Information technology (IT) acceptance research has yielded many competing models, each with different sets of acceptance determinants. In this paper, we (1) review user acceptance literature and discuss eight prominent models, (2) empirically compare the eight models and their extensions, (3) formulate a unified model that integrates elements across the eight models, and (4) empirically validate the unified model. The eight models reviewed are the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the motivational model, the theory of planned behavior, a model combining the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior, the model of PC utilization, the innovation diffusion theory, and the social cognitive theory. Using data from four organizations over a six-month period with three points of measurement, the eight models explained between 17 percent and 53 percent of the variance in user intentions to use information technology. Next, a unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), was formulated, with four core determinants of intention and usage, and up to four moderators of key relationships. UTAUT was then tested using the original data and found to outperform the eight individual models (adjusted R2 of 69 percent). UTAUT was then confirmed with data from two new organizations with similar results (adjusted R2 of 70 percent). UTAUT thus provides a useful tool for managers needing to assess the likelihood of success for new technology introductions and helps them understand the drivers of acceptance in order to proactively design interventions (including training, marketing, etc.) targeted at populations of users that may be less inclined to adopt and use new systems. The paper also makes several recommendations for future research including developing a deeper understanding of the dynamic influences studied here, refining measurement of the core constructs used in UTAUT, and understanding the organizational outcomes associated with new technology use.

User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view

Much previous research has established that perceived ease of use is an important factor influencing user acceptance and usage behavior of information technologies. However, very little research has been conducted to understand how that perception forms and changes over time. The current work presents and tests an anchoring and adjustment-based theoretical model of the determinants of system-specific perceived ease of use. The model proposes control (internal and external--conceptualized as computer self-efficacy and facilitating conditions, respectively), intrinsic motivation (conceptualized as computer playfulness), and emotion (conceptualized as computer anxiety) as anchors that determine early perceptions about the ease of use of a new system. With increasing experience, it is expected that system-specific perceived ease of use, while still anchored to the general beliefs regarding computers and computer use, will adjust to reflect objective usability, perceptions of external control specific to the new system environment, and system-specific perceived enjoyment. The proposed model was tested in three different organizations among 246 employees using three measurements taken over a three-month period. The proposed model was strongly supported at all points of measurement, and explained up to 60% of the variance in system-specific perceived ease of use, which is twice as much as our current understanding. Important theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

/pdf/determinants-of-perceived-ease-of-use-integrating-control-10opxseq0g.pdf

Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model

This paper consolidates the state of academic research on innovation. Based on a systematic review of literature published over the past 27 years, we synthesize various research perspectives into a comprehensive multi-dimensional framework of organizational innovation - linking leadership, innovation as a process, and innovation as an outcome. We also suggest measures of determinants of organizational innovation and present implications for both research and managerial practice.

A Multi‐Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature

The rapid growth of investment in information technology (IT) by organizations worldwide has made user acceptance an increasingly critical technology implementation and management issue While such acceptance has received fairly extensive attention from previous research, additional efforts are needed to examine or validate existing research results, particularly those involving different technologies, user populations, and/or organizational contexts In response, this paper reports a research work that examined the applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in explaining physicians' decisions to accept telemedicine technology in the health-care context The technology, the user group, and the organizational context are all new to IT acceptance/adoption research The study also addressed a pragmatic technology management need resulting from millions of dollars invested by health-care organizations in developing and implementing telemedicine programs in recent years The model's overall fit, explanatory power, and the individual causal links that it postulates were evaluated by examining the acceptance of telemedicine technology among physicians practicing at public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong Our results suggested that TAM was able to provide a reasonable depiction of physicians' intention to use telemedicine technology Perceived usefulness was found to be a significant determinant of attitude and intention but perceived ease of use was not The relatively low R-square of the model suggests both the limitations of the parsimonious model and the need for incorporating additional factors or integrating with other IT acceptance models in order to improve its specificity and explanatory utility in a health-care context Based on the study findings, implications for user technology acceptance research and telemedicine management are discussed

Examining the technology acceptance model using physician acceptance of telemedicine technology

Based on theories from the technological innovation literature, this study develops an integrated model of information systems (IS) adoption in small businesses. The model specifies contextual variables such as decision-maker characteristics, IS characteristics, organizational characteristics, and environmental characteristics as primary determinants of IS adoption in small businesses. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 166 small businesses. Data analysis shows that small businesses with certain CEO characteristics (innovativeness and level of IS knowledge), innovation characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity of IS), and organizational characteristics (business size and level of employees' IS knowledge) are more likely to adopt IS. While CEO and innovation characteristics are important determinants of the decision to adopt, they do not affect the extent of IS adoption. The extent of IS adoption is mainly determined by organizational characteristics. Finally, the environmental characteristic of competition has no direct effect on small business adoption of IS.

An integrated model of information systems adoption in small businesses

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to explain and predict small business executives’ decisions to adopt information technology (IT). These theories were tested in a multiphase field study involving 162 small businesses (25 ≤ n ≤ 200 employees) from a broad set of industries considering a variety of ITs. Results indicate strong support for a decision process based on attitude (perceived positive and negative consequences for the firm), subjective norm (social expectations), and perceived control (resources to overcome obstacles) regarding IT adoption. Additional variables such as firm and individual executive characteristics had no unique effect on adoption decisions. However, as business size increased, so did the importance of expectations from the (social) environment, while the importance of intra-firm consequences and control over potential adoption barriers declined.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/23010902

Executive Decisions About Adoption of Information Technology in Small Business: Theory and Empirical Tests

http://directory.umm.ac.id/Data%20Elmu/jurnal/I/Information%20and%20Management/Vol37.Issue5.Aug2000/1867.pdf

What small business executives have learned about managing information technology

In recent years MIS research has been concerned with the development and use of information systems to achieve a competitive advantage One of the many encompassing issues related to this topic is the need to gain the support and commitment for such systems from senior management Although previous research has discussed some of the difficulties with and reasons for senior management's reluctance to adopt strategic information systems, there does not appear to be the application of any integrated theory or framework to this problem In this paper, we discuss an established and well-researched theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action, and we provide a basis for how it can be applied to the acceptance of strategic information systems by senior management Initially, a general discussion of competitive advantage and strategic information systems is provided as foundation Next, the Theory of Reasoned Action is discussed in detail Finally, the theory is applied to senior organizational executives, with an emphasis on a methodology, to uncover some of the underlying reasons for resistance to adopting strategic information systems

The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Senior Management and Strategic Information Systems

Knowledge acquisition skills and traits: a self-assessment of knowledge engineers

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate overall performance and learning effect differences with the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) administered to 48 finance specialists. The study exa...

Peter P. Mykytyn

Papers

Executive Decisions About Adoption of Information Technology in Small Business: Theory and Empirical Tests

What small business executives have learned about managing information technology

The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Senior Management and Strategic Information Systems

Knowledge acquisition skills and traits: a self-assessment of knowledge engineers

Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT): Individual Differences, Performance, and Learning Effects: