International Journal of Computing and Digital Systems ISSN (2210-142X) Int. J. Com. Dig. Sys. 11, No.1 (Mar-2022) https://dx.doi.org/10.12785/ijcds/110198 The Influence of Personality Traits on Digital Quotient: An Indian Metro City Perspective Rahul Shandilya 1 , Neeti Mathur 2 and Sushil Kalyani 3 1 Research Scholar, NIIT University, Rajasthan 2 Assistant Professor, Management, NIIT University, Rajasthan 3 Area Director, Management, NIIT University, Rajasthan E-mail address: rahul.shandilya@st.niituniversity.in, neetim.fac@st.niituniversity.in, sushilk.fac@st.niituniversity.in Received 1 Oct. 2020, Revised 22 Feb. 2022, Accepted 7 Mar. 2022, Published 31 Mar. 2022 Abstract: The measure of awareness, responsiveness, and adoption of emerging digital technologies is commonly referred to as the individual’s digital quotient. As computing & digital technologies evolved, researchers also focused on drivers of user engagement towards digital platforms. The TAM and big 5 personality traits were leveraged to identify finer aspects of platforms design, offerings and influence of user behaviors. However, the studies were largely technology platform centric whereas this study provides end user centric analysis and identifies key personality traits that may influence an individual’s digital quotient. An exploratory study was conducted in three Indian metro cities with high internet penetration. A diversified group of 83 participants actively contributed during a 12-month period ending in June 2020. The analysis used the natural language processing (NLP) methods, word cloud models, relevance scores and technologies to work on text mining and keyword extraction. The study concluded with a taxonomy theoretical framework of seven personality traits called UCCCEEE (updated, confident, connected, curious, experimentative, efficient, and epicurean). The study may help individuals & organizations to align to the fast evolving digital eco system. State governance, corporates and societies at large can leverage this to build talent and societal characters towards the digital economy respectively. Keywords: Digital Quotient, Personality traits, Digital Awareness, Online Behavior, Digital Transformation 1. Introduction Global internet usage reached 4.57 billion in 2020, with a penetration of 62% [1]. Online platforms are being lever- aged as a key medium, by sellers of goods & services to outreach end users globally. In 2019, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of online commerce amounted to USD 3.53 trillion and is forecast to reach USD 6.54 trillion in 2022 [2]. The share of global online commerce in total commerce is at 16% in 2020 and is expected to reach 22% by 2023 [3]. Worldwide, the scale of spending on digital media advertising was USD 355 billion in 2020 and is likely to grow to USD 460 billion in 2024, with at least a quarter of this spend made on social media marketing [4]. India being one of the most populous countries in the world is among the fastest growing e-commerce markets with GMV expected to surpass USD 200 billion by 2026. Internet users are expected to increase from 687.62 million in 2019 to 829 million by 2021. The country’s internet penetration rate grew from just 4% in 2007 to 52.08% in 2019, registering a compound annual growth rate of 24% between 2007 and 2019 [5]. With the evolution of this new medium for businesses, early market researchers suggested that a user visits on- line platforms to purchase goods and services under two segments: search-based and experience-based [6]. In both segments, end-user engagement is an important factor for culminating in online transactions and its efficacy depends not only on the attributes and technologies of the digital platform but also on individual preferences [7], which may vary based on the dominant traits of an individual’s personality [8]. Socio-psychological factors that deeply influence accep- tance and adoption of computing technologies have seen significant research work focused on the technology adop- tion model (TAM), which had breakthrough observations on empirical factors that drive the use of a new system [9]. Research in the area of human psychology has formulated a widely accepted Big 5 personality traits model for an individual [10]. This model is reasonably universal in its ability to define individual behaviors; however, research on the impact of these traits on digital platform adoption is limited. http:// journals.uob.edu.bh