Information Technology Reference
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and image, all three of which can be traced back to this one variable (Venkatesh
et al. 2003 ).
Facilitating conditions refers to the perception a user has of the existence of
supporting structures, both at the organizational and technical levels (Sun et al.
2013 ). The more the user feels that his/her use of the system is supported by the
adequate structures, the more likely he/she will use that system. Used in previous
models, the concepts of perceived behavioral control and compatibility could fall
under this variable (Venkatesh et al. 2003 ).
UTAUT also establishes four key moderating factors that, while external, will
have some degree of in
uence on the acceptance process: These are demographic
factors (age, gender) along with user experience and voluntariness of use (Wang
and Shih 2009 ). These moderating factors can have complex relationships of
in
uence over the rest of the model, but generally, they are more relevant in the
initial process of technology adoption (Venkatesh et al. 2003 ).
The UTAUT model aims to provide a wider depiction of the process of tech-
nology acceptance. In their empirical application of it, the authors concluded that
(Venkatesh et al.
2003 ). It is an integrated framework that combines the more signi
UTAUT explains as much as 70 % of the variance in intention
cant variables
presented by previous models, and thus developed a more universal method to
forecast and justify users
'
behavior in terms of technology adoption. Even though it
is somewhat recent, it has already motivated several empirical studies by other
authors, which have attested for its ef
cacy (Alawadhi and Morris 2008 ). It has also
presented useful results when applied in contexts other than English-speaking
countries, which means that it appears to be solid enough to be used cross-culturally
(Oshlyansky et al. 2007 ).
6.13 Conclusion
As IT and IS became more and more prominent in modern organizational man-
agement and technological development, researchers have consistently attempted to
pinpoint exactly what causes one system or technology to be adopted by the general
user base, and another to be completely rejected. This has been the simplest and
most effective way of ascertaining the product
s quality.
We have seen that researchers have built numerous models for this purpose,
drawing from various
'
fields such as marketing research, social psychology, or
behavioral psychology. All these models were tested in empirical studies; some
showed more promising results than others.
We can, however,
find some commonalities. First, all the most prominent
models attribute key importance to individual perception of the technology,
regardless of whether this perception is affected by his/her own beliefs or by the
social environment.
Second, there is a prevalent notion that individuals will tend to adopt technology
on the basis of their perception of its usefulness. Whether
usefulness
means that it
 
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