Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1.
Research hypotheses and prior operationalization of constructs
H1
: RA
f
is positively associated with
methodology use
a
(MU).
H2
: CL
g
will be negatively associated with methodology use.
H3
: CA
h
will be positively associated with methodology use.
H4
: RD
i
will be positively associated with methodology use.
H5
: VS
j
will be positively associated with methodology use.
H5
: TR
k
will be positively associated with methodology use.
H6:
RE
l
will be positively associated with methodology use.
H7
: The influence of RA on methodology use will be moderated by
nAffi
b
and
nAch
e
, such that
the effect will be stronger for individuals with these specific needs.
H8
: The influence of CL on methodology use will be moderated by
nAch
and
nHav
c
, such that
the effect will be stronger for individuals with these specific needs.
H9
: The influence of CA on methodology use will be moderated by
nHav
, such that the effect
will be stronger for individuals with this specific need.
H10
The influence of RD on methodology use will be moderated by
nAffi
, such that the effect
will be stronger for individuals with this specific need.
H11
The influence of VS on methodology use will be moderated by
nAffi
, such that the effect
will be stronger for individuals with this specific need.
H12
The influence of TR on methodology use will be moderated by
nCog
d
and
nHav
, such that
the effect will be stronger for individuals with these specific needs.
H13
The influence of RE on methodology use will be moderated by
nCog
and
nAch
, such that
the effect will be stronger for individuals with these specific needs.
a
[49,50];
b, e
[14,17];
c
[34,54]
;
d
[8];
f, g, h, i, j, k, l
[29].
4 Discussion and Implications
Our work seeks to further the research on acceptance and use of methodologies by
individuals by unifying the theoretical perspectives on the
attributes of a methodology
and
needs of individuals
within a single model. Such a holistic approach for under-
standing why certain employees adopt a methodology while others reject it [25] is
important, because people are not passive recipients of innovations. They actively
seek new effective methodologies, “…experiment with them, evaluate them, find (or
fail to find) meaning in them, develop feelings (positive or negative) about them,
challenge them, worry about them, complain about them, 'work around' them, gain
experience with them, modify them to fit particular tasks, and try to improve or redes-
ign them—often through dialogue with other users” [19]. Only when we understand
and acknowledge that such a diverse list of actions and feelings are typical of human
behaviour, do we view the acceptance of new methodologies as a complex process
and realise that research needs a holistic lens, integrating technical as well as non-
technical factors.
Based on validated theories, we develop a conceptual model that holds that per-
sonal traits of individual - especially their needs - determine which technical meth-
odology attributes has a larger effect on an individual's use of a methodology. The
proposed multidimensionality of “what is a methodology” from a technical perspec-
tive represents a departure from traditional operationalization (which is devoid of
human factors) and might reveal more complex and as yet unknown interaction ef-
fects on human decision-making, especially in regard to the use of new methodolo-
gies. Our findings might have significant implications not only for the MIS research
