Entrepreneurs Attitude towards the Computer and its Effect on eBusiness Adoption

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Entrepreneurs Attitude towards the Computer and
its Effect on e-Business Adoption

• Alastair W Robertson

A.W.Robertson_at_lancaster.ac.uk Centre for
e-Science and e-Management Lancaster University
Management School Lancaster LA1 4YX United
Kingdom
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Lancaster Centre for e-Science
Creation of e-collaboration software
Deployment potential to SMEs
Study focuses on scale of potential demand
Related papers Enterprise Survey, Demand for
e-Collaboration Tools
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Overview
Paper explores idea that decision makers attitude
towards computers influences likelihood of
adopting computer based technologies
e.g. web service, e-business technologies
Applies psychology of Technology Adoption Model
(TAM) to understand effect
Using large scale survey data, measures impact of
TAM on adoption of computer based technologies
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Need for knowledge
E-business adoption slow, despite necessary
network infrastructure (e.g. broadband) being in
place
The question what are the effects of the
decision makers attitude towards technology on
final SME technology adoption?
Policy interest what can be done to increase or
speed up technology adoption among SMEs?
Policy impact raise organisational efficiency
through enhanced technology
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Isolation of Factors Effecting Technology Adoption
New-product diffusion (Rogers, 1995)
Important question What drives the speed of
adoption?
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Key Adoption Factors
Organisational
Individual
Social Influences e.g. productivity perceptions
Network participation
Strategic Adoption e.g. competitive adv.
General technology acceptance, some people like
technology, others dont
Relative advantage of technology (e.g. efficiency
gain)
Question What are key factors underlying
psychology of technology adoption and how are
SMEs affected?
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Social Psychology, ICTs and Human Behaviour
? Google Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
Massive literature on TAM
Social psychological factors used to segment
consumers.
Usefulness
Ease of Use
Enjoyment
Re-apply this model to understand Influence of
TAM on Innovativeness of SMEs
Impact on policy????
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Influence of TAM on SME Innovativeness
Usefulness
Use TAM to segment SMEs
Hypothesis Decision makers attitude towards the
computer acts as hurdle to computer based
technology adoption generally
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The data.
Surveyed 655 decision makers of SMEs during Dec
2006 and Jan 2007 (see www.ictresearch.org for
Enterprise Survey white paper)
Survey frame North of England, using Dun and
Bradstreet
Survey focus Measure current ICT penetration
rates within SMEs, and future demand for
e-collaborative technology
Existing technologies IP connectivity, Internet,
broadband, use of video conferencing
Geographical need for e-collaborative technology
(i.e. interspersed offices, need to travel to
clients, type of work)
Perceived need for e-collaborative technologies
i.e. video conferencing, online whiteboards,
online presentations (see http//agora.lancs.ac.uk
)
Measured TAM perceptions
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Testing the hypothesis.
Using measured TAM perceptions only, segment
decision makers based on low and high scores
Interpretation
LIT Low response to TAM i.e. predicted low
adoption of IT
HIT High response to TAM i.e. predicted high
adoption of IT
Now lets look at past and future adoption of IT
for each group
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Historical diffusion of internet
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Future adoption of internet services
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Organisational Characteristics of LIT and HIT
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This research highlights
That if decision makers have low perceptions
towards computer technology that adoption of
computer dependant technology is likely to be low
also.
That TAM acts as a useful predictor of technology
adoption. Ease of use of technology is key
driver.
Interesting to note Many LIT perceive computers
as being useful.
Leads to possibility that gap in diffusion speeds
may be closed if technology is simplified.
Latest web based technologies (e.g. Google
spreadsheets of Lancaster Centre for e-Science
e-collaborative tools) offer greater simplicity
yielding potentially faster diffusion rates.