The present research develops and tests a theoretical extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that explains perceived usefulness and usage intentions in terms of social influence and cognitive instrumental processes. The extended model, referred to as TAM2, was tested using longitudinal data collected regarding four different systems at four organizations ( N = 156), two involving voluntary usage and two involving mandatory usage. Model constructs were measured at three points in time at each organization: preimplementation, one month postimplementation, and three months postimplementation. The extended model was strongly supported for all four organizations at all three points of measurement, accounting for 40%--60% of the variance in usefulness perceptions and 34%--52% of the variance in usage intentions. Both social influence processes (subjective norm, voluntariness, and image) and cognitive instrumental processes (job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability, and perceived ease of use) significantly influenced user acceptance. These findings advance theory and contribute to the foundation for future research aimed at improving our understanding of user adoption behavior.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2634758.pdf

A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Electronic networks of practice are computer-mediated discussion forums focused on problems of practice that enable individuals to exchange advice and ideas with others based on common interests. However, why individuals help strangers in these electronic networks is not well understood: there is no immediate benefit to the contributor, and free-riders are able to acquire the same knowledge as everyone else. To understand this paradox, we apply theories of collective action to examine how individual motivations and social capital influence knowledge contribution in electronic networks. This study reports on the activities of one electronic network supporting a professional legal association. Using archival, network, survey, and content analysis data, we empirically test a model of knowledge contribution. We find that people contribute their knowledge when they perceive that it enhances their professional reputations, when they have the experience to share, and when they are structurally embedded in the network. Surprisingly, contributions occur without regard to expectations of reciprocity from others or high levels of commitment to the network.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/25148667.pdf

Why should i share? examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practice

While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to re...

Computer-Mediated Communication Impersonal, Interpersonal, and Hyperpersonal Interaction

Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this research investigated gender differences in the overlooked context of individual adoption and sustained usage of technology in the workplace. User reactions and technology usage behavior were studied over a five-month period among 342 workers being introduced to a new software system. At all three points of measurement, compared to women, men's technology usage deci

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Why don't men ever stop to ask for directions? Gender, social influence, and their role in technology acceptance and usage behavior

A Social Influence Model of Technology use

According to social constructivist theories of communication technology in organizations, work group members share identifiable patterns of meaning and action concerning communication technology. E...

Social construction of communication technology

This article presents a model of how social influence processes affect individuals' attitudes toward communication media and media use behavior. The model integrates two areas of research. One body of work posits that media use patterns are the outcome of objectively rational choices. These choices involve evaluating communication options and selecting an appropriate medium to match the communication requirements of the task. The second perspective is social information processing theory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). This approach proposes that attitudes and behaviors are partially determined by information embedded in the social context. The synthesis of these perspectives asserts that media characteristics and attitudes are in part socially constructed. Furthermore, attitudes are influenced by attributions based on observations of one's own past behavior. This model is shown to explain a wider range of existing empirical findings. Also, new propositions are derived to guide future research. This social co...

A Social Information Processing Model of Media Use in Organizations

The study investigated the effects of perceived media richness and social influences from organizational colleagues on the uses and assessments of electronic mail in a large research and development organization. A social network composed of an individual (ego), supervisor, and five close communication partners was used to model relational social influences. Responses reported by network members were incorporated into a structural equation system to predict each ego's perceptions, assessments, and usage of electronic mail. Survey data were supplemented by in-depth interviews. The study found: (a) Perceived electronic mail richness (1) varied across individuals and (2) covaried with relational social influences and with media experience factors; (b) perceived electronic mail richness predicted individuals' electronic mail assessments and usage; (c) social influences of colleagues had pervasive effects on others' media assessments. The study demonstrated that an explicit consideration of social influences a...

Organizational Colleagues, Media Richness, and Electronic Mail A Test of the Social Influence Model of Technology Use

We introduce this Special Issue by providing an overview of the interplay between communication technology and various dimensions of new organizational forms. We consider the major factors motivating dramatic change within and between organizations today, and describe key dimensions of intraorganizational and interorganizational forms that are linked to electronic communication technologies: vertical control, horizontal coordination, size of organization and constituent units, new types of coupling, core product, communication cultures, ownership and control, interorganizational coupling, strategic alliances, and interstitial linking. Our purpose is to sample the changes attendant upon advances in electronic communication and organizational forms, with the goal of energizing future research. Our overview uncovers possibilities for new avenues of study within the technology-organization relationship and reveals the important contributions made by the articles in this Special Issue.

Janet Fulk

Papers

A Social Influence Model of Technology use

Social construction of communication technology

A Social Information Processing Model of Media Use in Organizations

Organizational Colleagues, Media Richness, and Electronic Mail A Test of the Social Influence Model of Technology Use

Electronic Communication and Changing Organizational Forms