the proposed attributes.     

Gender Differences in the Returns to and the Acquisition of On-the-Job Training

This article finds that gender differences in on-the-job training significantly affect the male/female wage gap. First, we find that previously trained workers exhibit larger cumulative wage gains during their current training. Thus, a substantial portion of the gender wage gap results from the fact that women have little prior training relative to men. Second, a significant amount of the observed male/female wage differential is explained by less female acquisition of current training. Gender differences in workplace promotion and training practices help explain why women accumulate less training than men. Both of these sources of gender differences have lessened from 1976 to 1985, which has led to a narrowing of the male/female wage gap.     

An analysis of the determinants of broadband access

This paper extends the analysis of the relative impacts of socioeconomic factors on households’ decision to subscribe to dialup Internet access [Chaudhuri, A., Flamm, K., & Horrigan, J. (2005). An analysis of the determinants of Internet access, presented at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, Washington, DC, October 1–3] to the decision to subscribe to broadband. A simple cumulative utility (ordered logit) model is rejected in favor of a partial proportional odds model, and the authors found that the decision to purchase any access at all, and the decision to upgrade to broadband, may be affected differently by various socioeconomic factors. The own-price elasticity of broadband demand is statistically significant and has a substantial coefficient value. The cross-price sensitivity of broadband demand with respect to dialup price is also statistically significant, and supports the notion of the two services being substitutes.     

What explains gender differences in food insecurity?

There is a rich literature devoted to the role women play in ensuring the food security of the household and other household members. However, relatively little attention has been paid to their own food security situation. The challenge with investigating the food security of women is that most surveys collect food security data at the household level making inferences about individual-level food security difficult. Using a large international sample of individual-level data and the first global experiential measure of food insecurity, I show that women have a higher probability of being food insecure relative to men. The magnitude of the gender gap in food insecurity varies across regions and varies by the severity level of food insecurity. In the developed countries of the European Union, women are 4.7 percentage points more likely than men to experience some form of food insecurity. In the poor countries of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, women are two percentage points more likely than men to be severely food insecure. Using a modification of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, I find that gender differences in household income, educational attainment, and social networks explain the majority of the gender gap in food insecurity. However, in some regions, namely South Asia and Australia/New Zealand, gender differences in observable characteristics fail to account for gender differences in food insecurity. This analysis suggests that policies that address gender inequality in employment opportunities and educational attainment may also impact food insecurity.     

Innovation patterns and policy implications of ADSL penetration in Korea: A case study

Korea has been leading the world in broadband Internet access services since 1999. Based on an in-depth case analysis of the penetration of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) in Korea, the present study explores the patterns of decision making and interactions among key innovation actors, such as the government, Internet service providers, equipment providers, and content providers, using a conceptual framework wherein models of innovation systems and decision making under uncertainty are combined. The results revealed that the Korean government played a pivotal role in the creation of the ADSL-based Internet service market by providing a strong vision for this emerging service, building a coalition among various key actors, and stimulating initial market needs and supply of necessary equipment during the early period of higher uncertainty. As the level of uncertainty decreased with market evolution, however, the role of industrial actors and their market competition became more important to the rapid growth of the ADSL market. Based on these findings, policy and managerial implications are proposed.     

Climbing the Ladder: Gender‐Specific Career Advancement in Financial Services and the Influence of Flexible Work‐Time Arrangements

The aim of this study is to gain insight into the gender‐specific career advancement of about 10,000 middle‐ and top‐level managers in a Dutch financial services company. Our results indicate that women earn less, work at lower job levels, but show slightly higher career mobility than men. However, working a compressed four‐day nine‐hours‐a‐day workweek turns out to be favourable for women who are ‘rewarded’ for working full time, whereas men are ‘penalized’ for not working five days a week. Introducing this form of flexibility into a predominantly masculine organizational culture offers new opportunities for career advancement, albeit solely for women.     

The use of ICTs and income distribution in Brazil: A machine learning explanation using SHAP values

This study explores the complex relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and socioeconomic characteristics. We employ a cutting-edge explainable machine learning approach, known as SHAP values, to interpret an XGBoost and neural network model, as well as benchmark traditional econometric methods. The application of machine learning algorithms combined with the SHAP methodology reveals complex nonlinear relationships in the data and important insights to guide tailored policy-making. Our results suggest that there is an interaction between education and ICTs that contributes to income prediction. Furthermore, level of education and age are found to be positively associated with income, while gender presents a negative relationship; that is, women earn less than men on average. This study highlights the need for more efficient public policies to fight gender inequality in Brazil. It is also important to introduce policies that promote quality education and the teaching of skills related to technology and digitalization to prepare individuals for changes in the job market and avoid the digital divide and increasing social inequality.     

