The increased popularity in mobile devices and technology has motivated business to adopt the technology for increased productivity. However, not much research has investigated the adoption of mobile technology. The purpose of this thesis is to study the factors that influence the adoption of mobile technology and to develop a model of mobile technology adoption. The model can serve as a foundation for future research and provide useful guidelines for organizations that plan to adopting mobile technology. The model suggests two categories of factors that determine the decision of adopting mobile technology: fit and viability. Fit measures whether the functional capabilities of mobile technology match the need of a task, whereas viability measures whether an organization is ready for the technology. This research develops instruments for measuring fit and viability. A survey was conducted to collect data for model evaluation. Major findings from the study include: (1) the fitness between task and technology had a direct positive impact on the success of mobile system adoption. (2) Personal characteristic and organizational viability had indirect positive impacts on the success of mobile system adoption via the mediation of system quality. (3) Personal characteristic and organizational viability had positive impacts on the information quality and system quality but had no impact to the service quality. (4) Only the system quality had a positive impact on the success of mobile system adoption.

An increasing number of older adults must continue working, which requires that they maintain their competencies and work skills, including use of mobile technology (MT). However, little is known about older adult adoption of MT in relation to work. This study used Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory and Davis's technology acceptance model as a framework. The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the experiences of older adults' who adopted MT in the emergency communications (EC) field. Participants came from an emergency services LinkedIn group. Data sources included surveys completed by 85 respondents and interviews of a subset of 10 of the respondents. Phase 1 included survey analysis to develop descriptive statistics on the participants' placement in Rogers's stages of adoption, their perceptions of the usefulness, and the ease of use. Phase 2 included analysis of in-depth interviews, coding for themes and patterns. Survey results indicated that both perceived usefulness and ease of use affect the adoption of MT by older adult users in the EC field. The results of the interviews identified the usefulness and ease of use as factors for the participants. The social implications for employers include a deeper understanding of the specific factors that impact the adoption of MT by older adults. This study provides employers with a deeper understanding of the adoption of MT by older adults so they can develop stronger plans to help their older adults adopt mobile technology.