Tremendous amount of organizational budget is allocated to information system training. Such training is conducted with the expectation of having higher level of technology adoption from users, rendering higher usage of computer technology and task effectiveness. Past literatures suggest that user characteristics play the important role in IS training success. However, there appears to be none of the past studies empirically validating the characteristic of skilled users and IS novice. The technology acceptance model (TAM) is used as the underlying theory for measuring technology adoption for both skilled users and IS novices. The scale measurement survey of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness from TAM is provided to the subjects before and after the training. MANOVA and MANOVA repeated measure are used to test the research hypotheses

Chen, Lei-da

Muthitacharoen, Achita

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information SystemsAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)AMCIS 2000 Proceedings Americas Conference on Information Systems(AMCIS)2000Training Effect on Acceptance of Technology (TheDifference Between Skilled User and IS Novice)Achita MuthitacharoenUniversity of Memphis, amthtchr@memphis.eduLei-da ChenNorthern Michigan University, lchen@nmu.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been acceptedfor inclusion in AMCIS 2000 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contactelibrary@aisnet.org.Recommended CitationMuthitacharoen, Achita and Chen, Lei-da, "Training Effect on Acceptance of Technology (The Difference Between Skilled User and ISNovice)" (2000). AMCIS 2000 Proceedings. 407.http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000/407Training Effect on Acceptance of Technology(The Difference between Skilled User and IS Novice)Achita (Mi) Muthitacharoen, Fogelman College of Business, The University of Memphis,amthtchr@memphis.eduLei-da Chen, Walker L. Cisler College of Business, Northern Michigan University, lchen@nmu.eduAbstractTremendous amount of organizational budget isallocated to information system training. Such training isconducted with the expectation of having higher level oftechnology adoption from users, rendering higher usageof computer technology and task effectiveness. Pastliteratures suggest that user characteristics play theimportant role in IS training success. However, thereappears to be none of the past studies empiricallyvalidating the characteristic of skilled users and IS novice.The technology acceptance model (TAM) is used as theunderlying theory for measuring technology adoption forboth skilled users and IS novices. The scale measurementsurvey of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulnessfrom TAM is provided to the subjects before and after thetraining. MANOVA and MANOVA repeated measure areused to test the research hypotheses.IntroductionTraining was found to be one of the key IS issuesby IS academics and practitioners (Kim and Kim, 1999).IS workers have to keep themselves up-to-date with therapid change in technology. One avenue to acquire thenew knowledge in computer technology is to havetraining. Training can be obtained either from theorganization or individual. Investment in training iscommonly considered a key factor to sustain thecompetitive success in organization (Finegold andSoskice, 1988; Ashton, Green, and Hoskins, 1989). Theorganizations have invested significant amount ofresources in training human resources. It is found thatAmerican firms spent approximately $50 billion ontraining cost in 1994 (Diamond, 1995). In addition, the4.3 percent of such budget is allocated to IS training(Tristram, 1995). IS training cost is mainly distributed topersonnel in the IS department and IS personnel costs 48percent of the total IS department. Such high costs of IStraining and IS personnel indicate the urgent need toexamine whether or not the training will increase theacceptance level of IS users.The technology acceptance model (TAM)proposed by Davis (1986) has been used extensively formeasuring IS adoption. The model asserts that the level ofadoption can be affected by several of external factors.One of which is the training. Training has long been oneof the important research issues in MIS area. It is foundthat training enhances the success in end-user computingenvironment (Bostrom et al, 1990). However, most of ISresearches to date paid too little attention to usercharacteristic factors which is very likely to influence thesuccess of training.The objective of this study is to examine thedifferent effects that training has on different kinds ofusers. Based on the users' past experience, the respondentin the study will be divided into two groups, the skilledusers and IS novice. The similar training will be given toboth users at the same time and in the similarenvironment. In addition, the study attempts to find thedifference of the user's perceived ease of use andperceived usefulness between the two types of IS usersbefore and after training is given.Literature ReviewSystem usage is one of the primary dependentvariables of information systems (Delone and McLean,1992).  It is widely acknowledged that the usage ofinformation technology (IT) is an important variable inevaluating the impact of IT (Davis 1989; Straub et al.1995).  The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) isoften used by both IS researchers and practitioners to gaina better understanding of the adoption and use ofinformation systems.  It is one of the most influentialresearch models in studies of the determinants ofinformation systems acceptance.Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA),Davis (1986) introduced an adaptation of it, TAM, forpredicting IT usage.  