The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) is a

technology acceptance model The technology acceptance model (TAM) is an information systems theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology. The ''actual system use'' is the end-point where people use the technology. ''Behavioral intention'' is a factor tha ...

formulated by Venkatesh and others in "User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view". The UTAUT aims to explain user intentions to use an

information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

and subsequent usage behavior. The theory holds that there are four key constructs: 1) performance expectancy, 2) effort expectancy, 3)

social influence Social influence comprises the ways in which individuals adjust their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment. It takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, s ...

, and 4) enabling conditions. The first three are direct determinants of usage intention and behavior, and the fourth is a direct determinant of user behavior. Gender, age, experience, and voluntariness of use are posited to moderate the impact of the four key constructs on usage intention and behavior. The theory was developed through a review and consolidation of the constructs of eight models that earlier research had employed to explain information systems usage behaviour (

theory of reasoned action The theory of reasoned action (TRA or ToRA) aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviors within human action. It is mainly used to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes and behavioral intent ...

, motivational model,

theory of planned behavior The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a psychological theory that links beliefs to behavior. The theory maintains that three core components, namely, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, together shape an individua ...

, a combined theory of planned behavior/technology acceptance model, model of

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

use,

diffusion of innovations Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. Everett Rogers, a professor of communication studies, popularized the theory in his book ''Diffusion of Innovations''; the boo ...

theory, and

social cognitive theory Social cognitive theory (SCT), used in psychology, education, and communication, holds that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, an ...

). Subsequent validation by Venkatesh et al. (2003) of UTAUT in a longitudinal study found it to account for 70% of the variance in Behavioural Intention to Use (BI) and about 50% in actual use.

Application

* Koivumäki et al. applied UTAUT to study the perceptions of 243 individuals in northern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

toward mobile services and technology and found that time spent using the devices did not affect consumer perceptions, but familiarity with the devices and user skills did have an impact. * Eckhardt et al. applied UTAUT to study social influence of workplace referent groups (superiors, colleagues) on intention to adopt technology in 152 German companies and found significant impact of social influence from workplace referents on

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

adoption. * Curtis et al. applied UTAUT to the adoption of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

by 409 United States nonprofit organizations. UTAUT had not been previously applied to the use of social media in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

. They found that organizations with defined public relations departments are more likely to adopt social media technologies and use them to achieve their organizational goals. Women considered social media to be beneficial, and men exhibited more confidence in actively utilizing social media. * Verhoeven et al. applied UTAUT to study computer use frequency in 714

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

freshmen in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and found that UTAUT was also useful in explaining varying frequencies of computer use and differences in information and communication technology skills in secondary school and in the university. * Welch et al. applied UTAUT to study factors contributing to

Mobile learning M-learning or mobile learning is "learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices". A form of distance education, m-learners use mobile device educational technology at their convenienc ...

adoption among 118

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

staff in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. UTAUT had not been previously applied to the use of just-in-time knowledge interventions to development technological knowledge within the

sector. They found that UTAUT was useful in explaining the determinants of

mobile learning M-learning or mobile learning is "learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices". A form of distance education, m-learners use mobile device educational technology at their convenienc ...

adoption.

Extension of the theory

* Lin and Anol postulated an extended model of UTAUT, including the influence of

online social support Online social support is an internet-based form of social support. The more people are engaging to express and discuss with other via online community, the more online community getting similar with the social community and have the similar relatio ...

on network information technology usage. They surveyed 317

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

students in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

regarding their online social support in using

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

and found that social influence plays an important role in affecting online social support. * Sykes et al. proposed a model of acceptance with peer support (MAPS), integrating prior research on individual adoption with research on

