| The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic factors as well as attributes of the innovations that affect the adoption of the Internet by public relations practitioners in Kuwait. In addition, the study examined variables related to the social system in which these practitioners work by comparing the government sector with the private sector in terms of the availability of resources, and kinds of support for adopting the Internet. A survey of public relations practitioners (N = 440) working in all major government and private organizations in Kuwait was conducted, and Rogers' (1995) diffusion of innovations theory was used as the theoretical framework to guide the study. The study found that the majority (97.5%) of public relations practitioners in the private sector had adopted the Internet, compared to 82.8% of their counterparts in the government sector. Of the innovation attributes, the study found that relative advantage, complexity, triability, and observability were positively related to Internet adoption; however, triability and observability were the most significant predictors of all. Of the demographic characteristics, age and education level were the only significant predictors of Internet adoption. Of the social system variables, Internet training and the availability of personal computers were the only significant predictors of Internet adoption. |
