At public high schools in Cayman, teachers need to improve their productivity and efficiency by using technologies that are simple and portable like their personal devices. Studies about bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives have revealed conflicting outcomes, and are lacking in the Caribbean and especially in Cayman. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the main factors related to teachers' willingness to adopt BYOD in public high schools in Cayman. The theoretical framework was the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using a modified UTAUT instrument, which captured quantitative data from 82 participants. The use of hierarchical multiple regression to analyze the data revealed that teachers' BYOD adoption could expand by increasing facilitating conditions, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and decreasing perceived risk. This study reduces the gap in the literature about the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and BYOD in the Caribbean and the Cayman Islands. It also provides evidence that perceived risk can increase its explanatory power of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. The study also contributes to a positive social change by revealing critical issues that administrators should address when devising BYOD policies and planning educational technology integration.

Aus der EINLEITUNG: Nicht immer sind organisationale Veränderungsprozesse von Erfolg gekrönt – wie bei 1000 befragten Unternehmen die vergleichsweise hohe Quote von 38 % an Prozessen belegt, die als gescheitert betrachtet werden [18]. Als häufigste Ursache werden dabei „Widerstände der Mitarbeiter“ genannt. Auch die Implementierung einer neuen Technologie in einer Organisation stellt einen derartig verändernden Eingriff dar, dessen Gelingen nicht zuletzt auch an die Nutzung der neuen Technologie geknüpft ist [10]. Um diesem Ziel gerecht zu werden, existieren in der Informatik zahlreiche Ansätze, die Schnittstellen zwischen Mensch und Technik anwenderfreundlich zu gestalten. Dabei ist insbesondere die Akzeptanz der (neuen) Technologie seitens der Nutzer von zentraler Bedeutung [5]. Denn wenn sich beispielsweise bei der Einführung eines ERP-Systems zur integrierten IT-Portfolio-Planung die Mitarbeiter überwacht und kontrolliert fühlen und aus diesen Motiven heraus Vorwände und Ausreden finden, das System nicht zu nutzen, können sie die Implementierung massiv beeinträchtigen und verzögern, was sich in erhöhtem Aufwand und höheren Kosten niederschlägt. [...]

There are several critical success factors suggested for why agile software development projects succeed, including organisational and process factors. Although there are an increasing number of identified critical success factors, IT professionals lack the modelling techniques and the theoretical framework to help them meaningfully understand their influences. To solve this problem, this study developed a model by employing the following theories: Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to create a fit model for agile software development projects. The research sought to answer the question: What are the critical success factors that influence the success of agile software development projects? The literature review considers the continued failure of agile and traditional software development projects which have led to the consideration of, and dispute over, critical success factors — the aspects most vital to a methodology’s success. Though TRA, TPB and UTAUT have previously been applied to agile methodologies, empirical models have not been completely integrated to develop a fit model. This research sought to fill this gap. Data was collected in South Africa through a web-based survey using structured questionnaires and an interview guide. Face-to-face interviews were done to identify the critical success factors in agile projects. The data was captured and analysed for descriptive statistics, convergent and discriminant validity, composite and internal reliability, and correlation in order to inform the structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM was used to test the research model and hypotheses to answer the research questions. The results informed development of a comprehensive model that could provide guidelines to the agile community. The study contributes towards understanding the critical success factors for agile projects. It examined direct, indirect and moderating effects, and the findings contribute towards developing a framework to be used by agile professionals. These key result shows that organisational factors have a great influence on performance expectancy characteristics. To ensure success of agile projects, managers are advised to focus on the effect of the organisation’s environment, culture and policies on performance and effort expectancy. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Computer Science)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ERICO DASILVACOSTA.pdf: 2281373 bytes, checksum: 69e6b9622bbe841f6ad4e6d198b938e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research presents a case study aimed to analyze the acceptance of Innovation Portal, identifying the predictors of behavioral intention to use and usage behavior of drivers of technology adoption by users via extension of the Unified Model of Technology Acceptance, called by Acronym UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technololgy) of Venkatesh et al. (2003). The object of the research Innovation Portal was developed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) in partnership with the Center for Strategic Studies and Management (CGEE), Brazilian Association for Industrial Development (ABDI) and Instituto Stela, to meet demands the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation (SNCTI) in the country to achieve the proposed objectives, we used qualitative approaches, which was subsidized by the case study method (Yin, 2005) and quantitative methodology supported by UTAUT, applied the portal users