Factors Affecting Web Disclosure Adoption in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are strategically using their own personal website to present themselves to the public and share information. Despite the potential benefits of enhanced public confidence and trust, reduced operating costs, improved donor decision making, and increased donations, many nonprofit organizations have resisted the adoption of web disclosure. Informed by the literature on information systems (IS) adoption and technological innovation, this study examines the primary factors that influence the adoption and resistance of web disclosure. Our sample consisted of 176 survey responses from an initial group of 3,323 U.S. NPOs. The statistical results indicate that attitude toward disclosure, compatibility of disclosure with current practices, and financial readiness have a positive influence on web disclosure adoption. The findings have implications for research and practice.     

Agent-based modeling of energy technology adoption: Empirical integration of social,behavioral, economic,and environmental factors

Agent-based modeling (ABM) techniques for studying human-technical systems face two important challenges. First, agent behavioral rules are often ad hoc, making it difficult to assess the implications of these models within the larger theoretical context. Second, the lack of relevant empirical data precludes many models from being appropriately initialized and validated, limiting the value of such models for exploring emergent properties or for policy evaluation. To address these issues, in this paper we present a theoretically-based and empirically-driven agent-based model of technology adoption, with an application to residential solar photovoltaic (PV). Using household-level resolution for demographic, attitudinal, social network, and environmental variables, the integrated ABM framework we develop is applied to real-world data covering 2004–2013 for a residential solar PV program at the city scale. Two applications of the model focusing on rebate program design are also presented.     

What company characteristics are associated with the adoption of social media?

ABSTRACT

In just one decade, social media have moved from being marginal phenomena to having three billion active monthly users globally in 2017. We use a large representative sample to study which company characteristics are associated with the early adoption of social media. Our findings suggest that digital orientation (outside social media), innovativeness, external collaboration in marketing and sales, and orientation towards consumer markets all increase a company’s probability of adopting social media. In addition, larger and younger companies are more likely to be early movers. Overall, business use of social media has only reached its early maturity; thus, it still has plenty of room to grow.     

Technology adoption in employee recruitment: The case of social media in Central and Eastern Europe

Social technologies are increasingly used in several organizational functions, including human resource management. The focus of this study is on social media adoption in employee recruitment and selection in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The theoretical lens used in this study is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), extended to include the impact of the recruiters' managerial position and educational level on technology adoption. Results obtained from partial least squares path modeling, using cross-sectional data collected from 224 recruiters, showed that the core hypotheses of the UTAUT were supported, namely the positive impact of performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence on behavioral intention, as well as the positive impact of facilitating conditions and behavioral intention on usage behavior. As expected, the recruiters' characteristics triggered many interaction effects, but none of them impacted facilitating conditions. Managerial implications are discussed and future research suggestions are provided.     

A review of varietal change in roots,tubers and bananas: consumer preferences and other drivers of adoption and implications for breeding

This review of the literature on varietal change in sub-Saharan Africa looks in detail at adoption of new varieties of bananas in Uganda, cassava in Nigeria, potato in Kenya, sweetpotato in Uganda and yams in Côte d’Ivoire. The review explored three hypotheses about drivers of varietal change. There was a strong confirmation for the hypothesis that insufficient priority given to consumer-preferred traits by breeding programmes contributes to the limited uptake of modern varieties (MVs) and low varietal turnover. Lack of evidence meant the second hypothesis of insufficient attention to understanding and responding to gender differences in consumer preferences for quality and post-harvest traits was unresolved. The evidence on the third hypothesis about the informal seed system contributing to slow uptake of MVs was mixed. In some cases, the informal system has contributed to rapid uptake of MVs, but often it appears to be a barrier with inconsistent varietal naming a major challenge.     

