Susan A. Brown

A longitudinal investigation of personal computers in homes: adoption determinants and emerging challenges

While technology adoption in the workplace has been studied extensively, drivers of adoption in homes have been largely overlooked. This paper presents the results of a nation-wide, two-wave, longitudinal investigation of the factors driving personal computer (PC) adoption in American homes. The findings revealed that the decisions driving adoption and non-adoption were significantly different. Adopters were driven by utilitarian outcomes, hedonic outcomes (i.e., fun), and social outcomes (i.e., status) from adoption. Non-adopters, on the other hand, were influenced primarily by rapid changes in technology and the consequent fear of obsolescence. A second wave of data collection conducted six months after the initial survey indicated an asymmetrical relationship between intent and behavior, with those who did not intend to adopt a PC following more closely with their intent than those who intended to adopt one. We present important implications for research on adoption of technologies in homes and the workplace, and also discuss challenges facing the PC industry.

Model of adoption and technology in households: a baseline model test and extension incorporating household life cycle

Individual adoption of technology has been studied extensively in the workplace. Far less attention has been paid to adoption of technology in the household. In this paper, we performed the first quantitative test of the recently developed model of adoption of technology in households (MATH). Further, we proposed and tested a theoretical extension of MATH by arguing that key demographic characteristics that vary across different life cycle stages would play moderating roles. Survey responses were collected from 746 U.S. households that had not yet adopted a personal computer. The results showed that the integrated model, including MATH constructs and life cycle characteristics, explained 74 percent of the variance in intention to adopt a PC for home use, a significant increase over baseline MATH that explained 50 percent of the variance. Finally, we compared the importance of various factors across household life cycle stages and gained a more refined understanding of the moderating role of household life cycle stage.

Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide: guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems

Mixed methods research is an approach that combines quantitative and qualitative research methods in the same research inquiry. Such work can help develop rich insights into various phenomena of interest that cannot be fully understood using only a quantitative or a qualitative method. Notwithstanding the benefits and repeated calls for such work, there is a dearth of mixed methods research in information systems. Building on the literature on recent methodological advances in mixed methods research, we develop a set of guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in IS. We particularly elaborate on three important aspects of conducting mixed methods research: (1) appropriateness of a mixed methods approach; (2) development of meta-inferences (i.e., substantive theory) from mixed methods research; and (3) assessment of the quality of meta-inferences (i.e., validation of mixed methods research). The applicability of these guidelines is illustrated using two published IS papers that used mixed methods.

Do I really have to? User acceptance of mandated technology

Extensive research supports the notion that usefulness and ease of use are primary drivers of user intentions to adopt new technology. However, this research has been conducted primarily in environments in which adoption was voluntary. When technology use is mandated, as it is in many organizations, we expect that the underlying relationships of traditional technology acceptance models will be different. In this paper, we discuss our current understanding of technology acceptance, as well as the notion of mandated use. We then discuss a field study conducted in the banking industry to examine technology acceptance models in a mandated use environment. The results indicate that there are, in fact, differences in the underlying relationships of technology acceptance models in this mandatory use situation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for research and practice.

Predicting Collaboration Technology Use: Integrating Technology Adoption and Collaboration Research

The paper presents a model integrating theories from collaboration research (i.e., social presence theory, channel expansion theory, and the task closure model) with a recent theory from technology adoption research (i.e., unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, abbreviated to UTAUT) to explain the adoption and use of collaboration technology. We theorize that collaboration technology characteristics, individual and group characteristics, task characteristics, and situational characteristics are predictors of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions in UTAUT. We further theorize that the UTAUT constructs, in concert with gender, age, and experience, predict intention to use a collaboration technology, which in turn predicts use. We conducted two field studies in Finland among (1) 349 short message service (SMS) users and (2) 447 employees who were potential users of a new collaboration technology in an organization. Our model was supported in both studies. The current work contributes to research by developing and testing a technology-specific model of adoption in the collaboration context.

Expectation Confirmation in Technology Use

We propose a model to study expectation confirmation in information systems. The proposed model is based on the assimilation-contrast model and prospect theory, and suggests that both are needed to account for the magnitude and direction of the deviations between experiences and expectations. Using the technology acceptance models (TAM) primary construct---namely, perceived usefulness---expectations and experiences were conceptualized and operationalized to test our model. Data were collected in a field study from 1,113 participants at two points in time. Using polynomial modeling and response surface analysis, we demonstrated that our model offers a good explanation of the relationship among information systems expectations, experiences, and use. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Household technology use: Integrating household life cycle and the model of adoption of technology in households

Recently, the model of adoption of technology in households (MATH) was developed and tested in the context of household personal computer (PC) adoption. In this study, we apply MATH to predict personal computer (PC) use. We conducted a nationwide survey including 370 households that owned at least one PC. Results indicate that attitudinal beliefs are extremely important in determining use of a PC in the household. In contrast to previous work examining adopters, normative and control beliefs were not significant in predicting use. Furthermore, several determinants of adoption that were important at different stages of the household life cycle were found nonsignificant in predicting use for the same stages of the household life cycle. Overall, the results demonstrate that the belief structure for household PC use is different from that of household PC adoption. Further, the results provide additional evidence regarding the importance of including household life cycle in studies of household technology adoption and use.

E-learning and individual characteristics: The role of computer anxiety and communication apprehension

Research has examined the role of technology in instruction and corporate training for over three decades. Advances in communication and computing technologies, coupled with the wide availability of the Internet, have spurred additional interest in technology-mediated and distance education programs. Yet, it is important to realize that technology can both enhance and hinder education. In this paper, we report the results of a field study conducted to understand how a particular set of individual characteristics, anxiety associated with computers and apprehension of oral and written communications, can lead to anxiety of using computers to communicate (anxiety associated with the use of email) and how this resulting anxiety might influence learning in a technology-mediated environment. Our results indicate that these anxieties are significant, influential factors in an individuals e-Learning experience. Anxiety with computers and apprehension of oral communication, with email familiarity explained 68% of the variance in the resulting anxiety associated with the use of email. This email anxiety and computer familiarity accounted for 22% of the variance in email use. Email use and age accounted for 11% of the variance in learner performance. These results highlight the relevance of individual-level anxiety characteristics and their importance in evaluating e-Learning programs. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Bringing non-adopters along: the challenge facing the PC industry

Until holdout buyers are convinced a PC will operate like a workhorse home appliance, PC sales will continue to stall.

Reaping the benefits of innovative IT: the long and winding road

The expectation that banks and other service industries will do better through investments in innovative IT applications requires a fundamental understanding that benefits do not stem from technology alone. Innovative IT applications have the potential to change the way banks conduct their business and, as such, must be viewed as a major organizational change. This study examines how different stakeholder perspectives of innovative IT influence the implementation process, attitudes toward usage, and perceived benefits in mandatory use situations. Using a case study methodology, the authors explore these issues in the context of a major IT initiative underway at a multibank holding company headquartered in the Midwest US. They found that innovative IT applications involve change that is inherently a long-term endeavor requiring transformations of individual skills and organizational processes and practices. Their research suggests that the time lag before realization of performance gains is affected by the implementation process. Their findings have a number of generalizable lessons for practice as well as implications for future research.