The UK micro/SME (known here as SME) retail sector is very important to the economic well being of the country. Its ability to generate jobs as well as income makes it a key part of the drive towards economic growth, and as such it is supported by government through a variety of initiatives. One initiative in 2003 aimed to energise and invigorate practitioners into using internet based technologies more fully in their business practices. This supported the widely held belief that the internet can and does enhance and improve business efficiency. It also suggests that SMEs were not fully engaging with the technology and that the government felt that it was not at the desirable level. This thesis looks at the issues surrounding technology acceptance for the SME and in particular internet adoption in the retail sector. This work explains technology acceptance and the main determinants and moderators connected with this in an organisational setting providing the practitioner with insight into why some technologies are embraced and others underutilised, or not adopted at all. Previous academic work in this area has tended to focus on the larger organisation. This thesis uses the technology acceptance literature to explore the situation of the SME. Through qualitative and quantitative research the specifics of the SME situation relating to technology acceptance are explored with the determinants and moderators being evaluated and changes made where appropriate. The specific internet based technology of online procurement is used to measure levels of acceptance and the issues relating to it. The result is an adapted model that better reflects the technology acceptance situation of the SME retail organisation. In the model three of the original constructs remain, however the moderators have been changed to reflect the SME and the relationships the constructs have with the moderators are also developed. As a new addition to the field it can be seen from the developed model that the frequency of re-ordering is an important determinant not only of online procurement but technology acceptance in general. This work will benefit practitioners in SME retail and also the wider SME field when it comes to evaluating whether or not to accept a new technology and how this is best achieved.

Electronic negotiation (e-negotiation) is a relatively new technology that has spawned as a result of the growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce). While researchers have dealt with a variety of topics in the area of e-negotiation the acceptance of e-negotiation technology is a subject that needs further exploration. This study contributes to the research in e-negotiation, by putting forward a conceptual model that explains the factors that affect technology acceptance of e-negotiation. We survey past works in the technology acceptance literature, and review three seminal theories ? the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI). We develop a conceptual model by identifying various factors and interrelationships amongst them that are valid for the context of our study. To test our model, we develop a web interface for participants to experience e-negotiation, and incorporate a survey instrument, adapted from previous studies, to assess participants' attitudes and perceptions towards using e-negotiation. We also test whether the presence of learning agents has an effect on perceptions of negotiation outcomes. Regression and MANOVA tests indicate that attitude and associated attitudinal beliefs have a significant influence on acceptance of e-negotiation technology. We also find that perceptions of negotiation outcomes affect e-negotiation acceptance; however, learning agents were not found to have an influence on perceptions of negotiation outcomes.

Electronic negotiation (e-negotiation) is a relatively new technology that has spawned as a result of the growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce). While researchers have dealt with a variety of topics in the area of e-negotiation the acceptance of e-negotiation technology is a subject that needs further exploration. This study contributes to the research in e-negotiation, by putting forward a conceptual model that explains the factors that affect technology acceptance of e-negotiation. We survey past works in the technology acceptance literature, and review three seminal theories ? the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI). We develop a conceptual model by identifying various factors and interrelationships amongst them that are valid for the context of our study. To test our model, we develop a web interface for participants to experience e-negotiation, and incorporate a survey instrument, adapted from previous studies, to assess participants' attitudes and perceptions towards using e-negotiation. We also test whether the presence of learning agents has an effect on perceptions of negotiation outcomes. Regression and MANOVA tests indicate that attitude and associated attitudinal beliefs have a significant influence on acceptance of e-negotiation technology. We also find that perceptions of negotiation outcomes affect e-negotiation acceptance; however, learning agents were not found to have an influence on perceptions of negotiation outcomes.

