Earlier Studies about Computer Acceptance

ter self-efficacy to act as EUADers. They are also committed enough to sustain the EUAD activity. In other words: they have all the features that are shown to relate to computer use: positive attitudes, low anxiety, satisfaction, commitment, and competence.

Their personality as learners is many-sided. The features of all four learning styles guide them in applying theories into practice, learning from practical doing, finding new ideas, and finally thinking these ideas as a whole in theoretical terms. Their jobs in large organisations provide the basic resource and freedom needed in creative working style.

The applications developed reflect their work contents. The majority of them are controlling and reporting data concerning their own work related functions. They seem more likely to seek rationalisation and enrichment to their work than practising as IT professionals. The areas of applications and time points to start the development work are based on the actual work content. Their methods of application development and information acquisition are quite unprofessional. As the EUAD activity is unofficial in nature, they work alone without any structured methods. They rely on information at hand, like help systems and error messages. Only the most advanced EUADers use the professional media like manuals and other printed media.

disadvantages of the technology. Rogers (1995) names five characteristics affecting the decision made by the end-user to use the technology: relative advance, compatibility (how well the technology meets the users’s earlier "values, needs and past experiences"), complexity (ease of use), trialability and observability. All these characteristics are features of the technology itself in the eyes of adopters. The individual adoption process can be divided into five phases as shown in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1 Components of Innovation Diffusion Theory (Rogers 1995)

According to Rogers, the decision to adopt is based mainly on the knowledge about the technology in case. Sometimes a need precedes the innovation, but also the awareness of an innovation can create the need to adopt it. In the persuasion stage, the individual forms an attitude toward the innovation. This is the stage where the individual selectively seeks information about the innovation. The decision stage starts when he or she engages in activities that lead to the choice to adopt or reject the innovation. In the implementation stage the individual finally puts the innovation into use. Finally, in the confirmation stage the individual seeks to avoid dissonance that may occur due to the implementation. He seeks reinforcement for the decision or may also reverse the earlier decision.

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis 1986) resembles Rogers' process of adoption in its basic structure. The TAM model originates from the social psychological theory about reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen 1975). TRA stresses the personal and psychological factors of adoption. The behaviour is conscious and intentional by nature. There are two principal factors motivating the end-user to use new technology: Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. Both of them are external motivations. There still exist two mediating factors toward the Actual System Use: firstly Attitude Toward Using and secondly Behavioural Intention to Use. The model is presented in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2 Technology Acceptance Model (Davis 1986)

External variables

Perceived usefulness

Perceived ease of use

Attitude toward using

Behavioral intention to use

Actual system use Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation

Davis et al. (1986) have also shown that user intentions predict the Actual System Use and the two determinants: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use affect the attitude toward actual system use (see also Blili et al. 1998). The most significant factor is still perceived usefulness (Davis et al. 1989). This factor has a significant effect on the usage of the Internet (Thompson et al. 1998) and on the use of CASE Tools by IS-Professionals (Iivari & Maansaari 1997) as well.

Davis' and Rogers' theories stress the extrinsic factors of motivation in the adoption process. They regard the adoption process as an intended and rational decision.

The actor is expected to evaluate purposefully and rationally the advantages and disadvantages of the technology in case. The actor himself is regarded as an objective

"mean-end oriented" outsider, even if he or she is observing himself as an end-user of the technology. Being that the case, all the factors that the end-user gives as reasons to use the technology, work as "means" for other, maybe higher "ends". The factors are extrinsic by nature and are characteristics of the technology in case. These include "perceived usefulness", "perceived ease of use", "relative advance", "compatibility", "complexity",

"trialability" and "observability".

Davis' and Rogers' theories do not explain what makes the user to perceive the usefulness of the technology nor do they explain the user is ready to accept its usefulness when it is apparent. It has been shown that the economic success does not guarantee the adoption in the long term. For instance, Gill (1996) has shown that even the professional users, no matter how useful the system is, may still not adopt it. In place of adopting, they are very good at naming non-economic and non-technical issues as explanations for their abandonment. In the case of adoption, as shown above, the end-users do not tend to name very eagerly organisational factors, personal characteristics or intrinsic motivation as the reason to use the technology. The extrinsic motivational factors are for the end-user more reasonable reasons to name.

