| Decision-making is one of the most critical tasks that a senior leader must perform. This is especially true for public school superintendents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Pennsylvania school superintendents' decision style, technology leadership training, technology acceptance and use of technology for decision-making. A modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) was used as the framework for the study. The TAM is one of the most influential models for determining information systems and technology acceptance and use. The Decision Style Inventory (Rowe & Mason, 1987) was part of a questionnaire used to collect data and measure individual decision style. A survey instrument, in the form of a questionnaire, was used to collect data. Data was analyzed through multivariate and correlation analysis utilizing SPSS. Results included strong support for the TAM, with perceived usefulness highly correlated with behavioral intention to use an application for decision-making. Individuals favoring a behavioral decision style were prone to be technology adverse in the decision-making process. Urban superintendents were more likely than suburban and rural superintendents to use spreadsheets and databases for decision-making. And, individuals who attended technology training were more likely to perceive themselves as more computer savvy, relative to their peers, and more likely to use technology, especially the Internet and e-mail, in their decision-making processes. |