This study examines the effects that individual personality traits have on technology acceptance. Previous research on technology acceptance focuses primarily on exogenous variables such as trustor’s perceptions, attitudes, computer anxiety, positive or negative affect, age, and experience. This research seeks to improve our understanding of technology acceptance by examining user interpersonal traits as the underpinnings of user perceptions of technology and disposition to trust. A general theory of personality, the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) model, is used here as a framework to explain IT-users’ computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, and perceptions about- and trust in technology. The interpersonal circumplex model is well established and provides a strong foundation for understanding interaction styles and interpersonal trust. Based on the interpersonal circumplex model, I develop predictions about how various personality types will interact with technology acceptance model (TAM) related variables: that is, I predict how individuals with different interpersonal traits will rate the following: their computer selfefficacy, computer anxiety, and perceptions of an information system’s performance; the system’s trustworthiness, ease of use, usefulness; as well as the user’s behavioral intention to use the system in the future. In general, I hypothesize that a computer user’s blend of the primary interpersonal dimensions of Control and Affiliation influences his or her responses to computer usage related questions. In this study, student-participants completed an on-line assessment of their interpersonal dispositions, using the Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Values (CSIV; Locke, 2000); subsequently the studentparticipants reported their perceptions of- and trust in a computer-based learning system that they used as part of their class. In particular, this research suggests that the Communality (Affiliation) dimension of personality, as measured by the CSIV, indicates particular and significant correlations to user’s computer anxiety, perceived system performance, perceived usefulness (of the technology), and behavioral intent to use (IT) in the future. The Interpersonal Circumplex demonstrates improved acuity in detecting personality differences that may impact the way users respond to, perceive, and evaluate technology. As a new tool for information systems research, the IPC shows potential to provide further insight into IS theory by building a bridge between interpersonal theory and technology acceptance models.

The beauty of group-buying is that the price will go down as the value of accumulated orders is increasing. However, the beauty cannot be realized if many customers are waiting have a lower price. Therefore, it may affect the performance of the group-buying. How to design different incentives to induce customers to join the group-buying as early as possible is the purpose of this study. In the light of inducing buyers to join the group-buying as early as possible, three incentive mechanisms, time-based, quantity-based, and sequence-based, are proposed. In order to verify the performance of the three proposed new group-buying models compared with that of the traditional group-buying model, an experiment was implemented. According to the results of the experiment, we found that the time-based model can reduce customers¡¦ decision time before joining the group-buying. While the sequence-based model also can push customers to join the group-buying in the very beginning. As for the quantity-based model, it is in our expectation that the customers buy more than their original plan in order to get more discounts. We also observe that buyers' satisfaction is higher if the group-buying model can effectively reduce the price. Furthermore, the earlier customers join the group-buying, more satisfactions they will get. Besides, the buyers also agree with that the group-buying model can effectively reduce the price. Furthermore, we discover that the perceived value, perceived usefulness, and perceived easy of use can positively affect the buyers' attitude, and consequently, buyers are willing to join the group-buying in the future.

Abstract As the widespread use and company dependency on Intranet increase, so does the need to assess their value and to ensure implementation success. As a new technology, Intranet success may be affected by the general level of awareness and experience of IT networking in the user population. This study examines the factors which have been proposed in the literature to account for new IT systems and apply them to Intranet. This study identifies and empirically tests five major variables as determinants of Intranet success, in this case measured in terms of user satisfaction. This result clearly supports the hypothesized relationships and suggests the need for Intranet project managers and top management to pay special attention to these determinants of Intranet success. According to the result, Intranet success is directly positive to the quality of Intranet, degree of management support, degree of user participation in Intranet development, computer self-efficacy of users, service provided by the IT center, as each has been defined in this study. Among those five variables, the quality of Intranet and computer self-efficacy of users are the most critical factors affecting user satisfaction on Intranet. In addition, degree of user participation in Intranet development is also a moderating variable between degree of management support and user satisfaction. A set of those five factors is found to account for 61.4¢Mof the variance in user satisfaction on Intranet. As for users¡¦ attributes, such as age, seniority and computer experience influence the perception of Intranet as well. Based on the results, some recommendations are proposed for Intranet project managers and top management to enhance user satisfaction on Intranet and to shape an advantageous environment for Intranet development, including: improving the five factors mentioned above and increasing users¡¦ ability to use Intranet according to users¡¦ attributes, such as age, seniority and computer experience.

