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Big differences in technological maturity in Sweden

January 20, 2003

Sweden has a large proportion of explorers, people who are eager adopt new technology. At the same time there also many who lag behind, people who are slow and unwilling to try new technology. This is shown in a national study carried out by the Service Research Center at Karlstad University.

The national study was headed by researcher Anders Gustafsson at Karlstad University in collaboration with the Market Technology Center, MTC, in the developmental project Services for Tomorrow.

To measure how mature Sweden is when it comes to technology, the researchers made use of a method developed by Professor A. Parasuraman at the University of Miami and Charles Colby, CEO of Rockbridge Associates in the US. The method consists of an index that measures people's attitudes along four dimensions: optimism, willingness to innovate, discomfort, and insecurity. What is measured in the optimism dimension is how we feel our everyday life will be simplified by new technology. The dimension innovation willingness gages how quickly we take to new technology. The discomfort dimension meters how we feel when we cannot quite take control of new technology. The insecurity dimension measures our distrust and skepticism in the face of new technology. The first two dimensions contribute to our adoption of new technology whereas the latter two dimensions act as inhibitors.

Comparable measurements have been done in the US and Austria. In comparison Sweden proves to have a greater proportion of individuals who quickly warm to new technology, termed explorers. But Sweden also has a greater proportion of people who are skeptical to new technology and more who are slow to adopt new technology, so-called stragglers.

"What can be said to characterize Swedes is that we are not afraid of new technology, but we are more skeptical. We don't believe that new technology will make our lives better, at least not to the same extent as Americans or Austrians," says Anders Gustafsson.

The researchers found rather great demographic differences between individuals with a high degree of technological maturity and individuals with a low degree of technological maturity. Generally speaking, those with a high level of technological maturity are younger, better educated, more often trained in engineering, and men. The stragglers live in small towns, have lower incomes, and less education. Women are generally slower to adopt new technology than men.

"The results indicate that Sweden should function well as a test market for new products since we have a large proportion of explorers, that is, users who actively seek out innovations and are curious about technology," says Anders Gustafsson.

However, he is also somewhat concerned that the country has such a large group of stragglers, people who are unwilling to try and use new technology. This is something that social developers and authorities should bear in mind.

The index for measuring technological maturity can be used for predicting in which countries a new technology will make its breakthrough first and to judge and compare receptiveness toward new technology across different groups of customers and countries. The measurement method can help companies understand how they should communicate in order to get customers to adopt new technology. Developers can achieve a better understanding of how new technology must be adapted to various groups of customers. It is also possible to identify what groups of people are suitable to help companies try out new technology in test panels.

The study comprises 1,004 Swedish citizens from the age of 18 and upward and includes 51 percent women and 49 percent men. In other words, it can be said to be representative of the Swedish population. The concept of technological maturity is about people's ability and willingness to adopt and use new technology. It is not a measure of competence or intelligence.

Vetenskapsrådet (The Swedish Research Council)