Many problems related to information systems implementation are psychological rather than technical. It is necessary to adapt good enough to the current situation in the business to avoid bad user reactions. One of the most important quality factors of an information system is user acceptance. Information system implementation projects have been historically bothered by failures for which user resistance has been identified as an important reason. A poor adaptation of old data may cause user frustration. But the most important problem perhaps is how to deal with the people and know their psychological constraints involved in the system change, their lack of competence And also their reluctance to accept the new system. A poorly designed system interface also becomes an obstacle for the users and they would become more unwilling to tolerate it. This study presents a theoretical and empirical understanding of user acceptance during the implementation of an information system and provides suggestions to an individual and also organizations for tackling such resistance and enhances user satisfaction. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

User resistance is an important issue in the implementation of an Enterprise System (ES). However, despite the prevalence of user adoption literature, user resistance literature is scarce. Although some studies have conceptualized user resistance as the opposite of user adoption, a mandatory, role-transforming system such as an ES clearly shows that users may use a system while resisting it. Although this area is highly relevant, it is theoretically underdeveloped. This study examines user resistance at the individual level of analysis to determine the underlying reasons for user resistance, the types of resistant behaviors, and the management strategies to minimize resistance. It also seeks to understand the types of users that exist during an implementation and in particular, the groups of resisters. This dissertation identifies four categories of reasons for user resistance, which comprise a total of twelve reasons for user resistance. Resistant behaviors are also identified and classified. Three categories of management strategies are also identified, comprising a total of eight management strategies that are useful in minimizing user resistance. Groups of ES users are also described and examined.

<p>[ An abstract in English will follow]</p><p>Denna uppsats handlar om på vilket sätt användarinvolvering påverkar acceptansen av ett affärssystem. I studien redogörs varför acceptansen påverkas av användarinvolveringen, samt hur påverkan sker och vad som leder till den. </p><p>IT genomsyrar idag så gott som alla former av företagsamhet. Affärssystem stödjer affärsprocesser i flera branscher, från tillverkande företag till renodlade tjänsteföretag. Ett företag behöver exempelvis anpassa både sina affärsprocesser och det nya affärssystem för allt som sker inom företaget. På grund av komplexiteten som detta för med sig är implementeringen ofta ett stort steg för företaget och dess anställda. De framtida användarna av systemet ställs inför en stor förändring som ett nytt affärssystem medför. För att göra övergången så enkel som möjligt och få användarna att acceptera systemet brukar användarna vara delaktiga i implementationen genom en process som benämns som användarinvolvering.</p><p>Forskning inom området har enats om att användarinvolveringen påverkar acceptansen av ett system (Dickson & Simmons, 1970; Powers & Dickson, 1973; Wu, et al.,2002; Kujala, 2003;, Gable, et al., 2003; Amoako-Gyampah, 2005; Sharp, et al., 2007). Desto mindre finns skrivet om varför acceptansen påverkas av användarinvolveringen, hur den påverkas, samt vad det egentligen är i användarinvolveringen som påverkar acceptansen. Denna uppsats undersökte detta genom att en kvalitativ studie utformades. </p><p>Teorin om att användarinvolveringen påverkar acceptansen kombinerades med Technology Acceptance Model (en modell för undersökning av acceptansen föreslagen av Davis, 1989) för att skapa en egenutvecklad modell. Den egenutvecklade modellen användes för att skapa teman kring vilka den öppna individuella intervjun utformades. Därefter genomfördes intervjuer med fyra användare som var involverade i en implementationsprocess. Resultatet från intervjuerna strukturerades på ett sätt som matchade teman i den egenskapade modellen. Därefter analyserades resultatet med hjälp av det teoretiska materialet som insamlades under studiens inledningsfas. </p><p>Slutsatsen är att användarinvolveringen som process består av flera företeelser som tros påverka acceptansen. De företeelserna som tros ha påverkat acceptansen på företaget som studerades var: användarnas förståelse för vad som kommer krävas av dem i framtiden, utbildningen och dess kvalité, användares tidigare kunskap och förmåga att ta in ny kunskap samt företagets mål med implementationen och hur väl det nya systemet kan uppfylla dessa. </p><p>Slutligen bör man inte bortse ifrån de krav som företaget ställer på sina anställda. En medarbetare kan känna sig tvungen att acceptera ett visst system, då det redan är beslutat att företaget ska bruka systemet.</p><p>[English abstract]</p><p>This essay covers what in the user involvement process affects user acceptance of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP). The study reads up on why the acceptance is affected by user involvement, how the influence derives and where it comes from.</p><p>Information Technology permeates all forms of enterprise. ERP systems support business processes for many different types of enterprise, ranging from manufacturing to service oriented. A company needs to adapt both its business processes and the new ERP system to fit the company’s business processes and support them throughout the value chain. As a result of the complexity that this adaptation implies, the implementation turns often out to be a big step for the company and its employees. Because of that, future ERP system users face a huge change in their work life. To make this easy and increase the chances of the future users to accept the new system, a process called user involvement is often used. </p><p>Research has shown that user involvement affects the acceptance of a system (Dickson & Simmons, 1970; Powers & Dickson, 1973; Wu, et al.,2002; Kujala, 2003; Gable, Sedera & Chan, 2003; Amoako-Gyampah, 2005; Sharp, et al., 2007). On the contrary, less is known on why the acceptance is affected by user involvement, how the relation looks like and what in the user involvement process actually affects the acceptance. This essay studied that using a qualitative approach. </p><p>By combining the theory that user involvement affects the acceptance, with the Technology Acceptance Model (a theory proposed by Davis (1989) that models how users come to accept and use a technology), a new model was developed. The self-created model was used to develop themes which were used as a base for the empirical research. Four interviews with system users took place and the result was analyzed using the theories collected in the earlier part of the study. </p><p>The conclusion is that user involvement as a process contains many different parts which we believe may influence acceptance. Our study has shown that the acceptance depends on – but not limited to – the following: user’s understanding of what will be required of them in their future work, the educational process and its quality, user’s technical knowledge before the implementation process began, user’s ability to learn, as well as the company’s goals set for the implementation and to which degree the new system will fulfill these goals. </p><p>Finally, the demands which the company sets on its employees must not be ignored. An employee can feel obligated towards company’s choice of the ERP system and compelled to accept the new system, because it has already been decided that the company would use it.</p>