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

in organizations. They conducted a 3-month-long study of 87 employees in one organization and found that studying social network constructs can aid in understanding new information system use. * Wang, Wu, and Wang added two constructs (perceived playfulness and self-management of learning) to the UTAUT in their study of determinants of acceptance of mobile learning in 370 individuals in

and found that they were significant determinants of behavioral intention to use mobile learning in all respondents. * Hewitt et al. extended the UTAUT to study the acceptance of autonomous vehicles. Two separate surveys of 57 and 187 individuals in the USA showed that users were less accepting of high autonomy levels and displayed significantly lower intention to use highly autonomous vehicles. * Wang and Wang extended the UTAUT in their study of 343 individuals in Taiwan to determine

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

differences in

mobile Internet The mobile web refers to mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network. History and development Traditionally, the Worl ...

acceptance. They added three constructs – perceived playfulness, perceived value, and palm-sized computer self-efficacy to UTAUT and chose behavioral intention as a dependent variable. They omitted use behavior, facilitating conditions, and experience. .l. Also, since the devices were used in a voluntary context, and they found that most adopters were ages 20–35, they omitted voluntariness and age. Perceived value had a significant influence on adoption intention, and palm-sized computer self-efficacy played a critical role in predicting mobile Internet acceptance. Perceived playfulness, however, did not have a strong influence on behavioral intention, but this may have been due to service or network communication quality issues during the study. * Cheng-Min Chao developed and empirically tested a model to predict the factors affecting students' behavioral intentions toward using mobile learning (m-learning). The study applied the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model with the addition of perceived enjoyment, mobile self-efficacy, satisfaction, trust, and perceived risk moderators. The study collected data from 1562 respondents to conduct a cross-sectional study and employed a research model based on multiple technology acceptance theories. * Cimperman et al. developed an extended UTAUT model to analyze the acceptance rate of home telehealth services among older adults. The extended UTAUT model has six predictors and were empirically tested to be effective when predicting how a certain behaviour influences acceptance rate.

Criticism

* Bagozzi critiqued the model and its subsequent extensions, stating "UTAUT is a well-meaning and thoughtful presentation," but that it presents a model with 41

independent variables Dependent and independent variables are variables in mathematical modeling, statistical modeling and experimental sciences. Dependent variables receive this name because, in an experiment, their values are studied under the supposition or deman ...

for predicting intentions and at least 8 independent variables for predicting behavior," and that it contributed to the study of technology adoption "reaching a stage of chaos." He proposed instead a unified theory that coheres the "many splinters of knowledge" to explain decision making. * Van Raaij and Schepers criticized the UTAUT as being less

parsimonious Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor ( la, novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony ( la, lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond neces ...

than the previous

Technology Acceptance Model The technology acceptance model (TAM) is an information systems theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology. The ''actual system use'' is the end-point where people use the technology. ''Behavioral intention'' is a factor tha ...

and TAM2 because its high ''R''² is only achieved when moderating key relationships with up to four variables. They also called the grouping and labeling of items and constructs problematic because a variety of disparate items were combined to reflect a single psychometric construct. * Li suggested that using moderators to artificially achieve high ''R''² in UTAUT is unnecessary and also impractical for understanding organizational technology adoption, and demonstrated that good predictive power can be achieved even with simple models when proper initial screening procedures are applied. The results provide insights for organizational research design under practical business settings.Li, Jerry (2020)
"Blockchain technology adoption: Examining the Fundamental Drivers"
''Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Management Science and Industrial Engineering'', ACM Publication, April 2020, pp. 253–260.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite journal, last1=Bagozzi, first1=R.P. , year=2007 , title=The Legacy of the Technology Acceptance Model and a Proposal for a Paradigm Shift, journal=Journal of the Association for Information Systems , volume=8 , issue=4 , pages=244–254, doi=10.17705/1jais.00122 , url=http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1406&context=jais , doi-access=free {{Cite journal, last1=Venkatesh, first1=Viswanath, last2=Morris, first2=Michael G., last3=Davis, first3=Gordon B., last4=Davis, first4=Fred D., date=2003, title=User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View, jstor=30036540, journal=MIS Quarterly, volume=27, issue=3, pages=425–478, doi=10.2307/30036540, s2cid=14435677 Product management Technological change Management cybernetics

Application

Extension of the theory

Criticism

See also

References