Culture & biometrics: regional differences in the perception of biometric authentication technologies

Chris Riley*, Kathy Buckner, Graham Johnson, David Benyon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Previous research has identified user concerns about biometric authentication technology, but most of this research has been conducted in European contexts. There is a lack of research that has investigated attitudes towards biometric technology in other cultures. To address this issue, data from India, South Africa and the United Kingdom were collected and compared. Cross-cultural attitudinal differences were seen, with Indian respondents viewing biometrics most positively while respondents from the United Kingdom were the least likely to have a positive opinion about biometrics. Multiple barriers to the acceptance of biometric technology were identified with data security and health and safety fears having the greatest overall impact on respondents' attitudes towards biometrics. The results of this investigation are discussed with reference to Hofstede's cultural dimensions and theories of technology acceptance. It is argued that contextual issues specific to each country provide a better explanation of the results than existing theories based on Hofstede's model. We conclude that cultural differences have an impact on the way biometric systems will be used and argue that these factors should be taken into account during the design and implementation of biometric systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)295-306
Number of pages12
JournalAI and Society
Volume24
Issue number3
Early online date23 Jun 2009
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Power distance
  • Uncertainty avoidance
  • Biometric system
  • Biometric authentication
  • Authentication mechanism

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Culture & biometrics: regional differences in the perception of biometric authentication technologies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this