Indian and US consumer purchase intentions of cloud computing services

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to focus on consumer’s perceptions of ethical and innovative aspects of cloud computing services. Cloud computing is a technological innovation that more consumers are adopting because of its mobility and accessibility in storing data. While there has been an increased awareness of cloud computing by consumers, there is limited research about the factors influencing consumers to purchase cloud services. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses the technology acceptance model and the social cognitive theory as the theoretical frameworks to understand how perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, ethical self-efficacy, innovation self-efficacy, performance expectancy and privacy impact purchase intention of cloud computing services. Research hypotheses are developed from the literature and tested by a survey questionnaire in India and the USA. Findings – The results of the analysis suggest that consumers in India and the USA are affected by similar factors when deciding to purchase cloud computing services, but differ in expectations about performance. Originality/value – This study utilizes Indian and US consumers to compare purchase intentions of technological innovations showing that there are more similarities than differences towards ethical and consumer innovativeness in both countries.