The digital divide problem: An economic interpretation of the Japanese experience

This study presents an economic analysis of Japan's attempt to address the geographical digital divide problem for broadband and mobile telephone services. To receive broadband service local inhabitants make voluntary contributions, which are matched by a municipal subsidy. The approach is effective in terms of economic efficiency and equity. Importantly, as fixed broadband service is provided locally the benefits are limited to local inhabitants. By contrast, mobile service is provided via a spectrum user fee system. That is, for mobile telecommunication services, no universal service fund exists. The underlying rationale is that subscribers are beneficiaries and commercial decision-making should be left to mobile operators.     

Sexual Orientation,Income, and Stress at Work

I present a model explaining recent findings that partnered gay men earn less than partnered straight men while partnered lesbian women earn more than partnered straight women. In an environment with compensating differentials and a gender gap in potential income, an income effect leads partnered gay men to choose jobs with lower income and higher amenities than partnered straight men. The same mechanism generates similarly reasoned predictions about income and amenities for women and single people. Canadian data on stressfulness of one's working environment support these predictions.     

Closing the rural broadband gap: Promoting adoption of the Internet in rural America

Even as geographic disparities in high speed Internet access narrow, an urban–rural broadband gap persists, pointing to the importance of individual differences in motivations to adopt broadband as the key to closing the gap. Diffusion of innovation is reconceptualized through contemporary perspectives of the digital divide and social cognitive theory and tested on a survey sample drawn from four rural communities. Path analysis was used to examine the factors that cause broadband Internet service adoption in rural communities. Prior experience with the Internet, the expected outcomes of broadband usage, direct personal experience with broadband, and self-efficacy had direct effects on broadband intentions. Age and income, but not education or ethnicity, also had direct impacts. Efforts that promote the personal benefits of broadband and advanced ICT literacy skills among Internet users are recommended.     

What will be the possible barriers to consumers’ adoption of smart home services?

Recently, smart home services have come to the forefront as part of the growing market for the “Internet of Things.” Since these smart home services were introduced, they have been expected to grow rapidly. However, contrary to optimistic expectations for future market growth, the smart home market has appeared to hit a roadblock and remains at an early market stage. This study attempts to identify the possible barriers that consumers perceive when they are introduced to smart home services. Based on the resistance theory and perceived risk model, we investigate the relationship between perceived risk and resistance to smart home services, using technological uncertainty and service intangibility as the antecedents of perceived risk. Dividing perceived risk into four dimensions—performance risk, financial risk, privacy risk, and psychological risk—the empirical results show that these four risk types are affected by technology uncertainty and service intangibility, and the perceived risks, except for financial risk, have positive effects on the resistance to smart home services. When the survey respondents are divided into two types, postponers and rejecters, the result of postponers is similar with that of total sample, except that privacy risk is unimportant to postponers, and the result of rejecter cannot satisfy the recommended model fit.     

Consumer Resistance to Innovation in Services: Challenges and Barriers in the Internet of Things Era

The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to be the next phase of the Internet revolution and to transform consumers’ service experience. It nevertheless raises challenges on innovation in services. Based on Ram and Sheth's ( 1989 ) theoretical framework, this work attempts to provide a better understanding of the barriers that lead to consumers’ resistance to smart services as an innovation. To this end, our research adopts an integrative framework that combines functional barriers, psychological barriers, and individual barriers to explain consumer resistance to smart services. Structural equation modeling was used to test this theoretical framework. Our research enriches the existing literature by (1) adapting Ram and Sheth's ( 1989 ) theoretical framework to the evolution of digital technologies (technological vulnerability barriers), (2) taking into account the ideological aspect of resistance (ideological barriers), and (3) considering dispositional variables (individual barriers). Moreover, it highlights the key role of skepticism toward IoT devices as a mediator between technological vulnerability barriers and individual barriers on the one hand and consumer resistance to smart services on the other.     

Firm‐Level Monopsony and the Gender Pay Gap

This study uses linked employer–employee data to estimate firm‐by‐gender specific labor supply elasticities. Using a dynamic model of labor supply, I find evidence that females face a greater degree of search frictions than males. However, the majority of the gender gap in labor supply elasticities is driven by across‐firm sorting rather than within‐firm differences. I find that males face a labor supply elasticity 0.15 points higher than females, which leads to 3.3 percent lower earnings for women. Sixty percent of the elasticity differential can be explained by marriage and child penalties faced by women but not men.     

Moving targets: Introducing mobility into universal service obligations

Structural changes in the economies of developing countries are leading to increased mobility of work and family life, and so an accommodating set of universal service obligations (USOs) implies new goals that extend beyond wireline telephone penetration and access. Wireless telephony penetration frequently exceeds wireline penetration in developing countries, and digital wireless platforms can incorporate Internet technology. This paper evaluates the history of telecom development in Mexico that has led to wireless telephony becoming the new consumption norm. The study takes the eMexico project as a case study of diversified USOs beyond wireline telephony. It considers potential obstacles to incorporating mobile phone and Internet (“Wireless Web”) services into Mexico's diversified universal service policy, including economic barriers to political mobilization over issues of telecom policy.