Predicting adolescents’ use of social networking sites from an extended theory of planned behaviour perspective

The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among adolescents has grown exponentially, with little accompanying research to understand the influences on adolescent engagement with this technology. The current study tested the validity of an extended theory of planned behaviour model (TPB), incorporating the additions of group norm and self-esteem influences, to predict frequent SNS use. Adolescents (N = 160) completed measures assessing the standard TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and intention, as well as group norm and self-esteem. One week later, participants reported their SNS use during the previous week. Support was found for the standard TPB variables of attitude and PBC, as well as group norm, in predicting intentions to use SNS frequently, with intention, in turn, predicting behaviour. These findings provide an understanding of the factors influencing frequent engagement in what is emerging as a primary tool for adolescent socialisation.     

Age differences in perceptions of online community participation among non-users: An extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were not yet participating in these relatively new social spaces. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we investigated the factors that affect future intention to participate in online communities. Our results supported the proposition that perceived usefulness positively affects behavioral intention, yet it was determined that perceived ease of use was not a significant predictor of perceived usefulness. The study also discovered negative relationships between age and Internet self-efficacy and the perceived quality of online community websites. However, the moderating role of age was not found. The findings suggest that the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to participate in online communities do not change with age. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations were discussed.     

Psychosocial predictors of the use of enhanced podcasting in student learning

The current study examined the influence of psychosocial constructs, from a theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective, to predict university students’ (N = 159) use of a newly offered on-line learning tool, enhanced podcasts. Pre-semester, students completed questionnaires assessing the TPB predictors (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) related to intended enhanced podcast use until the middle of semester. Mid-semester, students completed similar items relating to podcast use until the end of semester. Self-report measures of podcast use were obtained at the middle and end of semester. At both time points, students’ attitudes predicted their intentions and, at the initial time point, subjective norm also predicted intended podcast use. An examination of the beliefs underlying attitudes, the only construct to predict intentions at both time points, revealed differences between those students higher, rather than lower on intentions to use the podcasts, especially for the perceived educational benefits of podcast use later in the semester. Intentions to use enhanced podcasting only predicted self-reported use in the second half of the semester. Overall, this study identified some of the determinants which should be considered by those aiming to encourage student use of novel on-line educational tools.     

Exploring the role of espoused values on e-service adoption: A comparative analysis of the US and Nigerian users

Technology adoption in developing and developed countries needs to be studied and contrasted in order to identify similar and unique factors which impact adoptions. Information technology acceptance and the influence of espoused values (EV) have been investigated in developed countries but such studies are rare for developing countries. The present study surveyed 201 Nigerians and 188 Americans using constructs based on accepted theories, with the aim of comparing the influence of national culture on the acceptance of e-services in each country. The combined data indicate that user satisfaction with e-services is affected by perceived usefulness and information/system quality (with R² = 0.64). User satisfaction, in turn, affects users’ behavioral intention to continue to use e-services (R² = 0.50). EVs moderate the effect of perceived usefulness and information/system quality on satisfaction. In general, the moderating effects of EVs are more pronounced for Nigerian respondents than for US respondents, due to national cultural differences.     

Predicting knowledge sharing practices through intention: A test of competing models

In knowledge management (KM)-related research, effective knowledge sharing is considered to be one of the most critical components of KM success. For the present research, the authors conducted a longitudinal, two-phased study to evaluate if the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and three variations of the Theory of Planned Behavior—namely, TPB, decomposed TPB (DTPB), and revised TPB (RTPB)—can adequately predict knowledge sharing behaviors. The first TRA-based study shows a severe limitation in the ability of the intention to predict actual knowledge sharing behaviors collected from a knowledge management platform. In a subsequent study, three variations of TPB-based models were employed to show that, although the independent variables (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control that is decomposed into controllability and self-efficacy) give satisfactory explanations of variance in intention (R² > 42%), the intention–behavior gap still exists in each of the three models. Only the perceived self-efficacy in the revised TPB can directly predict knowledge sharing behaviors. This gap highlights the importance of knowledge sharing as a fundamentally social activity for which the actualization of intention into actions may be interrupted due to barriers such as a mistake-free culture or others’ deliberate misinterpretations that may in turn cause unanticipated negative consequences to the person. The theoretical implication of this study is that in applying TPB to study knowledge sharing practices, researchers must focus on control beliefs that reflect people’s capacity to overcome possible environmental challenges encountered in carrying out their knowledge sharing intentions.     