Most of the earlier studies analyse the factors affecting computer use as separate relationships. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) of Bandura (1986) has a more holistic view about the phenomena. It combines all the factors into a unified theory in which all the factors are in reciprocal dependency affecting each other (see Figure 5.3).

SCT has three combined sets of factors: environment, cognitive factors and behaviour, which are engaged in ongoing reciprocal interaction. The users' environment, like pressure or unique situational factors, affects the cognitive and other personal factors.

Cognitive and personal factors also are a cause for choosing a certain environment.

Furthermore, behaviour is influenced by both cognitive and environmental factors and, in turn, affects those same factors. Two cognitive factors: computer self-efficacy and outcome expectations are given extra prominence. This indicates the fact that, if a person

has a belief that he or she has the capability to perform a particular computer related task, he or she is more likely to use the computer. Additionally, if he or she expects that the outcomes of this usage are positive, he will use the computer.

Compeau and Higgins (1991, 1995,1999, also Pare & Elam 1995) approach the phenomena in the perspective of SCT stressing the cognitive factors, such as outcome expectations defined as beliefs about the outcomes of computer usage. Outcome expectations can be related to expectations of improvements in job-performance or expectations of change in image, status or rewards (Compeau et al. 1999). They have shown that the higher the individual’s (job) performance related outcome expectations are, the higher his/her use of computers is. They also have the concept of affect/anxiety to express the user enjoyment of computer use. The outcome expectations are very close to the concept extrinsic motivation and affect/anxiety is very close to the concept of intrinsic motivation in our study. The SCT stresses the reciprocal dependency between the enjoyment derived from using the computer and the outcome expectations of that usage. Like the findings of our study show, they state that the two motivations are strongly linked together: outcome expectations have a significant impact on affect and computer use and the enjoyment derived from that computer use also relates back to computer use. On the other hand, the usefulness and outcome expectations are good predictors of computer use, but, on the other hand, the users are more likely to use the computer if it is enjoyable (Thompson et al. 1998) or if its use just affects the user (Compeau & Higgins 1991, Compeau et al. 1999).

Figure 5.3 The Social Cognitive Theory - Triadic Reciprocality

by Compeau & Higgins (1991)

Cognitive Factors

• Self-efficacy

• Outcome expectations

• Affect

• Anxiety

Environment

• Encouragement by others

• Others’ use

• Support

Behaviour

• Computer use

We also should consider the user competence as a factor affecting the usage. The people having the competence in computer have also shown to be more educated and experienced with computers. Increasing the user competence in computers can strengthen the computer self-efficacy (Munro et al. 1997) and positive attitudes as well as decrease anxiety towards computers (Harrison & Rainer, 1992). Also these factors are in reciprocal relationship affecting each other (Shiffman et al. 1992).

The computer self-efficacy seems to have a substantial role in the EUADers behaviour. Most of them expressed quite strong confidence toward their ability to manage with the EUAD. All in all, personal characteristics, like perceived consequences and internal beliefs and habits, as well as self-efficacy were the dominant predictors of system use and not the organisational facilitating conditions like the proximity of resources. Also the survey of Brancheau and Brown (1993) shows that managerial actions have certain effect on the end-users’ behaviour, but the primary influence on use is elsewhere. For instance, end-user support increases job satisfaction and the control of end users’ behaviour decreases it. Still, end-users prefer the informal organisation and look for support more frequently from colleagues.

Although the SCT stresses the personal characteristics (cognitive factors) as a predictor of computer use these factors still are quantitative in nature. A deeper under- standing of how these factors work in real working context is still missing. Additionally, the SCT theory does not make any difference between the individuals. The theory does not explain how the factors work with different kind of people in different contexts. The indi- viduals with different characteristics also use computers in a different way.

Another factor that has been shown to relate to computer use is the user satis- faction. Chen et al. (2000) regard it as the most commonly acknowledged measurement of the system success. The concept of affect/anxiety is very close to satisfaction/dissatisfaction.