Perceived Characteristics, Perceived Needs, and Perceived Popularity

The Internet has arrived in China, the most populous nation in the world, at a rapid rate.To account for the adoption and use of the Internet by Chinese audi-ences, the current study develops a theoretical framework that centers on three key independent variables in the diffusion process: perceptions (i.e., perceived characteristics of the Internet or PCI), motivations (perceived need for the Internet or PNI), and social context (perceived popularity of the Internet or PPI). In addition, adoption is conceptualized as involving four categories that are mutually exclusive at a given time but interchangeable over time. This classification enables investigation of discontinuance. The current study also examines reinvention by integrating use into diffusion process. Data from a probability survey of 2,500 residents in Beijing and Guangzhou in 2000 largely support the hypotheses of the model. The study illustrates the impor-tance and benefits of a theory-driven approach to new media research. In March 1999, Bill Gates of Microsoft went to China, launching the Venus Computer,a low-cost, set-top box specially designed for Chinese consumers to connect cable TV to the Internet (“Venus Brings the Power, ” 1999). With Microsoft’s technical and financial power behind it, the Venus Computer seemed to be exactly what the 1.3 billion Chinese needed to get online. Unex-pectedly, they have yet to show much interest in this inexpensive and flexible technology that is compatible with existing cable TV and video compact disc (VCD) players (Jacobson, 1999). Nevertheless, the Internet has penetrated China at a surprisingly rapid rate. As found in our survey, a quarter or more of the residents in major cities are using the Internet. The development seems puzzling given various obsta-cles to Internet use, such as tight political control over content (Huang & Hao