and contemplated the result of 264 respondents validated. As for material analysis, we used the literature on electronic government (e-Gov), Internet, National Innovation System, models of technology acceptance, official data and laws pertaining to public sector innovation. The quantitative analysis technique employed was the use of structural equation modeling based on the algorithm PLS (Partial Least Square) with 1000 bootstrap resampling. The main results showed high predictive significance and magnitude of the Behavioral Intention of Use Portal by factors: Expected Performance and Social Influence. Besides demonstrating that the facilitating conditions impacting significantly on the behavior of users of Use. The main conclusion of this study is that we consider the acceptance of a government portal in which the adoption is voluntary, the social factor is highly influential in the intention to use the technology as well as aspects related to user productivity and the consequent sense utility, plus the ease of interaction and domain tool. Such findings ensejam new perspectives in research and studies in the field of e-Gov actions, as well as in directing proper planning, monitoring and evaluation of government projects. / Esta pesquisa apresenta estudo de caso cujo objetivo foi analisar a aceitação do Portal Inovação, identificando os fatores preditivos da intenção comportamental de uso e do comportamento de uso direcionadores da adoção da tecnologia por seus usuários via extensão do Modelo Unificado de Aceitação de Tecnologia, denominado pela sigla UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technololgy) de Venkatesh et al. (2003). O objeto da pesquisa o Portal Inovação foi desenvolvido pelo Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (MCTI) em parceria com o Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE), Associação Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial (ABDI) e Instituto Stela, visando atender às demandas do Sistema Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (SNCTI) do País. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, recorreu-se às abordagens qualitativa, que foi subsidiada pelo método estudo de caso (YIN, 2005) e quantitativa, apoiada pela metodologia UTAUT, aplicada a usuários do portal e que contemplou o resultado de 264 respondentes validados. Quanto ao material de análise, utilizou-se da pesquisa bibliográfica sobre governo eletrônico (e-Gov), Internet, Sistema Nacional de Inovação, modelos de aceitação de tecnologia, dados oficiais públicos e legislações atinentes ao setor de inovação tecnológica. A técnica de análise empregada quantitativamente consistiu no uso de modelagem por equações estruturais, com base no algoritmo PLS (Partial Least Square) com bootstrap de 1.000 reamostragens. Os principais resultados obtidos demonstraram alta magnitude e significância preditiva sobre a Intenção Comportamental de Uso do Portal pelos fatores: Expectativa de Desempenho e Influência Social. Além de evidenciarem que as condições facilitadoras impactam significativamente sobre o Comportamento de Uso dos usuários. A conclusão principal do presente estudo é a de que ao considerarmos a aceitação de um portal governamental em que a adoção é voluntária, o fator social é altamente influente na intenção de uso da tecnologia, bem como os aspectos relacionados à produtividade consequente do usuário e o senso de utilidade; além da facilidade de interação e domínio da ferramenta. Tais constatações ensejam em novas perspectivas de pesquisa e estudos no âmbito das ações de e-Gov, bem como no direcionamento adequado do planejamento, monitoramento e avaliação de projetos governamentais.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lilian Cristina.pdf: 1059441 bytes, checksum: a594dec839ce5298c86a3ae9b48dc804 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / The turnover intention refers to the probability of individuals leaving their current job. This topic has become relevant to organizations since it is a potential problem, which may affect the organizations competitiveness, amongst other reasons. It is believed that some of the individuals who have turnover intention look for means of communication, new technologies, such as the professional social network LinkedIn, in order to spread their professional information, find professional opportunities by networking, as well as obtain more information about the labor market, besides different other functions. Therefore, the turnover intention may be considered as a previous factor to the individual adoption of the professional social network LinkedIn. This study has analyzed the previous factors that may influence the usage and how they use the professional social network LinkedIn, guided by the theoretical perspective of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), by Venkatesh et al (2003), and also guided by the scale of the turnover intention, by Siqueira et al (2014)and Van Dam (2008). The research is based on a quantitative investigation approach, in which data collection was done using a research tool, and obtained 292 answered questionnaires, which has made it possible to validate the relations between the constructs of the research model developed for the study of the individual adoption of the professional social network LinkedIn. There was an analysis of structural equations to make the test of the study hypotheses, based on PLS-PM (Partial Least Squares Path Modeling) from which satisfactory measures for all the investigated constructs and proposed models were presented, and all the relations between the constructs were significant. The results obtained by this study confirm the influence of previous factors, such as Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, and Turnover Intention, on the intention of using the professional social network LinkedIn. The study concludes that the Performance Expectancy was revealed to be the greatest influence in the intention of using LinkedIn, since there is the perception that by using it, it is possible to obtain some