A longitudinal investigation of continued online shopping behavior: An extension of the theory of planned behavior

The purpose of this study is to propose an extended model of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by incorporating constructs drawn from the model of Expectation Disconfirmation Theory (EDT) and to examine the antecedents of users’ intention to continue using online shopping (continuance intention). Prior research has demonstrated that TPB constructs, including attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, are important factors in determining the acceptance and use of various information technologies. These factors, however, are insufficient to explain a user's continuance intention in the online shopping context. In this study we extended TPB with two EDT constructs—disconfirmation and satisfaction—for studying users’ continuance intention in the online shopping context. By employing longitudinal method with two-stage survey, we empirically validated the proposed model and research hypotheses.     

Explaining non-work-related computing in the workplace: A comparison of alternative models

Our study was initiated to provide a better understanding of the factors influencing employees’ non-work-related computing (NWRC) behavior by comparing two models, one based on Triandis’ theory of interpersonal behavior (TIB) and the other derived from the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Results of the study showed that the TIB-based model had higher explanatory power than the TPB-based model. Specifically, affect, social factors, and perceived consequences significantly influenced employees’ intention to engage in NWRC, while intention to engage in it, habit, and facilitating conditions determined employees’ NWRC behavior. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Effects of innovativeness and trust on web survey participation

Responding to suggestions of prior research for examining the psychological constructs involved in a decision for or against participation in web surveys, this paper investigated the effects of trust in sponsor and personal innovativeness on potential respondents’ participation intention. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), two alternative models were empirically tested in which the roles of trust and innovativeness were theorized differently—either as moderators of the effects which perceived behavioral control and attitude have on participation intention (moderator model) or as direct determinants of the attitude, perceived behavioral control and intention (direct effects model). Data was collected from a sample of 131 university students enrolled in a computer course. The results of our study indicated that: (1) TPB could satisfactorily predict the behavioral intention with up to 44% variation of the intention being predicted by the model; (2) trust in sponsor and personal web innovativeness exerted direct determinant effects rather than moderate effects on participation attitude and perceived behavioral control, which in turn significantly affected participation intention; and (3) integrating the variables of trust and personal innovativeness into TPB model enhanced the prediction effect.     

Evaluation of lifestyle risk factors and job status associated with back injuries among employees at a mid-western university

For decades the literature has shown an association between work-related risk factors and back injuries among employees. However, only recently, there is a growing body of literature that suggests lifestyle risk factors may also be associated with back injuries. The purpose of this research was to determine if selected lifestyle risk factors are associated with a greater risk of back injuries. Further, there may be an association between job status and incident reporting, lost workdays cases and workers' compensation (WC) paid for back injuries among university employees. Aggregate data from a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) questionnaire were used to analyze 6053 university employees for lifestyle risk factors associated with back injuries. Of the total sample, 57% (n = 3471) were female; 46% (n = 2778) worked as clerical or service staff; and the mean age was 45 years. Pearson chi-square (χ²) analyses indicate that job status (χ² = 307.07, df = 4, p < .001) and gender (χ² = 40.14, df = 2, p < .001) were associated with high risk back score. An ordinal regression analysis predicted that participants who exercised vigorously for at least 20 min, 3 or more days per week, or 3 or more days per week of combined vigorous exercise and moderate-intensity physical activity are almost 30 times less likely to have a high back risk score compared to participants who do not exercise vigorously or participate in less than 3 days per week of moderate-intensity physical activity (OR = 29.68, 95% CI = 25-35.25, p < .001). Participants who have a low risk score for BMI are three times less likely (OR = 3.20, 95% CI = 2.74-3.75, p < .001) to have a high back risk score when compared to participants who have a high risk score for BMI. A regression tree predicted high back risk scores were participants who: (1) receive an adequate amount of physical activity or vigorous exercise and is a male service or clerical staff; (2) do not receive an adequate amount of physical activity or vigorous exercise, and is not overweight; or (3) who do not receive an adequate amount of physical activity or vigorous exercise, and is overweight. Six years of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 300 logs and WC claims data paid for back injuries supported the finding that clerical or service staff had the greatest risk of back injuries. Based on the results of this study, there appears to be an association between lifestyle risk factors, job status and back injuries among university employees. We believe our evaluation approach may be used to study other work populations to verify the outcomes observed in this study.     

