New media practices in India: bridging past and future, markets and development

This article provides a review of the academic and popular literature on new media practices in India, focusing on the country’s youth's use of mobile phones and the Internet, as well as new media prosumption. One particular feature of the Indian case is the confluence of commercial exploitation of new media technologies and their application for development purposes in initiatives that aim to bring these technologies to marginalized segments of the Indian population. Technology usage in turn is shaped by the socioeconomic location of the user, especially in regards to gender and caste. The potential of new media technologies to subvert such social stratifications and associated norms has inspired much public debate, which is often carried out on the Internet, giving rise to an online public sphere. In all of the writings reviewed here, the tension surrounding new media technologies as a meeting place of the old and the new in India is paramount

Mediating effects of broadband consumers’ behavior in India

Internet usage is rapidly growing in areas like cosmopolitan cities, semi-urban cities in India. I-enabled services offered by various government agencies, educational institutions and commercial activities force users of these services to seek superior internet access like broadband, WiMax is likely to replace traditional broadband and dial-up access soon. Interestingly, reforms in telecom sector are taking place at a rapid pace in India. Many private players started internet services affecting monopolistic public sector telecoms. The advent of private ISPs, the consumer behavior and brand choice of broadband consumers are witnessing dynamic shift in favor of private players. Cost competitiveness, transparency, paradigm shift in consumer responsiveness etc weigh in favor of Public Sector telecoms. This paper attempts to identify the factors affecting broadband consumer behavior. Further, paper studies the causes and effects, mediating effects of consumer behavior and conceptualizes a model to capture these effects. The results suggest that adoption of broadband service is playing a mediatory role in consumer satisfaction.Broadband, Adoption, Normative constructs, mediating

Transaction Costs, Information Technology and Development

This paper explores potential channels through which information technology (IT) affects economic development. The channel emphasized here is the reduction of transaction costs through the use of information technology. We discuss the nature of transaction costs, their possible impacts on economic outcomes, and the impacts of IT on transaction costs. We provide a theoretical discussion of how a reduction in transaction costs may affect the number of intermediate goods that are produced, and in turn how that number may affect the development path of the economy. We then draw on our fieldwork in rural India that examined the economics of rural Internet kiosks, and relate this multifaceted case study to the theoretical discussion of transaction costs. We conclude with a broader discussion of the potential impact of IT on developing economies.transaction costs, information technology, Internet, development, India

Global Diffusion of the Internet - I: India: Is the Elephant Learning to Dance?

With his proclamation in 1998 that IT is India\u27s tomorrow , Prime Minister Vajpayee captured a vision of a 21st century India substantially different from that of the previous century, with its high levels of poverty, bloated bureaucracies, and protectionist policies. He envisioned the new India as a major IT power, fully integrated with the global economy, bringing about substantial domestic and international benefit. The Internet is a key to this vision, both as an enabler of technology-based change, and as an indicator of the vision\u27s fulfillment. Using an analytic framework developed by the authors and others, this study documents the growth of the Internet in India, from the pre-Internet networks through the boom of the Internet from 1998 to 2003. The Indian experience provides an example of how fundamental, focused changes in policy and legislation can unleash forces that accelerate Internet diffusion. Private sector initiatives greatly expanded the Internet infrastructure and Internet services market. At the same time, Government initiatives promoted the expansion of the Internet into parts of the country not well served by private ISPs. Poverty and limited telecommunications infrastructure currently limit the rate and extent of Internet expansion. However, time is an ally; the basic elements for continued growth of the Internet are largely in place

The Internet in India and China

This article compares the diffusion of the Internet in China and India. Using a six–dimension framework for characterizing the state of the Internet in a nation, we observe that, while both nations have made significant progress since our last comparison (in 1999), China enjoys a substantial lead over India. We also examine determinants of Internet diffusion. We find that the Chinese Internet has benefited from economic and trade reform begun in the late 1980s, a strong government commitment to the Internet, complementary human and capital resources, etc. The two nations have very different governments and policies, leading to differing approaches to the introduction of telecommunication competition and infrastructure development. China has pursued a strategy of competition among government–owned organizations while India has set policy via recommendations of publicly visible task forces. It remains to be seen whether India’s relatively transparent and market driven approach to Internet policy (and access) will prove effective in the long run. India and China have approximately 40 percent of the world population, and most of their inhabitants live in rural villages that lack basic telephone service. If the Internet is to succeed in raising the level of human development and curtailing migration to teeming urban centers, it must succeed in India and China. What we learn there may enable us to provide communication and information to the world\u27s 1.5 million unconnected villages

The different shades of responsibility: examining domestic and international travelers' motivations for responsible tourism in India

To address the scarcity of research concerning the demand side of responsible tourism, the present study examines the motivations of domestic and international travelers in India. Data were collected using an Internet survey distributed via e-mail and Facebook to the clients of five responsible tourism operators in India. Using Dann's push–pull typology, factor analysis uncovered nine underlying motivations for responsible tourism, with significant differences between domestic and international travelers for these factors. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct segments of travelers – Responsibles, Novelty Seekers, and Socializers – that differ in their core underlying motivations for responsible tourism and in their socio-demographic characteristics. The study contributes one responsibility-specific push and one pull factor to the literature about travel motivation. Also the findings suggest that operators and destination marketers must develop their products and marketing communications to address the heterogeneity of motivations underlying responsible tourism.Accepted manuscrip