Socio-technical model

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), proposed by Davis (1993), is a model of IT adoption and operation that is designed to explain computer usage. This model defines the causal relationships between system-design features, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitudes towards using and actual usage behaviour. It is mainly used to explain the affect of system characteristics and end-user behaviour on the actual system use. Figure 2.5 outlines the major elements and relationships as presented in this model. This model assumes rationality in human behaviour through decreasing the importance of ease of use and expressing the importance of perceived usefulness. Although this assumption may be correct when people have the level of proficiency which enables them to recognise and evaluate the usefulness of the target system, people who do not have enough knowledge to realise the advantages of this system may only be motivated by the ease of system use.

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Figure ‎2.5: Technology acceptance model, Davis (1993; p476)

Cognitive response

External stimulus Effective response Behavioural response

The emphasis on the relationship between attitudes and behaviour tends to ignore the fact that attitudes will not be related to behaviour when people are not free to behave according to their attitudes (Winter et al. 1998). Through describing perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the two elements that influence attitudes towards using the new technology, this model ignores other elements that may have an affect such as management approach, the external social pressure performed by some individuals and groups within the organisation, cultural conflicts and personal characteristics of the technology users. For example, in their study to assess the ability of TAM to explain IT adoption and use in USA, Switzerland and Japan, Straub et al. (1997) explain that while TAM provides an explanation for IT adoption and use in USA and Switzerland, it does not provide an explanation for the Japanese experience. They find that cultural factors in the Japanese culture, e.g., uncertainty avoidance behaviour, greater power distance, collectivist sentiments and masculinity, can explain the failure of TAM in predicting computer usage behaviour in Japan. Their study emphasises the importance of cultural differences within the context of IT adoption research.

Although this model considers some elements of the social context within the adoptive environment, other key organisational characteristics have not been considered. Ignoring

System design features Perceived usefulness Perceived ease of use Attitude toward using Actual system use

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the role of these characteristics can make the process unable to reach to its normal and theoretical end according to this model or any other IT adoption model. This normally happens in some large bureaucratic organisations where top managers make adoption decisions without any previous consultation or any subsequent training (Abdul-Gader & Alangari 1996).

In his review of IT adoption literature, Fichman (1992) argues that much of the IT adoption theory was developed in the context of adopters making voluntary decisions to accept or reject the adoption based on the benefits they expect to gain. TAM is an example of this direction. However, he argues that individual adopters rarely have complete autonomy concerning the adoption and use of IT. One can argue that managers as power holders in all organisational levels play the most important role in the process of IT and DM adoption. In the first instance, they have the responsibility of evaluating the economic benefits of IT and DM adoption and have the ability to promote effective communication among organisational members. They, also, through their styles of management and their knowledge of IT and DM, can influence individual behaviour towards the use of IT and DM.

Auer & Ruohonen (1996) present a wider explanation of the IT adoption process and emphasise the importance of management within the information systems environment. They indicate that organisational maturity, in relation to information systems management, is related to three primary components and their interaction. The first is the social component, which is related to the users' abilities to utilise IT in their daily work (users' skills and knowledge). The second is the technical component, which includes hardware and software technologies. The third is the management component, which is the mediator in their maturity model. The human component includes management and social components and their reciprocal interaction with each other as well as with the technical component. All these organisational components have to be in balance in order for the organisation to accomplish its development strategy or implement any potential IT project. Figure 2.6 illustrates this model.

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Figure ‎2.6: Organisational maturity in the context of IS management and use, Auer and Ruohonen 1996: p6.

This model has not stated specific relationships and interactions between IT adoption and the organisational management. The investigation of this relationship is important since management can encourage adoption explicitly through expressed preferences and mandates or implicitly through reward systems and incentives (Fichman 1992). Managers who have positive attitudes towards IT and DM are expected to play a significant role in encouraging other organisational members to accept the use of IT and DM in performing their daily activities. Consequently, within this research a model will be developed to integrate classical IT adoption theories that focus on the willingness of individual adopters and more recent IT adoption theories that view IT adoption as an organisational process which is influenced by organisational management.

As discussed above, the available models of IT adoption were developed based on studies that were conducted in developed countries and therefore may not be suitable to explain the process of IT and DM adoption in other countries. A review of IT adoption literature in developing countries may clarify this issue.