SOCIO-CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RICE E-MARKETING USERS (CASE OF RASHT TOWNSHIP, IRAN)

The main purpose of this research was to study the socio-cultural index of rice electronic marketing users in Rasht Township, Iran. This study used a survey design and was conducted with a random sample of 367 paddy farmers in Rasht Township. To identify the socio-cultural characteristics of rice e-marketing users, a self-designed questionnaire was developed to gather data. For determining the validity of the questionnaire, the face and content validity were used. Reliability for the instrument was estimated at 0.81. The Kurskal-Wallis and U Mann-Whitney test have been used to identify the effective factors on e-marketing. The result revealed that almost 68% of farmers had high tendency to adoption of electronic marketing and more than 70% of respondents chose rural ICT offices for rice e-marketing. Experience in using the internet services and internet skill had significant effects on e-marketing adoption. Finally, the result of this research presents a brokerage model. The nature of this model is (B2C) which means truck between business (ICT office) and customers. In this model, rural ICT offices have a role as buy/sell fulfillment.