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formal training settings. The attitudes of other trainees have been shown to influence attitudes and
behaviors towards computer technologies. Galletta et al. (1994) found that trainees in an experi-
ment where one of their classmates (who was, in fact, a confederate) criticized a software pack-
age and eventually stormed out of a training session developed poorer attitudes towards the
technology and demonstrated lower declarative knowledge after training. While computer self-
efficacy was not specifically examined by the authors, their results do suggest that the reactions
of others in a group training setting bear further investigation as influences on CSE.
Since verbal persuasion is something that practitioners can quite easily undertake, research on
this influence would be particularly useful to practice. For example, in an environment where new
technology is introduced, further research is required on the effects of positive evaluative feed-
back on the development of individual CSE with the new technology.
Further, a complex area of verbal persuasion that needs investigation is the effect that appraisal
disparity has on the formulation of CSE. Bandura (1997) theorizes that appraisal disparity, or the
differences between the appraisals of people's capabilities conveyed by others and those individ-
uals' own judgments of their current capabilities, will have different affects on the future devel-
opment of self-efficacy. The optimal level of appraisal disparity (minimal, moderate, or maximum),
according to Bandura (1997), will depend on the temporal proximity of the tasks (short-term vs.
distant future) and the nature of the performance activity (basic skills deficits or misuse of preex-
isting skills). For example, the optimal level of appraisal disparity will be lower for short-term
performance than for future performance (Bandura, 1997). Of interest to the field is whether the
optimal level of appraisal disparity varies depending on the IS setting (e.g., formal training, intro-
duction of new technology, or in a support environment), type of computer-related skills, and/or
nature of tasks to be completed.
Physiological states (mainly anxiety), like verbal persuasion, have been relatively under-
researched. Thus opportunities exist to explore other physiological states beyond anxiety in a broad
array of IS contexts.
Finally our review notes that research into the influence that other SE cues may have is pro-
viding early evidence of the importance of studying efficacy information cues that are internal or
external and their relationship to the four sources of efficacy information theorized by Bandura.
First, efforts should be made to organize and make sense of the range of internal and external cues
that have already been studied, as our review of the literature has identified via the lens of social
cognitive theory. Furthermore, IS researchers need to investigate external cues and how they oper-
ate through the four sources of efficacy information. Environmental factors and the complexities
of computer-related tasks investigated in training, self-directed learning, recent implementation of
computer technology, and technology support environments would deepen our understanding of
how SE is developed. Finally an opportunity exists to undertake more comprehensive studies
of internal efficacy information cues with an emphasis on identifying which of the numerous cues
highlighted by prior research is most influential in the formation of CSE.
CONCLUSIONS
Computer self-efficacy has been an important individual variable in studies of the interaction
between people and technology for nearly two decades. Our understanding of its influence and its
development has been significantly enhanced by the work of many researchers. This review
shows that the antecedents of computer self-efficacy judgments have been less well researched
than the outcomes, and describes how several ongoing programs of research are seeking to redress
this imbalance.
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