IT Doesn't Fit! The Influence of Culture on B2B in Thailand

This study investigates how Thai culture affects the use of internet-based business-to-business (B2B) technology in the Thai tourism industry. Extending Goodhue and Thompson's Task-Technology-Fit (TTF) model (1995), we develop the Task-Technology-Culture-Fit (TTCF) to consider, through the lens of strategic fit, how cultural fit impacts the adoption of B2B technology in the Thai tourism industry. The study explores, in particular, five dimensions of cultural fit and their implications for how the B2B technology is adopted. These dimensions are personal relationships, long-term relationships, inter-organisational trust, ability to communicate in the English language and western influence. Firms registered in the Thai tourism B2B e-marketplace were surveyed and the data was analysed via structural equation modelling with the partial least squares method. Results showed that more the B2B technology was perceived by the users to fit their culture, the more likely they were to use the technology. Nevertheless, task-technology fit still had a greater impact than culture on a firm's perceived performance.