Moderating effect of national attributes and the role of cultural dimensions in technology adoption takeoff

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of national cultural dimensions on the evolution of national innovation adoption over time. The paper considers the moderating effects of national wealth, population density and illiteracy rate on the role of cultural dimensions in the timing of innovation takeoff in national markets.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study investigates 137 national innovation adoption time series; the dependent variable being the time it takes for innovation adoption to take off. The independent variables are Hofstede's five cultural dimensions and the moderating variables are gross domestic product (GDP), population density and illiteracy rate.Findings – The outcome of the study shows that cultural dimensions have a greater influence on takeoff time in countries with highly developed economies, dense populations and low illiteracy rates. The study also shows that especially the cultural dimension of individualism has a significant context independ...