Affiliation: | a Philips Electronics, Corporate Purchasing, Zwaanstraat 1, Building TAM, P.O. Box 218, 5600 MD Eindhoven, The Netherlands b Eindhoven University of Technology, Technology Management, Department Information and Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands c Open University, Department of Economics, Business and Public Administration, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands d Free University, Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Department of Econometrics, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
Abstract: | There is a paucity of literature focusing on the ingredients for effective top management, i.e. senior executives, use of Information Technology (IT). In practice, many senior executives argue that they do not see a connection between what IT does and their tasks as executives. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a research model was developed and tested to assess the factors that influence the use of IT by senior executives. A dedicated system supporting the task of a senior executive, an Executive Information System (EIS), was used as the IT tool under review. A large number of external variables were identified and hypothesized, influencing the core elements of TAM. To test the research model using structural equation modeling, cross-sectional data was gathered from eighty-seven senior executives drawn from twenty-one European-based multinationals. The results supported the core TAM and found only a small number of antecedent variables influencing actual use, either directly or indirectly. In addition to identifying the external factors, three of these key variables are under managerial control. They can be used to design organizational or managerial interventions that increase effective utilization of IT. |