Understanding Involvement in Technology Adoption

Abstract

Adoption research often draws on frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to explain an individual"s intention to use information technology (IT). Collectively these models suggest that intention to use an information technology (IT) is determined by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. However, prior research on the attitude-behaviour link often returns inconsistent results. To address this inconsistency, this study looks at the role of involvement (i.e. an individual"s level of interest in a technology) in explaining intention to use IT, in this case, intention to use a mobile Internet phone. The survey results showed involvement was a stronger predictor of intention to use when compared with other determinants (e.g. perceived enjoyment, perceived behavioural control) while attitude was not significant. The findings therefore suggest the usefulness of involvement in explaining intention to use where attitude may fail to do so. © 2006 Annette M Mills.