Determinants of e-Commerce Use at Different Educational Levels: Empirical Evidence from Turkey e-Commerce Use at Different Educational Levels

Rapid spread of internet has made e-commerce an essential and effective tool for commercial transactions. The purpose of this study is to investigate e-commerce use differences between individuals in Turkey according to their educational levels and to specify the relationship between demographic characteristics of individuals and e-commerce use. In this study, the cross-sectional data obtained by Household Information Technologies Usage Survey were used. Binary logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the factors associated with the e-commerce use of individuals. This study has concluded that the variables of income level, age, gender, occupation, region, social media use, use of internet banking, use of e-government, number of information equipment in a household and the number of people in a household have relationships with e-commerce use. In addition, it has been found out that the variables in e-commerce use showed differences according to educational levels of individuals. It has been determined as a result of this study that as the education level of the individuals increased, their tendency towards online shopping increased. Higher education level refers to higher income level at both state and private institutions and more perception towards innovations. This has naturally a positive effect on online shopping behaviors of individuals.