6 Technology Acceptance Model
Georgia L. Burgess & Amber K. Worthington
The Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989) evolved from the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior that were introduced in Chapters 4 and 5. This original inception of the Technology Acceptance Model stated that the goal of this theory was to “provide an explanation of the determinants of computer acceptance that is general, capable of explaining user behavior across a broad range of end-user computing technologies and user populations, while at the same time being both parsimonious and theoretically justified” [Davis et al. 1989, p. 985]. The use of the Technology Acceptance Model has since been expanded to include various other technologies beyond computers, including use of telemedicine services (Kamal, Shafiq, & Kakria, 2020), digital technologies for teachers (Scherer, Siddiq, & Tondeur, 2019), phone apps (Min, So, & Jeong, 2019), and e-learning platforms for students (Sukendro et al., 2020).
The Technology Acceptance Model is depicted below:
The Technology Acceptance Model posits that actual technology use is directly determined by an individual’s intentions to use the technology. As the individual’s intentions to use the technology increase, they are more likely to actually use the technology. Let’s use online therapy as an example. Technology use intentions are oftentimes assessed with a questionnaire. An example is shown here:
The Technology Acceptance Model further predicts that these intentions are directly predicted by (1) an individual’s perceived usefulness of the technology and (2) an individual’s perceived ease of use of the technology. Perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular technology would be beneficial. As an individual’s perceived usefulness of a given technology increases, their intentions to use the technology also increase. Perceived usefulness is oftentimes assessed with a questionnaire. An example is shown here:
Perceived ease of use is defined as the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular technology would be free from effort. As an individual’s perceived ease of use of using a given technology increases, their intentions to use the technology also increase. Perceived ease of use is also commonly assessed with a questionnaire. An example is shown here:
How are the predictors weighted in the Technology Acceptance Model?
Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use do not always contribute equally to predicting intentions. Sometimes, an individual’s intentions may be determined largely by perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use may have little or no influence. Other times, perceived ease of use may exert more influence. For example, college students’ perceived usefulness to use online therapy may largely be driven by their perceptions that online therapy is useful; whether or not they perceive it is easy to use m