professional benefits as well as other aspects. The second factor to present the greatest influence was the Turnover Intention, once some individuals, by adopting LinkedIn, may tend to show it to other people or organizations that are interested in their talents, experiences, skills, network and so on. The Effort Expectancy, in turn, showed that some individuals notice it is easy to interact with such technology, and the Social Influence showed that there is the individuals perception as to the influence of their network in their intention of using LinkedIn. / A intenção de rotatividade refere-se à probabilidade de os indivíduos deixarem o seu trabalho atual. Este tema se tornou relevante para as organizações por ser um potencial problema que pode afetar a competitividade das organizações, entre outros motivos. Acredita-se que alguns dos indivíduos com intenção de rotatividade possivelmente buscam meios de comunicação, novas tecnologias, como a rede social profissional LinkedIn objetivando disseminar suas informações profissionais, localizar oportunidades profissionais, obter mais contatos e informações sobre o mercado de trabalho, entre outras possibilidades. Desse modo, a intenção de rotatividade pode ser avaliada como um fator antecedente à adoção individual da rede social profissional LinkedIn. Este estudo analisou os fatores antecedentes que podem influenciar a intenção de uso e o comportamento de uso da rede social profissional LinkedIn, apoiando-se na perspectiva teórica da Teoria Unificada de Aceitação e Uso da Tecnologia (UTAUT), de Venkatesh et al (2003), e na escala de intenção de rotatividade, de Siqueira et al (2014) e Van Dam (2008). A pesquisa fundamenta-se em uma abordagem de investigação quantitativa na qual os dados foram coletados por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa com a obtenção de 292 questionários respondidos, o que possibilitou a validação dos relacionamentos entre os construtos componentes do modelo de pesquisa desenvolvido para o estudo da adoção individual da rede social profissional LinkedIn. Para realizar o teste das hipóteses do estudo, procedeu-se a análise de equações estruturais, com base no PLS-PM (Partial Least Squares Path Modeling) a partir do qual foram apresentadas medidas satisfatórias para os construtos investigados e o modelo proposto, sendo significativas todas as relações entre os construtos. Os resultados obtidos por esta pesquisa confirmam a influência dos fatores antecedentes Expectativa de Desempenho, Expectativa de Esforço, Influência Social e Intenção de Rotatividade na intenção de uso da rede social profissional LinkedIn. O estudo concluiu que Expectativa de Desempenho revelou-se o fator que mais influencia na intenção de uso do LinkedIn, pois há a percepção de que ao utilizar o LinkedIn pode-se obter benefícios profissionais, entre outros aspectos. O segundo fator que apresentou maior influência na intenção de uso do LinkedIn foi a intenção de rotatividade, uma vez que alguns dos indivíduos, ao adotarem o LinkedIn, provavelmente tendem a mostrar para as outras pessoas/organizações interessadas quais são os seus talentos, suas experiências, competências, além de obter mais contatos, entre outros motivos. Já a Expectativa de Esforço demonstrou que alguns indivíduos percebem que é fácil a interação desta tecnologia. A Influência Social constatou que existe a percepção dos indivíduos quanto à influência da sua rede de contatos na intenção de uso do LinkedIn.

The research outlined in this thesis focuses on the effects of implementation and use of mobile payments as experienced by older adults aged 55-75, as qualitatively examined through research interviewees (hereafter participants of this study) made up of individuals with varying cultural and technological backgrounds, who are acclimated to Greece’s culture and have lived within the country for at least a decade. Their own perception and reception of the practice allows for a more comprehensive look into the practical application of the technology within the country. No empirical studies are available on the aforementioned topic, despite the high importance and need for such study. Therefore, this research is carried out through a literature review. It then analyzes two models namely technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. It applies a phenomenological research method and provides us with a more concise, contextualized background into the widespread application of m-payment and m-commerce within the country. This research contributes new knowledge to m-payment and m-commerce through theoretical and empirical research and benefits the interpretation of a recently emerging phenomenon. The research results are useful to various groups associated with mpayments and m-commerce. Future research directions concerning this phenomenon involve the reception and enhancement of m-payment methods by older adults.

Aus der EINLEITUNG: Nicht immer sind organisationale Veränderungsprozesse von Erfolg gekrönt – wie bei 1000 befragten Unternehmen die vergleichsweise hohe Quote von 38 % an Prozessen belegt, die als gescheitert betrachtet werden [18]. Als häufigste Ursache werden dabei „Widerstände der Mitarbeiter“ genannt. Auch die Implementierung einer neuen Technologie in einer Organisation stellt einen derartig verändernden Eingriff dar, dessen Gelingen nicht zuletzt auch an die Nutzung der neuen Technologie geknüpft ist [10]. Um diesem Ziel gerecht zu werden, existieren in der Informatik zahlreiche Ansätze, die Schnittstellen zwischen Mensch und Technik anwenderfreundlich zu gestalten. Dabei ist insbesondere die Akzeptanz der (neuen) Technologie seitens der Nutzer von zentraler Bedeutung [5]. Denn wenn sich beispielsweise bei der Einführung eines ERP-Systems zur integrierten IT-Portfolio-Planung die Mitarbeiter überwacht und kontrolliert fühlen und aus diesen Motiven heraus Vorwände und Ausreden finden, das System nicht zu nutzen, können sie die Implementierung massiv beeinträchtigen und verzögern, was sich in erhöhtem Aufwand und höheren Kosten niederschlägt. [...]

