Influence of Computer Knowledge and Level of Education on Spanish Citizens’ Propensity to Use E-Commerce

Abstract

This article analyzes the influence of Spanish citizens’ computer knowledge and level of education on their tolerance of, or aversion to, risk in the online purchase of goods and services. To this end, annual survey data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute were used to know the incidence in e-commerce of the following variables: “computer knowledge,” “electronic commerce,” and “socioeconomic characteristics.” A method based on the design of a computer knowledge indicator was used, followed by a bivariate logistic regression to determine computer knowledge and level of education. The results show that the higher the level of computer knowledge, the greater the impulse to buy online and the higher the tolerance of risk. There was also a positive relation between level of education and propensity to buy; the higher the level of education, the greater the propensity.