The Unified Technology Acceptance Model Based On Task-Technology Fit Theory

Information technology acceptance research has been an important stream in management information system area. Although there are many studies giving different explanation for information technology acceptance behavior, the diversity of information technology and managerial task make these theoretical models less practically significant. Recently, information technology acceptance models have been developed and integrated, but there are concepts of overlapping among these models and inadequate consideration in technology characteristics and task characteristics. One of the important reasons is that it is difficult for traditional primary empirical method to obtain large scale samples acquiring the various technologies and tasks, thus it is difficult to do the comparison study among various technologies and tasks. Meta analysis method is accomplished in synthesizing existed multiple empirical studies, and can be used in confirmatory manner for hypotheses testing like empirical method, so it could be used to reveal the reasons for the difference among various technologies and task background.This dissertation tries to incorporate the Task-Technology Fit Theory (TTF) into the integated technology acceptance model, i.e. to integrate Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2), Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM3), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Innovations Diffusion Theory (IDT) from the TTF perspective, according to the logic of "cognitive belief-behavioral intention-usage behavior-usage performance", and establish the Unified Technology Acceptance Model Based on TTF. The dissertation explores the following two closely related questions:First, how to introduce the TTF into the integated technology acceptance model? Second, how does users'information technology acceptance mechanism play its role differently under different technology charateristics and task characteristics circumstances?The dissertation carried out an empirical study under ERP usage background and a meta-analytic study using 208 empirical literatures to address above questions. The result indicate:(1) Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and perceived task technology fit are critical cognitive beliefs influencing users' technology acceptance. (2) Usage performance is influenced by both perceived task technology fit and usage behavior; In turn, usage behavior is influeced by perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention; And behavioral intention is influenced by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and perceived task technology fit. (3) The more complexity the task is, the bigger impact of perceived usefulness and perceived behavioral control on behavioral intention, while the smaller impact of perceived ease of use on behavioral intention; Comparing with non-network IT, the impact of subjective norm on behavioral intention is bigger in network IT usage situation; Comparing with hedonic IT, the impact of perceived usefulness on behavioral intention is bigger, while the impact of perceived ease of use on behavioral intention is smaller in utilitarian IT usage situation.The dissertation has there innovative points as follows:(1) Systematically introduce the TTF into the technology acceptance theory, and establish a unified technology acceptance model. Response the criticism for current IT usage models being overly simplistic, remedy for the limitation of UTAUT without introducing TTF, incorporate usage performance as a dependent variable of technology acceptance; Unify the concepts of overlapping among the current eight dominant models, indentify the critical cognitive belief factors influencing users'IT acceptance, analyze the influential mechanism of these critical cognitive belief factors on IT acceptance outcome; Illustrate the complex nomological paths by which perceived task technology fit influences IT acceptance, explain the reason why perceived task technology fit has little direct influence on usage behavior in Technology-Performance Chain (TPC).(2) Amply explore the differenct users' information technology acceptance mechanism under different task complexity, technology network and technology utility circumstances. This makes the unified technology acceptance model more explanatorily powerful for diversity of information technology and managerial task in reality, and has reference value for the enterprises to take corresponding interventions and management measures according to technology characteristics and task characteristics of the implemented IT.(3) Employ both empirical study and meta-analytic study to test the whole model, thus offer a brand new perspective for managerial research methodology. The empirical research is more exploratory, while meta-analytic research is more universal, reliable and accomplished in synthesizing the empirical study results under different research background, thereby can reveal the differentiation under different scenario. Empirical research provides the research foundation for meta-analytic research, while meta-analytic research points out the research gap for empirical research. Therefore, meta-analytic research and primary empirical research are complementary with each other and can promote each other, thereby can push the theoretical development together.