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Ph. D. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The use of technology in supply chain management has increased over the years. Procurement is one of the primary supply chain management areas where the use of technology has gained momentum. This has been realised through the use of e-procurement systems. However, the adoption and implementation of e-procurement can be achieved more effectively if available models of technology adoption are taken into consideration. This study tested a conceptual framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT) in the implementation of e-procurement practices in the South African public sector. Although there are several studies that have focused on procurement in the public sector in South Africa, there is no evidence of studies that extended the use of the TAM and the UTAUT within the public sector in South Africa. This study was conducted to fill this gap by proposing a framework combining the TAM and UTAUT and modelling their role in the adoption of e-procurement in the public sector. The study adopted a survey design and a quantitative research approach was used to evaluate relationships between different variables. The final sample for this study consists of 263 supply chain management (SCM) practitioners drawn from the public sector in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. A self-completion survey questionnaire was used to gather data to measure the eight constructs of the TAM and UTAUT. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) procedure was performed to assess the factor structure of the data collected in the study. Descriptive statistics were applied to examine the demographic profile of respondents and the perceptions of respondents towards the research constructs. Pearson correlations were used to test relationships and regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. In the EFA, two new factors, labelled as Personal Competence and External Assistance, were identified. The results of the hypotheses tests showed that five factors, namely: perceived use, self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, personal competence and external assistance significantly predicted attitudes towards the use of e-procurement systems. However, perceived ease of use was statistically insignificant. The results further show that attitudes towards system use significantly predict behavioural intention, which in turn significantly influences actual e-procurement system use. The theoretical framework fusing the TAM and UTAUT models provides useful insights for other researchers and adds valuable knowledge to the factors that might contribute to the adoption of e-procurement in the South African public sector. The study further makes significant contributions to SCM professionals in the public sector. It reiterates the challenges faced in SCM in the public sector and then demonstrates how the adoption of e-procurement could improve the system, while reducing service delivery inequality. By indicating the factors either promoting or impeding the adoption of e-procurement in the public sector, the study provides practitioners and other decision makers in SCM with suggestions on how to facilitate more rapid adoption and circumvent the influence of irrelevant factors. Among other things, the study recommends that to improve the adoption and continued use of e-procurement systems in the public sector in the Gauteng Province, it is necessary to customise the e-procurement system to ensure that it responds to the needs of users. In addition, it is important to increase the confidence and competence of users of the systems, providing the relevant technical infrastructure and support to users in order to positively influence their attitudes and behavioural intention towards the use of e-procurement systems.

The present empirical study examined factors that affect the acceptance and use of social media platforms by farmers and vendors in farmers’ communities in North Mississippi for marketing their small farm businesses. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), structural equations modeling was used to examine several relationships: (1) the influence of performance expectancy (PE) on behavioral intention (BI) to use social media; (2) the influence of effort expectancy (EE) on BI; (3) the influence of social influence (SI) on BI; (4) the influence of facilitating conditions (FC) on actual use (USE) of social media; (5) the moderating influence of gender on the PE–BI, EE–BI, and SI-BI relationships; (6) the moderating influence of age on the PE–BI, EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships; and (7) the moderating influence of experience using social media on the EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships. Results from 169 respondents who completed questionnaires indicated that PE, EE, SI, and FC (key constructs) did predict farmers and vendors’ BI to use social media and actual USE of social media for marketing their small farm businesses and agriproducts. Respondents’ characteristics (e.g., age, gender, social media experience) did moderate some of these relationships in different ways. Thus, the present study provided additional empirical support for UTAUT. Additionally, responses to questions that assessed constructs in UTAUT suggest that respondents are open to social media as a marketing tool for their small farm businesses. Other results indicated that farmers and vendors prefer to market their products through farmers markets and community supported agriculture groups as compared to retail outlets and noted barriers present in retail marketing channels. This study provides information that will be beneficial for the development of educational programs and contributes to the literature on the factors affecting farmers’ intention to use social media to promote agriproducts to connect new markets.