[ An abstract in English will follow] Denna uppsats handlar om på vilket sätt användarinvolvering påverkar acceptansen av ett affärssystem. I studien redogörs varför acceptansen påverkas av användarinvolveringen, samt hur påverkan sker och vad som leder till den. IT genomsyrar idag så gott som alla former av företagsamhet. Affärssystem stödjer affärsprocesser i flera branscher, från tillverkande företag till renodlade tjänsteföretag. Ett företag behöver exempelvis anpassa både sina affärsprocesser och det nya affärssystem för allt som sker inom företaget. På grund av komplexiteten som detta för med sig är implementeringen ofta ett stort steg för företaget och dess anställda. De framtida användarna av systemet ställs inför en stor förändring som ett nytt affärssystem medför. För att göra övergången så enkel som möjligt och få användarna att acceptera systemet brukar användarna vara delaktiga i implementationen genom en process som benämns som användarinvolvering. Forskning inom området har enats om att användarinvolveringen påverkar acceptansen av ett system (Dickson &amp; Simmons, 1970; Powers &amp; Dickson, 1973; Wu, et al.,2002; Kujala, 2003;, Gable, et al., 2003; Amoako-Gyampah, 2005; Sharp, et al., 2007). Desto mindre finns skrivet om varför acceptansen påverkas av användarinvolveringen, hur den påverkas, samt vad det egentligen är i användarinvolveringen som påverkar acceptansen. Denna uppsats undersökte detta genom att en kvalitativ studie utformades. Teorin om att användarinvolveringen påverkar acceptansen kombinerades med Technology Acceptance Model (en modell för undersökning av acceptansen föreslagen av Davis, 1989) för att skapa en egenutvecklad modell. Den egenutvecklade modellen användes för att skapa teman kring vilka den öppna individuella intervjun utformades. Därefter genomfördes intervjuer med fyra användare som var involverade i en implementationsprocess. Resultatet från intervjuerna strukturerades på ett sätt som matchade teman i den egenskapade modellen. Därefter analyserades resultatet med hjälp av det teoretiska materialet som insamlades under studiens inledningsfas. Slutsatsen är att användarinvolveringen som process består av flera företeelser som tros påverka acceptansen. De företeelserna som tros ha påverkat acceptansen på företaget som studerades var: användarnas förståelse för vad som kommer krävas av dem i framtiden, utbildningen och dess kvalité, användares tidigare kunskap och förmåga att ta in ny kunskap samt företagets mål med implementationen och hur väl det nya systemet kan uppfylla dessa. Slutligen bör man inte bortse ifrån de krav som företaget ställer på sina anställda. En medarbetare kan känna sig tvungen att acceptera ett visst system, då det redan är beslutat att företaget ska bruka systemet. [English abstract] This essay covers what in the user involvement process affects user acceptance of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP). The study reads up on why the acceptance is affected by user involvement, how the influence derives and where it comes from. Information Technology permeates all forms of enterprise. ERP systems support business processes for many different types of enterprise, ranging from manufacturing to service oriented. A company needs to adapt both its business processes and the new ERP system to fit the company’s business processes and support them throughout the value chain. As a result of the complexity that this adaptation implies, the implementation turns often out to be a big step for the company and its employees. Because of that, future ERP system users face a huge change in their work life. To make this easy and increase the chances of the future users to accept the new system, a process called user involvement is often used. Research has shown that user involvement affects the acceptance of a system (Dickson &amp; Simmons, 1970; Powers &amp; Dickson, 1973; Wu, et al.,2002; Kujala, 2003; Gable, Sedera &amp; Chan, 2003; Amoako-Gyampah, 2005; Sharp, et al., 2007). On the contrary, less is known on why the acceptance is affected by user involvement, how the relation looks like and what in the user involvement process actually affects the acceptance. This essay studied that using a qualitative approach. By combining the theory that user involvement affects the acceptance, with the Technology Acceptance Model (a theory proposed by Davis (1989) that models how users come to accept and use a technology), a new model was developed. The self-created model was used to develop themes which were used as a base for the empirical research. Four interviews with system users took place and the result was analyzed using the theories collected in the earlier part of the study. The conclusion is that user involvement as a process contains many different parts which we believe may influence acceptance. Our study has shown that the acceptance depends on – but not limited to – the following: user’s understanding of what will be required of them in their future work, the educational process and its quality, user’s technical knowledge before the implementation process began, user’s ability to learn, as well as the company’s goals set for the implementation and to which degree the new system will fulfill these goals. Finally, the demands which the company sets on its employees must not be ignored. An employee can feel obligated towards company’s choice of the ERP system and compelled to accept the new system, because it has already been decided that the company would use it.

