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Background. Information and communication technology (ICT) have a great simultaneous influence on society. ICT reflects human behavior and life style. The rapid development of ICT has various consequences in human behavior that are constantly changing. It allows people to communicate quite freely but has also a reverse side, causing people to become dependent on it. This is a new form of addiction, an addiction to be constantly updated. Another serious side effect is that through the internet, it is possible to spread false and harmful information about other people. The relationship between humans and technology has been studied and observed from the technological point of view; but during recent years, the relationship between human behavior and technology has increasingly been observed from the angle dealing with human values and goals. It has been demonstrated that the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland has certain socio-cultural habits that differ from the Finnish-speaking majority's way of life and culture. For example, Swedish speakers own more social capital and, therefore, they are probably healthier and live significantly longer. These differences in social capital and health may be related with communication. Hence, it is interesting to study the ICT behavior in and between these language groups. Intellectual capital is perceived to be the principal source of value for society and companies operating in the ICT sector. Further, it is important to investigate this issue as one of the major source of competitive advantage in society and firms. We focus specifically on the possibilities this ICT behavior research offers, acknowledging that there has been relatively little discourse on intellectual capital in this sector. Research about intellectual capital and ICT user behavior is needed for understanding the possibilities of utilizing ICT in intellectual capital context. Methods. In this study, we surveyed a total of 2 211 randomly chosen subjects, of which 50% were Finnish-speakers and 50% were Swedish speakers. The survey was carried out in four bilingual municipalities in Finland. The survey included 14 questions about ICT and its usage: the anonymity of the internet; the ease or difficulty to communicate via internet vs. face-to-face; purposes for which subjects use the internet, etc. Results. Factor analysis revealed that both Finnish- and Swedish-speaking subjects valued the intimacy of the internet since it makes the communication easier than face-to-face meetings. In general, they perceived that the internet communication makes them more aggressive than communicating face-to-face. This phenomenon was more pronounced among Finnish-speaking subjects. Furthermore, Swedish speakers tended to use the internet more as a communication forum for hobbies and leisure activities, while Finnish speakers used it more as a tool.Also, Swedish speakers valued face-to-face communication more than Finnish speakers. Conclusions. It seems that Finnish-speaking subjects value the anonymity of the internet, and they do not need to meet people physically face-to-face. One can argue that Finnish speakers favor virtual social communication, so called "social media", instead of personal contacts. Swedish speakers seem to use the internet as a tool to arrange face-to-face meetings and to reach personal contacts. Perhaps, Swedish speakers are socially better prepared to meet people face-to-face. In previous studies on social capital, personal communication, meeting people, get together and being socially active have characterized Swedish speaking Finns. Human competencies and relationships are the most important elements contributing to stabile intellectual capital base, and therefore it is relevant and necessary to study ICT user behavior. Our findings in ICT user behavior suggest that investment in people and studying different culture's ICT behavior are important factors in intellectual capital context, particularly in the current context of rapid technological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