Digital games in the classroom? A contextual approach to teachers’ adoption intention of digital games in formal education

Interest in using digital games for formal education has steadily increased in the past decades. When it comes to actual use, however, the uptake of games in the classroom remains limited. Using a contextual approach, the possible influence of factors on a school (N = 60) and teacher (N = 409) level are analyzed. Findings indicate that there is no effect of factors on the school level whereas on a teacher level, a model is tested, explaining 68% of the variance in behavioral intention, in which curriculum-relatedness and previous experience function as crucial determinants of the adoption intention. These findings add to previous research on adoption determinants related to digital games in formal education. Furthermore, they provide insight into the relations between different adoption determinants and their association with behavioral intention.     

The relationship between usage intention and adoption of electronic health records at primary care clinics

Objective

Despite of emerging evidence that electronic health records (EHRs) can improve the clinical quality, enhances patient safety and efficiency. Most physicians in primary health care clinics in the Taiwan do not currently adopt EHR at their clinic practices. We aim to measure the relationship between usage intention and adoption behavior.

Study design and methods

We used structured questionnaires distributed both EHRs adopter and non-adopter group to the primary health care physicians which participated in the DOH project to establish the information exchange environment across Taiwan. The response rate of adopter and non-adopter is 54.7% and 55.0% respectively.

Measurements

EHRs adoption behavior.

Results

The EHRs adopter group has higher intention than non-adopter (p = 0.003). From the result of logistic regression analyses, we found the key factors affecting physicians’ adoption pattern were intention to use (OR: 2.85; 95% CI: 2.30–3.54). In addition, higher perceived usefulness (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.06–1.56) and perceived ease to use (OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.22–1.79) increase adoption of EHR found.

Conclusion

The intention to use EHR, perceived usefulness and ease to use of primary care physicians were found as key factors influencing EHRs adoption. Thus, we suggest that government should promote the potential benefits of EHR and enhance physicians’ willingness to adopt the EHRs at their clinic practices.     

Obstacles to social networking website use among older adults

Social networking websites (SNSs) have become popular among younger adults, but internet-using older adults have not adopted this communication medium nearly as quickly ( and ). This study seeks to understand what factors encourage or discourage older adults from using SNS, like Facebook, to help understand what may be done to ensure both generations have communication media over which they enjoy and feel comfortable communicating. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM;  and ) as a framework, 124 internet-using older adults aged 60–90, completed attitudinal measures of perceived usefulness of SNS, perceived ease of use of websites, social pressures to use SNS, and trust in SNS, as well as behavioral measures of current internet use, SNS use, and intention to use SNS in the future. Regression analyses revealed significant predictors of SNS include perceived usefulness, trust in SNS, and frequency of internet use. Unexpectedly, factors of ease of use and social pressures were not significant predictors. Implications for the TAM and for individuals with an interest in getting older adults to use SNS are discussed.     

Sleep in a live-in mining operation: The influence of start times and restricted non-work activities

The amount of sleep obtained between shifts is influenced by numerous factors including the length of work and rest periods, the timing of the rest period relative to the endogenous circadian cycle and personal choices about the use of non-work time. The current study utilised a real-world live-in mining environment to examine the amount of sleep obtained when access to normal domestic, family and social activities was restricted. Participants were 29 mining operators (26 male, average age 37.4 ± 6.8 years) who recorded sleep, work and fatigue information and wore an activity monitor for a cycle of seven day shifts and seven night shifts (both 12 h) followed by either seven or fourteen days off. During the two weeks of work participants lived on-site. Total sleep time was significantly less (p < 0.01) while on-site on both day (6.1 ± 1.0 h) and night shifts (5.7 ± 1.5 h) than days off (7.4 ± 1.4 h). Further, night shift sleep was significantly shorter than day-shift sleep (p < 0.01). Assessment of subjective fatigue ratings showed that the sleep associated with both days off and night shifts had a greater recovery value than sleep associated with day shifts (p < 0.01). While on-site, participants obtained only 6 h of sleep indicating that the absence of competing domestic, family and social activities did not convert to more sleep. Factors including shift start times and circadian influences appear to have been more important.     