Is farming a belief in Northern Ghana? Exploring the dual-system theory for commerce,culture, religion and technology

Rice production encountered several challenges, especially among rural farmers in Northern Ghana. The current debate encompasses the belief of cultural norms and religious values as the right theory for the sustainability of agriculture. The belief in abstracts is prioritised to the adoption of improved rice. This paper examined the value attached to traditional rice varieties as a result of societal beliefs, and theoretically underpinned by the Dual-system hypothesis. The finding from three ethnic and religious groups through a survey indicates heterogeneity in the results but also demonstrates the factual importance of culture and religion. This paper, therefore, proposes a new way of categorising farming; as a business and a belief and that policy stream aim at small scale, rural farmers with belief peculiarities needs to adopt cultural and religious strategies to promote adoption.     

E-Learning during COVID-19 Outbreak: Cloud Computing Adoption in Indian Public Universities

In the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the need to adopt cloud computing (CC) applications by education institutions, in general, and higher education (HE) institutions, in particular, has especially increased to engage students in an online mode and remotely carrying out research. The adoption of CC across various sectors, including HE, has been picking momentum in the developing countries in the last few years. In the Indian context, the CC adaptation in the HE sector (HES) remains a less thoroughly explored sector, and no comprehensive study is reported in the literature. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to overcome this research vacuum and examine the factors that impact the CC adoption (CCA) by HE institutions (HEIs) in India. The scope of the study is limited to public universities (PUs) in India. There are, in total, 465 Indian PUs and among these 304 PUs, (i.e., 65% PUs) are surveyed using questionnaire-based research. The study has put forth a novel integrated technology adoption framework consisting of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) in the context of the HES. This integrated TAM-TOE-DOI framework is utilized in the study to analyze eleven hypotheses concerning factors of CCA that have been tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings reveal that competitive advantage (CA), technology compatibility (TC), technology readiness (TR), senior leadership support, security concerns, government support, and vendor support are the significant contributing factors of CCA by Indian PUs. The study contends that whereas the rest of the factors positively affect the PUs’ intention towards CCA, security concerns are a significant reason for the reluctance of these universities against adopting CC. The findings demonstrated the application of an integrated TAM-TOE-DOI framework to assess determining factors of CCA in Indian PUs. Further, the study has given useful insights into the successful CCA by Indian PUs, which will facilitate eLearning and remote working during COVID-19 or similar outbreak.     

Clean technology adoption in the context of climate change: Application in the mineral products industry

With the adoption/diffusion of clean technologies, it is possible to reach most of the required amount of emission reduction to address climate change. In this regard, identifying its variables and understanding the adoption process deeply will help to accelerate clean technology adoption (CTA) and develop effective policies and strategies on clean technologies. The aim of this study is to determine the CTA process through a new model based on the Technology-Organization-Environment Framework (TOE) applied to mineral products industry in Turkey. The results revealed that the CTA is considerably affected by technological and organizational factors but not by external environmental factor. Among these factors, complexity, relative advantage and compatibility of the technology, human resource quality and firm vision are listed as key. In addition, the results showed a difference between CTA levels in terms of technological and organizational factors, and CTA is positively affected by the level of R&D activities of the firm.     

Adoption of new technologies in developing countries: The case of autonomous car between Vietnam and Colombia

The objective of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of Hofstede's cultural dimension of indulgence on the relationship between risk perception (financial, psychological, and time) and purchase intention regarding autonomous cars in Colombia and Vietnam using a multi-group model. A total of 800 Colombian and Vietnamese car drivers aged 18 or over participated by completing a personal questionnaire through a polling firm. The methodological contribution of the study is its use of variables related to the consumer and the environment that affect the adoption of this type of new technology. The findings showed that indulgence had a direct influence on the adoption of new technologies that have a lesser impact on the environment. For financial and psychological risk and the relationship with purchase intention, it was possible to find moderation effects in the country characterized by a low degree of indulgence. However, in the case of time risk, the moderation effect of indulgence was found in both countries (i.e., those with a low and high degree of indulgence). People in the country with a high degree of indulgence tended to feel anxious and stressed when faced with the decision to acquire the new technology.