Unified Theory 1 & 2 & extension (UTAUT)

UTAUT 1

  • Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
  • Developed by Venkatesh et al. (2003).
  • Attempt to create one single model which integrates the quintessence of eight previous innovation acceptance theories.
  • Is aimed at providing an holistic insight into all factors, which have an influence on the behavioural intention towards the use of a new technology.
  • Was created to evaluate the use of a new technology within an organization (not for the consumer market).

The various factors which build our intentions and are related to behaviour.

 

 

 

UTAUT (Venkatesh et al., 2003)

According to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology there are four key constructs. These are explained on the original example by Venkatesh et al. (2003) of using a Personal Computer (PC):

1. Expectation of performance

What use does a PC generate for the employees?

2. Expectation of effort

How much effort do employees have to contribute to use a PC?

3. Social influence

What do the colleagues and superiors of the employees say about using a PC?

4. Facilitating conditions

Do the employees know how to use a PC?

 

The first three constructs are direct determinants of the intention to use new technology. Facilitating conditions is a direct determinant of the intention to use a new technology and user behaviour.

The factors gender, age, experience, and voluntariness of use moderate the impact of the four key constructs.

 

UTAUT 2

  • Developed by Venkatesh et al. (2012) as an extension of the original model Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.
  • Additionally includes factors relevant for the consumer market that influence the behavioural intention to use new technology.
  • Was created to evaluate the use of a new technology in the consumer market. (not for use of technologies within an organization)

UTAUT 2 (Venkatesh et al., 2012)

Venkatesh et.al. (2012) extracted factors of the original UTAUT model for the consumer context and extended it by incorporating the following three factors which improved the prediction of  behavioural intention and use behaviour. These are explained on the original example by Venkatesh et al. (2012) of using the internet:

1. Hedonic motivation

Is it fun for consumers to use the internet?

2. Price value

Is it a good value for money to use the internet for consumers?

3. Habit

Do consumers have routines in which they use the internet?

 

Criticism of UTAUT 1 & 2:

  • Very complex model due to the multitude of contructs.
  • Moderators raise explanatory power but also the models complexity.
  • Accordingly often applied without moderators.

Advantages of UTAUT:

  • Due to the multitude of factors it delivers the highest explanatory power of all standard acceptance models and thus helps to support the technology development process.

Field of Application:

  • Use of various technologies within an organization (UTAUT 1).
  • Use of various technologies within the consumer market (UTAUT 2).

To learn more about UTAUT, visit the sources below:

Venkatesh, V., Morris, M., Davis, G., & Davis, F. (2003). User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View. MIS Quarterly

Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y., & Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and use of information technology: extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS quarterly, 36(1), 157-178.

 

UTAUT: A synthesis of extensions

  • Developed by Blut, Chong, Tsiga and Venkatesh (2022).
  • Attempt to expand the explained variance of UTAUT and UTAUT 2.
  • Based on a meta-study of 25,619 effect sizes reported by 737,112 users in 1,935 independent samples.
  • Was created for the context of both, employees and consumers.

 

 

Additional predictors to UTAUT 2

  1. Compatibility
    Is the technology compatible with the users lifestyle?

  2. Education
    What educational background does the user of the technology have?

  3. Personal Innovativeness
    How willing is the user to try out any new technologies?

  4. Costs
    To what extent does the user perceive the technology as costly?

 

 

Additional moderators to UTAUT 2

  1. Consumer/employee
    Is the technology directed at consumers or employees?

  2. Masculinity/femininity
    Is the culture masculine or feminine?

  3. Individualism/collectivism
    Is the culture collectivistic or individualistic?

  4. Mobile/non-mobile
    Is the technology mobile (independent of time and space) or non-mobile (dependent of time and space)?

  5. Online/offline
    Does the technology provide online or offline services?

  6. Transaction/non-transaction
    Is the technology used to conduct financial transactions?

 

Criticism of the extended model

  • Very complex with many moderators

 

Advantages the extended model

  • Very high explanatory power (Behavioural Intention: r²=74,1 %; Use Behaviour: r²=47,2 %)
  • Transferable to different cultures and technologies

 

To learn more visit the source below:

Blunt, M., Chong, A. Y. L., Tsigna, Zayyad, Tsigna & Venkatesh, V. (2022). Meta-Analysis of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Challenging its Validity and Charting a Research Agenda in the Red Ocean. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 23(1), 13–95. 10.17705/1jais.00719