The last two decades have seen an increasing sophistication in the type of information systems employed by organizations. In particular we have seen the emergence of enterprise systems technology - advanced information technology specifically designed to integrate the vast majority of an organization's processes and data flows. As the characteristics of ES technology have encroached beyond individual user domains and have become integrated throughout organizations, user acceptance issues have also broadened beyond the individual unit of analysis. At the same time numerous examples can be found both in the trade press and academic literature of organizations wishing to use enterprise systems as a primary driver of widespread organizational change and restructuring. A fundamental premise of this study is that while it may be intuitively appealing to consider technology as a primary catalyst for organizational change, it neglects to acknowledge the presence of what is referred to as the &quoteduality of structure&quote (Giddens, 1993). Duality of structure proponents contend that while IT system protocols may to a certain extent determine individual action, human agency can also determine the extent to which the technology is incorporated into everyday operations. The failure of past research to acknowledge the role of individual action and the influence of social context in determining IT usage is considered to be a significant oversight (DeSanctis & Poole, 1994). Underpinned by the theory of structuration and its notion of duality, a theory of user acceptance is put forward capable of clarifying the process by which users evaluate and react to enterprise systems technology. The thesis reports on an empirical investigation into the relationship between three representations of structure within an organization: the characteristics of ES technology; job design; and social networks. The capacity of ES technology to alter the structural elements of both job design and social networks, and hence form user's attitudes and behavior towards the system, is the fundamental theoretical premise of the thesis. As such this represents a clear step forward in understanding the implications of ES technology for both users and organizational structure. Using a longitudinal embedded single case design, this study examines the user acceptance and structural implications of introducing an ES into a large public sector educational institution. A social network and job design perspective was adopted to offer fresh insight into the dynamics of employee reaction to the introduction of ES technology. Five hypotheses support the job design component of the thesis. It was argued that given the inherent design elements of ES technology, along with the specific intent of the system's introduction, that users would both anticipate and perceive a decrease in job characteristics following an ES implementation. Further, that the positive relationship between job change and user acceptance would be moderated by the amount of system usage reported by users. Users with a greater exposure to the system were hypothesized to have a far stronger relationship between job change and acceptance than low users. The ramifications of perceived or actual changes to embedded resource exchange networks and subsequent employee reactions to those changes were also considered. Essentially social networks were argued to play a dual role in the user acceptance process, one being a conduit for the facilitation and transfer of user attitudes towards new systems, the other acting as a catalyst for attitude formation towards new systems. Overall the findings only partially supported four of the eight hypotheses put forward. While users were seen to anticipate an &quoteacross the board&quote decrease in job characteristics at Time 1 following the introduction of an ES, perceived changes in job characteristics at Time 2 were dependant on user hierarchy and the extent of system usage. Those high in formal authority reported an increase in job enrichment following the system's introduction, while those low in formal authority reported a decrease in overall job enrichment. Usage was also seen to moderate the relationship between job change and user acceptance. At Time 1 low users reported a positive relationship between anticipated changes in meaningfulness and user acceptance. Conversely at Time 1 high users reported a negative relationship between anticipated skill variety levels at Time 2 and user acceptance. Only one job characteristic reported a relationship between usage and user acceptance. Low users reported a positive relationship between changes in task identity and user acceptance. A post-hoc profile of the usage categories indicated that high users were more likely to be a lower hierarchical position than low users. The positive relationship reported by low users at Time 1 and Time 2 was explained by both the nature of the system, as well as the type and quantity of information received by low users. As senior members of the organization they were considered more likely to receive information that highlighted its attributes in the context of their job roles. The inherent design of ES technology, along with the specific intent it was being introduced, facilitated largely management orientated objectives. Therefore it is unsurprising that low users anticipating an increase in experienced meaningfulness following the introduction of a system that enhanced their job role reported corresponding acceptance levels. In contrast, the negative relationship between anticipated levels of skill variety at Time 2 and perceived ease of use was explained by the affinity that high users were likely to have with the old system. To high users with a high degree of proficiency associated with a redundant skill set, increased skill variety only represented a steeper learning curve and an increased pressure to adapt to the new system. The network component of the study also produced mixed results. Of the two networks that were measured over time, only one supported the hypothesized increase in both advice and resource exchange networks over time. Post-hoc analyses indicated that two of the four groups exhibited network change consistent with the hypothesized relationship. Anecdotal reports suggested that contextual elements such as geographical location and managerial policy at a localized level determined the nature of the change for the remaining two groups. The results failed to support the relationship between network change and user acceptance. However, a weak but significant negative relationship between the measure of network efficiency and user acceptance was found. In simple terms users developing an increasingly redundant set of contacts reported higher levels of user acceptance. In sum, the thesis represents a contribution to enterprise systems, user acceptance and social network literatures. In the first instance the research validates the call by Orlikowski & Iacono (2001) to readily acknowledge the specific nature of the technology under investigation. Despite the growth and saturation of enterprise system types, comparatively little research has been undertaken to examine the user and organizational issues surrounding their implementation. This research has demonstrated the capacity for the inherent design elements of ES technology to have differential effects in terms of job design for different user classifications. This and other findings represent a step forward in understanding the structural and user acceptance implications of this technology, while sign-pointing a number of promising future research avenues. The job design results, and to a lesser extent the network efficiency results, demonstrate the effect of social context on user acceptance. As such they provide further insight regarding the potential determinants of user acceptance beyond the individual unit of analysis. The findings also indicate an increasing need for user acceptance research to stretch beyond the transitory, short term measures of user acceptance such as perceived ease of use, usefulness, training and computer efficacy. Finally the thesis contributes to a small, but growing literature examining the role of social networks in the process of organizational change. In particular this thesis has considered in detail, the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of artificially altering established patterns of interaction. As such the study highlights the need to better understand the role of networks not only in the case of facilitating change, but the effect of network change in terms of change intervention success.

Mobile technology has become increasingly common in today’s society, enabling a whole new set of advantageous services that has a profound impact on our daily lives. This has led to that the mobile electronic identification application (mobile eID app) software has emerged, creating the possibility for users to authenticate important tasks and validating one’s identity through a mobile device. Existing literature on mobile electronic identification (mobile eID) has touched upon several aspects of this phenomenon, however, no specific research related to the user acceptance has been conducted. Thus, this paper seeks to identify the influencing factors that lead to the acceptance of using a mobile eID app. To analyze the adoption behavior of mobile eID app users, a conceptual, and later refined model consisting of 7 factors and the relationship between these were proposed. This model was based on the well-researched Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and extended to better fit the subject of this research. 13 hypotheses based on already existing research within the field of mobile service application acceptance were proposed and Sweden, having heavily implemented this phenomenon into the society, served as this study’s empirical site. The required primary dataset for hypotheses testing was collected through conducting a questionnaire distributed using a convenience sampling method. The gathered data was analyzed through the statistical software programs SPSS and SPSS AMOS to see if correlations between factors existed. The result showed that 10 hypotheses were accepted, and 3 hypotheses were rejected. This concludes that the factors influencing the acceptance of using mobile eID apps to validate one's identity online in Sweden are the following ranging from the largest effect to the least effect: perceived usefulness of a mobile eID app, subjective norm, perceived ease of use of a mobile eID app, perceived convenience of a mobile eID app, attitude towards using a mobile eID app, and perceived security of a mobile eID app. The findings of this study advance the theory within technology acceptance and contributes to the foundation for future research within the field of mobile electronic identification as well as for user acceptance within related subjects.

