Applying TAM across cultures: The need for caution

The technology acceptance model (TAM) is one of the most widely used behavioural models in the information systems (IS) field. Researchers have used the model to study many different IS adoption situations and contexts, and it usually demonstrates validity and reliability. Although TAM was developed in the U.S., the TAM model has also been used in other countries. Transferring a model to another cultural context should be subjected to rigorous testing, and a few studies have begun to examine the applicability of TAM in a small variety of cultures. This study contributes to the growing multi-cultural examination of TAM, and demonstrates that although the model has been successful in predicting adoption behaviours in some international settings, it might not hold in all cultures. Almost 4000 students from several universities around the world provided the data for the study. Data analysis revealed that the TAM model does not hold for certain cultural orientations. Most significantly, low Uncertainty Avoidance, high Masculinity, high-Power Distance, and high Collectivism seem to nullify the effects of Perceived Ease of Use and/or Perceived Usefulness. Since TAM has been shown to be widely applicable to various technological innovations, it is likely to continue to be applied broadly and globally. However, the results of this study suggest the need for caution in applying TAM in at least 20 countries. © 2007 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved

When the wait isn't so bad: The interacting effects of website delay, familiarity, and breadth

Although its popularity is widespread, the Web is well known for one particular drawback: its frequent delay when moving from one page to another. This experimental study examined whether delay and two other website design variables (site breadth and content familiarity) have interaction effects on user performance, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The three experimental factors (delay, familiarity, and breadth) collectively impact the cognitive costs and penalties that users incur when making choices in their search for target information. An experiment was conducted with 160 undergraduate business majors in a completely counterbalanced, fully factorial design that exposed them to two websites and asked them to browse the sites for nine pieces of information. Results showed that all three factors have strong direct impacts on performance and user attitudes, in turn affecting behavioral intentions to return to the site, as might be expected. A significant three-way interaction was found between all three factors indicating that these factors not only individually impact a user's experiences with a website, but also act in combination to either increase or decrease the costs a user incurs. Two separate analyses support an assertion that attitudes mediate the relationship of the three factors on behavioral intentions. The implications of these results for both researchers and practitioners are discussed. Additional research is needed to discover other factors that mitigate or accentuate the effects of delay, other effects of delay, and under what amounts of delay these effects occur. © 2006 INFORMS