Online banking adoption at the bottom of the pyramid: a survey of Chinese migrant workers
International Journal of Emerging Markets
ISSN: 1746-8809
Article publication date: 18 September 2017
Abstract
Purpose
What drives product adoption among bottom of the pyramid (BoP) consumers? The purpose of this paper is to identify several factors affecting Chinese migrant workers’ adoption of online banking. Chinese migrant workers are BoP consumers that have migrated from rural China to work in China’s expanding urban regions such as Shanghai.
Design/methodology/approach
In collaboration with the Shanghai Survey Corps of the National Bureau of Statistics, the present research conducts structured interviews with more than 1,200 Chinese migrant workers.
Findings
The results of a logit regression analysis suggest that Chinese migrant workers are more likely to adopt online banking when they have higher levels of economic, biological, and social resources.
Practical implications
The results support habit adoption theory and provide managers with insight on how to increase BoP consumers’ adoption of financial services.
Social implications
Greater adoption of financial services among BoP consumers, including Chinese migrant workers, can improve the well-being of these historically marginalized consumers.
Originality/value
The present research provides initial evidence that habit adoption theory and resource availability helps to explain Chinese migrant workers’ adoption of online banking.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
James M. Leonhardt acknowledges support from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Nevada, Reno. Rongwei Chu acknowledges support from the National Social Science Foundation of China (13CSH071) and the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant 15ZS003), Xing Zhou and Dongsheng Deng for research assistance, and from colleagues at “The Society of Wei,” a discussion group composed of humanities, arts, and social science scholars at Fudan University.
Citation
Leonhardt, J.M. and Chu, R. (2017), "Online banking adoption at the bottom of the pyramid: a survey of Chinese migrant workers", International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 742-752. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJoEM-02-2016-0052
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited