The purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding of how salespeople in B2B organizations perceive the usefulness of digital solutions in their work. The use of digital solutions continues to increase in business-to-business (B2B)-selling. Yet limited research has so far focused on how salespeople in B2B organizations perceive the usage of digital solutions. Previous studies have found that perceived usefulness is effective for understanding user attitudes and intentions, and at large their acceptance and usage of digital solutions. Concurrently, previous studies have found that organizations struggle with ensuring that digital solutions are used according to management’s intentions. Perceived usefulness therefore becomes a door into understanding salespeoples’ perceptions of digital solutions, and ultimately their usage of them. In order to achieve the purpose of this paper, a single case study is used, conducted through semi-structured interviews with a sales unit of a chemical company. Four main conclusions were made based on the findings: there is a need for the salespeople to understand why the digital solutions are relevant for their work, digital solutions can contribute to a higher workload for the salespeople, comprehensive training is important for how digital solutions gets used, and there can exist support for managing problems in the form of expert colleagues. These findings contribute to existing literature by highlighting conditions that influence salespeople’s acceptance and usage of digital solutions, and provide nuanced insights into the way salespeople end up using digital solutions in a certain way.

No / Prior research has shown that individual differences in users' cognitive style and gender can have a significant effect on their usage and perceived usefulness of management information systems. We argue that these differences may also extend to computer-mediated knowledge management systems (KMS), although previous research has not tested this empirically. Where employees are expected to use KMS for acquiring and sharing knowledge, we posit that some will gain more benefit than others, due to their innate personal characteristics, specifically gender and cognitive style. Based on a sample of 212 software developers in one large IS organization, we re-open these dormant debates about the effects of cognitive style and gender on technology usage. The paper contains four main findings. First, we present support for the proposition that cognitive style has an impact on KMS usage, although not for all components of the system. Second, that gender significantly affects KMS usage, with males being more likely to use such systems than females. Third, we find a small interaction effect between cognitive style and gender, but only for the use of data mining. Finally, the data suggest that there is a strong association between KMS usage levels and perceived usefulness. We conclude that if organizations do not recognize the inherent diversity of the workforce, and accommodate gender and cognitive style differences into their knowledge management strategies, they may be likely to propagate an intrinsic disadvantage, to the detriment of females and intuitive thinkers.

Problem: Due to the promises of retailer benefits, self-service technologies (SSTs) are becoming a common sight in the Swedish grocery retail setting. The mere installation of SSTs is yet not enough to make the consumer adopt them.  Purpose: By asking, “how is the consumer’s attitude towards technology affecting his/her acceptance of the grocery retail self-scanning system”, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the effect of the technology readiness theory on the technology acceptance model. Thus, practically investigate how and why some consumers accept, whereas other consumers reject SSTs.  Theory: The direct mediating effect of four consumer-specific technology adoption predictors: optimism, innovativeness, insecurity and discomfort, are investigated in relation to two system-specific technology adoption predictors: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Throughout the theoretical framework, and in combination with SST literature, eight hypotheses are constructed.  Method: A positivist research approach with a deductive reasoning is adopted. To answer the hypotheses, a quantitative method implemented through a survey strategy is chosen. Statistical testing of the 192 collected answers follows the quantitative data gathering.  Conclusion: The results show that multiple consumer-specific characteristics have a direct mediating effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Thus, the consumer’s attitude towards technology plays a significant role in the consumer’s propensity to accept SSTs, such as the grocery retail self- scanning system. This implies that retailers aiming at developing efficient and competitive self-service strategies should pro-actively consider the “techno-ready” consumer attributes. In particular: optimism and discomfort.

Master of Public Health / Department of Human Nutrition / Sandra B. Procter / HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating health concerns of the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To address individual food insecurity and malnutrition, numerous small-scale nutrition and agriculture interventions have been implemented. This study compared the CTC Community Garden Project in Maai Mahiu, Kenya (n=15) and the HelpMercy Nutrition and Food Security Project (seed distribution) in Macha, Zambia (n=64), after one year. Study objectives included assessing food security in Maai Mahiu, determining beneficiaries' perceived usefulness of the interventions, comparing and evaluating the interventions, determining the importance of education in the interventions, and making recommendations for improvement. A survey in Maai Mahiu used a modified FAST tool to determine food security for beneficiaries (n=15) and non-participants (n=50). The majority of respondents were determined food insecure (without hunger), indicating a need for improved access to food/land. To determine outcomes and make comparisons, intervention outcome and beneficiary 'perceived usefulness' were measured using two verbally administered surveys, two focus groups, and two interviews with translation. Qualitative and quantitative results demonstrated differences between beneficiary perceptions of the interventions. No association was observed between perceived usefulness of the two studies (χ2). A backward elimination logistic regression model of the HelpMercy intervention showed that attendance at community-based nutrition and agriculture education sessions (CBES), household size, and number of seed types planted were predictors of perceived usefulness. Households who attended at least one CBES were more likely to perceive the intervention as useful (χ2 for trend, p=0.007), and there was a linear relationship between number of CBES attended and perceived usefulness (Mann-Whitney, p=0.008). Results may support research that agriculture interventions are more effective when combined with nutrition education. Perceived barriers and benefits differed significantly between the two programs. 60.3% of HelpMercy beneficiaries and 40.0% of CTC beneficiaries perceived the interventions as useful. Program improvements are possible, and further research is needed to better understand the impact and potential benefits of small-scale nutrition and agriculture interventions for HIV-affected populations in SSA.

This research regards internet users with hearing-impairment as the target. The purpose is to investigate the factors which will influence hearing-impaired people use internet. This research is theoretically based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). According to the literatures, join subject norm, media richness, internet self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment. A total of 255 effective samples were collected via internet questionnaire. Through the survey and analysis, we could prove that subject norm, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will influence the behavioral intention directly. Subject norm, media richness, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use will influence the perceived usefulness directly. And media richness, internet self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment will influence the perceived ease of use. According to the findings of research, there are the following suggestions. (1) Hearing-impaired communities should offer information courses of computer and internet. (2)The government should offer more services through internet, and social welfare organizations should update information as instant as possible. (3)Implement the execution of the regulations of web accessibility.

The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) in order to contribute the acceptance of Hospital Management Systems in hospitals. The study also aims to extend the TAM by adding external variables. Thereby the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and external TAM factors and how these relationships will affect the behavioral intention to use the technology will be determined. In this study quantitative research methods are used. Quantitative research comprises from a questionnaire which is tested in Turkish government hospitals by hospital personnel, physicians, nurses, technicians and administrative personnel. After collection of data from quantitative research the analysis of the data was conducted. The findings of the analysis gave the significant relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, behavioral intention and external variables. In conclusion this study points out the effects and the compatibility of the critical factors of TAM on the user acceptance of Hospital Management Systems in Turkish hospitals.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology)--)Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127) / In rapid advances in marketing strategies, Social Networks Marketing (SNM) is dramatically becoming an important aspect in promoting businesses. Social networks marketing has been found as one of the most effective tool used in businesses today, by most business owners in South Africa, to expand, and flourish their businesses. The explosion of Internet usage has drawn the attention of researchers towards social networks marketing. Research has shown that potential Internet users are doubtful, and indecisive to use, and accept SNM system in spite of their availability. Therefore, there is a need for researchers to identify some of the factors that determine user’s unwillingness to accept and use the system. According to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), and Perceived Usefulness (PU) are the two major constructs in determining the use and acceptance of various information systems. These beliefs may not fully explain the user’s behaviour towards newly introduced system, such as social networks marketing. Hence, this study had successfully implemented TAM to the newly proposed information system (social networks marketing system). Using TAM as a theoretical framework, the study added two new constructs “perceived credibility” and “awareness” as part of the factors influencing user’s acceptance of social networks marketing. The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of social networks marketing system by SMEs in South Africa, and perception of consumers. In addition, this research investigated factors that influence users’ acceptance of social networks marketing using TAM as the basis for the theoretical framework. Questionnaire-based study done in 2 groups; consumers and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), in this work, represent the major users of social networks marketing in South Africa. The research model was tested using data collected from 143 questionnaires and analysed using linear regression. The results show that user’s intentions to use SNM are strongly and positively correlated with user acceptance. The empirical results confirmed that perceived credibility and perceived usefulness are the strongest determinant in predicting user’s intention to use SNM. In addition, many of the South African SMEs using SNM, have presumed that SNM has positively and negatively impacted their businesses.

Context. The subject presented in this research is the fact that people resist IT induced change and want to maintain their current situation when implementing a new information system.  If no strategy is set to deal with it, resistance to change leads to Information System failure. Objectives. In this study, the author is investigating how to anticipate and handle resistance to change when implementing a new information system in order to succeed. This is followed by introducing the factors affecting user satisfaction which in turn affects user acceptance. Methods The data collection involves interviews in order to assemble appropriate, justifiable and relevant data, in addition to surveys to measure and validate the hypotheses in this thesis. The banking sector in Lebanon was selected as a source of data collection. Results. Three factors Perceived ease of use(PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), and User Involvement react together to satisfy user and hence to make the user accept change. Conclusions. Based on the studies conducted so far with respect to this topic, there exists an indirect relationship between the three factors discussed in this thesis, the user satisfaction, and the user acceptance. The more the user finds the system easy to use (simple way of work with less efforts) and useful (the extent to which person’s work is improved) and the more he/sh  is involved, the more he is satisfied and hence the more he is willing to accept the change and causes system success.

Streaming blir dagligen en allt mer populär form av musikkonsumtion. Denna typ av medium har gjort det allt mer enkelt för individer att lyssna på musik. Diskussioner om de villkor som kreatörerna som bidrar med värde till dessa medium påpekar dock tuffa arbetsförhållanden. Kreatörer tenderar att få låg ersättning och dålig översikt över den data som relaterar till artistens lyssnare. I och med Web3:s framfart har det påbörjats en diskussion om decentraliserade musikplattformar som ett alternativ till de traditionella streamingtjänsterna. Det är inom detta område som studien ämnar att utforska acceptansen kreatörerna har av detta alternativa sätt att distribuera musik. Utifrån ramverket TAM (Technology acceptance model) skapades en modell. För att testa denna modell genomfördes sedan en enkätstudie. Det insamlade materialet användes sedan för att utföra en univariat, bivariat samt multivariat analys med hjälp av frekvenstabeller, Spearmans korrelationskoefficient och PLS-SEM-verktyg. Resultatet visade på möjliga problemområden, bland annat validiteten hos enkätfrågorna, men även lämpligheten hos studiens ramverk i förhållande till den typen av system som faktiskt undersöktes. Det var dock tydligt att urvalets användning av plattformen i fråga var en direkt effekt av hur deras avsikt till att använda densamma såg ut. Denna användaravsikt berodde sedan på deras attityd till plattformen som i sin tur berodde på den nytta de upplevde att plattformen genererade. / Music streaming is growing in popularity on a daily basis. This type of medium has made listening to music more accessible to its users. Discussions regarding tough working conditions for the creators that bring value to the platforms are becoming more common. Creators tend to get low compensation and insufficient data regarding its listeners. In regards to the growing interest with Web3 technology, discussions are being held about decentralized music platforms potential of being an alternative to the traditional streaming platforms. It’s within this field the study aims to shed some light in regards to the acceptance creators have toward this alternative way of distributing music. With regards to the theoretical framework TAM (Technology acceptance model), a model was constructed. In order to evaluate this model a survey was conducted. The data collected was then used to perform a univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis. These were possible with the help of frequency tables, Spearmans correlation coefficient as well as PLS-SEM tools. The results brought light to several possible problem areas, amongst these the validity of the questionnaire, but also the adequacy of the theoretical framework with regards to the a type of system the study actually concerns itself with. It was, however, clear that the creators’ actual use of the platform was a direct product of their intention to use it. This intention was a result of their attitude towards the platform, which in turn depended on the usefulness the creator perceived the platform to generate.

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networking sites and is attracting the interest of retailers as an effective way to interact with consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine: 1) determinants and impacts of Pinterest consumer experiences. Specifically, this study examined the impacts of retailer reputation, trust, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness on Pinterest consumer experiences on retailer SNS. 2) To identify the impacts of Pinterest consumer experiences on consumer satisfaction, behavioral intention, and online retailer relationship. The instrument used existing scales drawn from the literature. A consumer panel (n = 300) of Pinterest users that connect to apparel retailers was used to collect data through an online consumer panel. Reputation is positively related to trust and to perceived ease of use. Perceived ease of use and usefulness significantly affected retailer Pinterest consumer experiences. The impact of Pinterest consumer experiences on satisfaction and behavior intention was positive and significant. Satisfaction and behavior intention also are significantly related to online retailer relationship. Results and business implications are discussed, as well are limitations and future research.