New survey: Women are more positive towards new technology than men

New survey: Women are more positive towards new technology than men Women are more positive towards replacing personal business meetings with technological alternatives such as e-mail and videoconferencing, as compared to men, according to a new survey conducted by Gallup on behalf of SAS. One thousand Swedish businessmen/women were interviewed regarding the significance of personal meetings in their business. Similar surveys were also conducted in Norway and Denmark. "The study turns traditionally held beliefs about men and women upside down. If it becomes necessary to replace a personal meeting with new technology, the survey showed, somewhat surprisingly, that women are more positive than men towards utilizing technological means of communication such as e-mail, teleconferencing and videoconferencing," says Odd Guteland of Swedish Gallup. Eight out of ten Swedish businessmen/women polled in the study felt that it is important to meet the person with whom you are conducting business. Over half also stated that it is difficult to establish a trusting relationship with someone that they have never met. Eight out of ten believe that alternatives such as telephoning, e-mail and videoconferencing are worse than meeting in person when it comes time to conduct business. Somewhat surprisingly, women accept new technology better than men. A total of 30 percent of women felt that new technology is a satisfactory replacement to personal meetings, compared with just 20 percent of men. Men, compared to women, place a greater emphasis on being able to view reactions and body language during business meetings, which is why they prefer to meet, and they have stronger negative perceptions about technical alternatives than do women. Thirty-eight percent of men, as compared with just 25 percent of women, feel as though they need to travel more in order to do a good job. The survey was conducted among business travelers at Swedish companies that have more than five employees and who frequently attend business meetings and travel in their work. A total of 3,000 persons were interviewed in Scandinavia. "As one of the largest travel companies in Scandinavia, we consider it our responsibility to contribute to the advancement of knowledge surrounding travel in our society and finding out what it is that motivates people to travel. We conducted this study in order to draw attention to an area about which there is currently no substantial knowledge," says Jens Willumsen, Senior Vice President at SAS. SAS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/01/20030801BIT01040/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/01/20030801BIT01040/wkr0002.pdf