Customer attitude to the local currency implementation

Abstract

Carrying local currencies into practice in limited geographical regions has become a major obstacle to overcome due to the awareness and trust of potential users. In this context, the purpose of this research is to explore and examine how the trust and knowledge of potential users about local currencies differ between their genders and working experiences. In line with this target, the researchers gained data from 413 workers in the Cieszyn Silesia region by using questionnaire surveys. Chi-Square and Z-score tests were calculated by SPSS statistical software to get statistically significant differences between the determining variables. The analyses corroborated the nonexistence of statistically significant differences between genders and work experiences in the local currency knowledge of potential users. Most of the respondents in the analyzed region were aware of local currencies. Publicity and prevalence of local currencies and mutual interactions between employees might be the reasons for the similarities in the knowledge of potential users. Furthermore, this study confirms that the trust of workers differs regarding their gender and work experience. Comparing to men and more experienced potential users, the propensity of women and less experienced employees to trust local currencies is higher. The reasons for these differences in gender and work experiences might stem from the education levels, perceptions, adoptions, instincts, and interests of potential users regarding these currencies. These results can be mounting evidence to consider for institutions, organizations, governments, and practitioners when implementing local currencies to increase the competitiveness of less developed regions. This study is only limited to a region, and the respondents are only employees. Other limitations are that this research examines two obstacles of the implementations of local currencies and two characteristics of respondents, namely, age and work experience. Keywords: awareness, Cieszyn Silesia region, community currency, digital currency, gender, local currency, trust, work experience.