Today, many enterprises set up their offices globally to go with the stream of time. Globalization makes it difficult for enterprises to provide their employees on-site trainings. By developing Web and information technology, e-Learning becomes a new training tool for the enterprises to reduce time and cost, and solve the training problems caused by difference of locations. The users¡¦ acceptance becomes one of the key factors for the enterprises in implementing e-Learning program. As the e-Learning is a kind of information service system, the system quality plays an important part in the employees¡¦ adoption of e-Learning. The well-known Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is generally used in evaluating users¡¦ acceptance in many studies. To set up an integrated model, this paper applies the TAM as a framework to study the acceptance of employees on e-Learning and further introduces perceived factors of a sound information system as the external variables to evaluate employees¡¦ acceptance. Based on the experimental research on an e-Learning program of a large domestic company, this paper firstly indicates that, among the factors of a sound information system, only service quality and information quality have a significant influence on the employees¡¦ acceptance. Secondly, different education levels have a significant influence on the perceived service quality and information quality. This empirically integrated TAM would be useful for the researchers in developing e-Learning systems, as well as for the enterprises in implementing successful e-Learning systems.

Abstract The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) currently enjoys the status of being the leading predictive tool for testing user acceptance of new technologies. Despite IS researchers and practitioners holding the model in high esteem, this study exposes some of its limitations when applied to a study of shop-floor users in South Africa. In search of an alternative theory explaining why these users so openly embraced the new information system, it emerges that the Critical Social Theory (CST) of Jürgen Habermas provides the most relevant insight. The use of the CST perspective reveals how these users view the new system as a potential means with which to achieve emancipation from their otherwise dreary existence as product inspectors. This thesis argues that this emancipatory potential offered by the new system played a major role in its successful acceptance. / Dissertation (Magister Commercii (Informatics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Informatics / unrestricted

The Republic of Moldova is losing many of its citizens to more lucrative economic opportunities abroad.  Remittances from emigrants, in many various forms, have become vital agents in the Moldovan economy.  This thesis investigated whether remittance activity among immigrants from Moldova in the United States and Canada might be used as a model for an effective strategy to spread public health information amongst Moldovans.  Specifically, two studies examined whether remittance behavior among Moldovans living in The United States and Canada predicted their perceptions that a "knowledge remittance" strategy for public health information would be effective and their interest in participating in a knowledge remittance effort.  Grounded in the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2), two studies evaluated the remittance relationship. Study 1, an exploratory online survey (n = 15), indicated that Moldovan immigrants living in the United States and Canada that have a generally positive attitude towards capital and knowledge remittances will tend to perceive the transmission of knowledge remittances as useful. There was tentative support for the correlation of perceived usefulness with the intention to remit knowledge.  Study 2 (n = 5) consisted of qualitative interviews and found that Moldovan immigrants living in the United States and Canada have access to the Internet and frequently use the technology to contact family in Moldova at home. Interviewees had a generally positive view of both capital and knowledge remittances, though they were in disagreement on the major health risks facing Moldova. The findings of these studies suggest that a remittance propagated health campaign is a possible resolution to poor health knowledge in Moldova. / Master of Arts

In the era of e-commerce and m-commerce, money has become bits of data stored on computers and moves around the world as bytes of information on data communication networks. Mobile and wireless is rapidly changing the way personal financial services are designed and delivered. Mobile banking is one of the new access methods for banking services via new delivery channels consisting of the Internet and mobile technologies. Innovative technologies have changed the nature of selling and buying financial services in the new electronic banking paradigm. Customers are increasingly given the option to provide services for themselves via electronic delivery channels. As technology has become increasingly a more vital element of service delivery, managerial interest in understanding the adoption processes, preferences, and needs of different customers have led to calls for more academic research. Due to the newness of the mobile banking services, customer behavior in the mobile banking context has remained a rather uncharted territory. Literature suggests that previous adoption models which view technology use as a behavior completely under volitional control are limited in the sense that they do not specifically address the possibility that people may try to undertake the learning activities and experience the outcomes necessary to use a technology. This study will evaluate a global view of users? acceptance of mobile banking between Asian and Western market to better understand the users? behavioral pattern in different cultural settings. Based on such theoretical underpinnings as The Theory of Trying, UTAUT, Trust, Self-Efficacy and Cross-cultural Dimensions, this research tends to grasp a comprehensive view of mobile banking adoption, based on both perspectives of volitional and non-volitional such as trying. Results of this research may help practitioners of mobile banking services, such as information systems designers and marketing and management executives, to more efficiently design, implement, and promote mobile banking services. Also, identifications of the factors and causal relationships that influence and describe the end user?s adoption toward mobile banking service help focus m-commerce research on questions that significantly impact the development of mobile banking and m-commerce as a whole.