The impact of perceived ease of use on Internet service adoption: The moderating effects of temporal distance and perceived risk

Perceived ease of use is found to affect consumer’s intention toward using an Internet-based service. However, to protect online transaction security, more security verification mechanisms are established which in turn increase the complexity and difficulty of using online services. This study proposed that the importance of perceived ease of use is depending on short- vs. long-term transaction expectation, product type, and whether security concern information is presented. In certain situations buyers or sellers of an Internet service may tolerate the inconvenience of using the Internet-based service. A 2 (verification requirement) × 2 (network externality) × 2 (short vs. long term) between-subject design was conducted on sellers of an auction site and a 2 (verification requirement) × 2 (product type) × 2 (with vs. without security concern information) between-subject design was conducted on buyers of an auction site. The results of two studies suggest that perceived ease of use increases the intention toward using online service when sellers expect that the Internet service usage is only for a short-term transaction or when buyers have no access of the security concern information on the website. In contrast, sellers prefer using an online service which requires a relatively high verification requirement when the purpose of using Internet service is for long-term transaction or when buyers have access of security concern information. The results also showed that perceived network externality positively affect sellers’ intention toward using an auction website.     

The moderating effects of gender on e-commerce systems adoption factors: An empirical investigation

For e-commerce designers and human–computer interaction researchers, electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems adoption factors and the moderating effects of gender are important topics. Even though there are research endeavors to explain e-commerce systems adoption, one of the main questions to be answered is regarding the normative and affective factors based on the theory of reasoned action and self-determination theory. In this paper, social norms, perceived enjoyment, and their relationships to intention to adopt an e-commerce system are tested (n = 322). Furthermore, the moderating effects of gender are tested based on the sociolinguistic literature. As expected, the influence of social norms is stronger in the female group while the influence of enjoyment is stronger in the male group. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.     

An Identification of Factors Motivating Individuals’ Use of Cloud-Based Services

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the factors motivating individuals who use cloud-based services despite the privacy and security risks associated with it. The authors developed a research model that incorporates the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and constructs from previous research to explain individuals’ intentions to use cloud-based services. Our analysis shows support for the relationships among predictor variables (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and information privacy) and the outcome variable (behavioral intention). Additionally, our analysis shows IT leadership and trust as moderating variables between the TPB predictor variables (attitude and perceived behavioral control), but not subjective norm. The results indicate that IT leadership support of cloud-based systems can have a positive effect on cloud adoption and individuals are likely to continue their use of cloud computing despite the privacy and security risks associated with it.     

A study on e-learning take-up intention from an innovation adoption perspective: A case in China

This research aims to examine, from an innovation adoption perspective, Chinese students’ intention of taking up e-learning degrees. A survey of Chinese students was conducted to reveal their perceptions concerning innovation attributes relevant to e-learning and their intentions of taking e-learning programmes provided by UK universities. Given the rapid development in e-learning and its potential impact on how learning takes place, this research argues that e-learning take-up represents adoption of an innovation in educational services, rather than just an IT technology. It therefore examined e-learning adoption using Rogers’s relational model of perceived innovation attributes. Rogers’s model was adapted to the e-learning context. A questionnaire survey was developed to collect data from a sample of Chinese students (n = 215). Prior to final analysis the dimensionality and validity of the implementation of Rogers relational model was assessed. Findings suggested that only perceived compatibility and trialability have significant influence on e-learning adoption intention.     

Exploring Chinese users’ acceptance of instant messaging using the theory of planned behavior,the technology acceptance model,and the flow theory

Instant messaging (IM) is a popular Internet application around the world. In China, the competition in the IM market is very intense and there are over 10 IM products available. We examine the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that affect Chinese users’ acceptance of IM based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the flow theory. Results demonstrate that users’ perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly influence their attitude towards using IM, which in turn impacts their behavioral intention. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, users’ concentration, and two components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB): subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, also have significant impact on the behavioral intention. Users’ intention determines their actual usage behavior.     

The effects of the self and social identity on the intention to microblog: An extension of the theory of planned behavior

Microblogging has become one of the most popular social communication styles in the world. Much research has already addressed this hot issue; however, studies examining the intentions behind microblogging behaviors are limited. This study extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict intention to microblog and other behaviors. The results showed that social identity was the greatest predictor of intention, followed by attitude and perceived behavioral control. Social identity fully mediated the effects of subjective norms and self-identity on intention. Intention significantly predicted users' microblogging behaviors. These results have important implications for industry players and marketing managers.