Understanding international web site usage

Purpose The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been one of the most influential theories in the information technology literature, but it has not been used in the marketing literature to understand consumer acceptance of international web sites. Thus, the purpose of this study is to use TAM to study international consumers' acceptance and use of MNEs web sites designed specifically for their country. Design/methodology/approach This study applies and extends the TAM to study the B2C international web sites of American and Japanese MNEs for Brazilian, German, and Taiwanese consumers. In total, there were 2,243 usable questionnaires and the structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the data. Findings This study provides strong support for the applicability of TAM in explaining international web site usage in Brazil, Germany, and Taiwan and shows that cultural adaptation is an important explanatory variable that should be included in the TAM when exploring cross‐cultural issues. Originality/value The value of this paper is that it not only extends the use of TAM to study user acceptance of international e‐commerce web sites, but also sees how the cultural adaptation of international web sites impacts the attitude and the purchase intention of consumers.