Standardsystem är något som har blivit allt mer populärt bland verksamheter, vilket innebär att företag väljer att köpa en paketerad systemlösning i form av informationssystem. Vissa standardsystem är väl anpassade för respektive verksamhet, medan vissa inte är det, vilket kräver modifikationer av systemet. Ett sätt för att uppnå god anpassning av systemet är att använda sig av användarinvolvering under utvecklingsprocessen. Genom att anpassa ett system utefter användarnas önskemål tenderar deras acceptans på systemet att bli högre. Därför kommer denna studie inrikta sig på att försöka förstå om användares involvering påverkar deras acceptans av ett standardsystem vid ett standardsystembyte och hur. För att kunna undersöka detta har en fallstudie av kvalitativ art genomförts på företaget Ellos. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av tidigare forskning inom användarinvolvering och användaracceptans som skapat en grund för att undersöka hur det har applicerats i en verksamhet. Författarna ville skapa sig en djupare förståelse kring begreppen och genomförde därför intervjuer på Ellos som är i implementeringsfasen av sitt standardsystembyte. Eftersom Ellos implementerar flera system är studien avgränsad till deras logistikavdelning. Resultatet av studien visade att en högre grad användarinvolvering bidrog till högre acceptans hos användarna. / ERP-systems are becoming more and more popular among businesses, and it means that the company buys an information system in a packaged system solution. Some ERP-systems is well suited for each business, while some are not, which require modifications of the system. One way to achieve good alignment of the system is to use user involvement during the development process. By adapting a system along the user requests, their acceptance towards the system tends to become higher. Therefore, will this study focus on trying to understand if user involvement affects their acceptance of an ERP-system change and how. To investigate this, a case study of a qualitative approach was conducted on the company Ellos. The study was completed with help from previous research in the areas of user involvement and user acceptance that created a base for examining of how the actual work is done in an organization. The authors wanted to create a deeper understanding of the concepts and therefore completed interviews at Ellos that is in the implementation phase of an ERP-system. Because Ellos implements several systems, is the study limited to their logistic department. The result of the study showed that a higher degree of user involvement contributed to higher user acceptance.

The use of Digital library has grown considerably past two decades. Using new tech-nology effectively depends on acceptance for that technology, which in turn would be affected by users’ perception of that technology’s usefulness and ease of use. Research on "usable" digital library shows that potential users of digital libraries may not use it, in spite of the system availability and the millions of dollars that have been spent. There is a need to identify external factors which has an affect users’ intention of using this system.

Användaracceptans är en viktig del i alla systemutvecklingsprojekt och är också en väldigt lättpåverkad variabel för en lyckad implementering. Därför är det viktigt att ha översikt på sådana faktorer som kan påverka användaracceptansen negativt, en sådan faktor är försening. Denna uppsats belyser sammanhanget mellan hur en försening påverkar användaracceptansen. Genom att låta en undersökningsgrupp genomgå en enkät utformad efter Technology Acceptance Model har jag samlat upp en generaliserad åsikt. Resultaten visar att försening som variabel inte påverkar användaracceptansen för fallstudien. / User acceptance is an important part of all system development projects and is also a very easily influenced variable for a successful implementation. That is why it is important to have an overview of those factors that could influence the user acceptance negatively, one of those factors being delay. This thesis highlights the cohesion between a delayed project and its influence over the user acceptance. By letting a study group answer a survey formed by the Technology Acceptance Model, I have gathered the generalized opinion of the group. The results show that delay as a variable does not influence the user acceptance of this case study.

With the technological development of e-commerce and the increasing necessity to use online transactions, more and more online electronic payments systems have appeared to meet global demand. Furthermore, user acceptance of these kinds of systems is different for individuals in different cultures, and culture could be a factor that has great potential impact on predictions of user acceptance. The world has evolved to a degree where transactions occur between different cultural environments. This study aims to provide an understanding of how culture affects users’ intentions of electronic payment systems. Based on the purpose of this study, a questionnaire has been conducted in the interest of collecting data for statistical purposes. To make more sense about the results, a case study on PayEx (an electronic payment system) in Linnaeus University has been conducted through analysing twenty users’ interview records. Finally, this study expands on user acceptance research through looking at the role of culture and social influence. In practice, the results of this study give the thought for accurate forecasting of user acceptance towards electronic payment systems with considering cultural influence.