While TRA is "designed to explainvirtually any human behavior" (Fishbein and Ajzen1975), the goal of TAM was "to provide an explanation ofthe determinants of computer acceptance that is general,capable of explaining user behavior across a broad rangeof end-user computing technologies and user populations,while at the same time being both parsimonious andtheoretically justified" (Davis et al 1989).  The generalmodel of TAM is presented in Figure I.1198Figure 1: Technology Acceptance Model (Source: Davis et al. 1989)The model posits that perceived usefulness (U)and perceived ease of use (EOU) affect the system use.Perceived usefulness is defined as "the prospective user'ssubjective probability that using a specific applicationsystem will increase his or her job performance within anorganizational context."  Perceived ease of use refers to"the degree to which the prospective user expects thetarget system to be free of effort" (Davis et al. 1989).  Themodel hypothesizes that the actual system use isdetermined by users' behavioral intention to use (BI),which is in turn influenced by users' attitudes towardusing (A).  Finally, attitude is directly affected by beliefsabout the system, which consists of U and EOU.  TAMtheorizes this belief - attitude - intention - behaviorrelationship to predict user acceptance of technology.The TAM model has been extensively used andvalidated in several kinds of technology. The robustnessof the model has been proven in numerous studies (e.g.Rose and Straub, 1998, Igbaria et al. 1997; Taylor andTodd, 1995). Consequently, it is not our purpose toconduct such redundant validation in this study. However,most of the past studies tested the causal relationship ofTAM model without including the external factors in theirstudy designs. Consequently, it is our purpose to test thetraining effects on TAM.The benefits of training have been witnessed inseveral literatures. It is found to improve the flexibilityand adaptability of organizational environment(Steedman, Mason, and Wagner, 1991; Mason, Van Ark,and Wagner, 1994). In addition, it potentially enhancesthe employee motivation and commitment to organization(Rainbird, 1994). However, the effect of IS training on theacceptance of technology has been given in adequateattention in MIS literatures.One of the empirical studies of training on theTAM model was conducted by Venkatesh (1999).However, the study investigates the effectiveness ofdifferent types of training on technology acceptancewithout considering the user characteristics. Usercharacteristics are found to be critical factor, influencingthe success in end-user computing environment. Thereappears to be one study examining the nature of ISnovices in training (Bostrom et al, 1990). Such study,however, investigated only the learning style of the users,not the users type.There is no found study conducted to test theeffect of training on different types of IS users (skilledand novice users). This study strives to examine sucheffect based on the TAM model. Perceived ease of useand perceived usefulness are employed as the dependentvariables in our study. The subsequent section delineatesour proposed research model and research design.Proposed Model and Research DesignIn the study, we argue that the usercharacteristics (skilled user or novice user) play themoderator role in the technology acceptance model (Seefigure 2). The normative belief in training suggests thattraining will enhance both perceived ease of use (EOU)and perceived usefulness (U) of technology. Nonetheless,we argue that even though the training provides bothtypes of users with the new knowledge, the enhancementof U and EOU will be significantly higher in the novicegroup. The following is the proposed model for our study.Figure 2: Proposed ModelExternalVariablesPerceivedUsefulness (U)Perceived Easeof Use (EOU)AttitudeTowardUsing (A)BehavioralIntention toUse (BI)ActualSystemUseTrainingPerceivedUsefulnessPerceivedEase of UseUser Characteristics(Skilled User Vs ISNovices)1199Sprague and Carlson (1982) have classified the training inIS into seven categories. They are tutorial,courses/lectures/seminars, computer-aided instruction,interactive training manual, resident expert, helpcomponent, and external training. Our research chooses toadopt the second method of training, namelycourses/lectures/seminars. The major reason behind that issuch training allows the study to employ the repeatedmeasure technique, which will be used to test thehypothesis of difference between before and after trainingeffects on our dependent variables.The students are the subjects in our study. The scalemeasuring EOU and P proposed by Davis (1986) isadopted. Various software applications are used for thetraining of both skilled users and IS novices. The subjectsare asked to fill out the survey instrument before and aftertraining of each software application. However, beforefilling the survey, the introduction of each application isgiven to the subjects, rendering the preliminaryunderstanding of the task that each application canperform. The applications include, Netscape, MS Word,MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint.The study divides the hypotheses into two groups. Thefirst one is the hypotheses that will be tested before givingthe training. The second is the group of hypotheses thatwill be tested after the training. All hypotheses arepresented herein.Before-Training HypothesesH1: Perceived ease of use is not significantly differentbetween the skilled user and novices.H2: Perceived usefulness is not significantly differentbetween the skilled user and novices.After-Training HypothesesH3: There is no significant difference of perceived ease ofuse before and after the training for both types ofusers.H4: There is no significant difference of perceivedusefulness before and after the training for both typesof users.H5: There is no significant difference of change inperceived ease of use (before and after training)between the skilled users and IS novices.H6: There is no significant difference of change inperceived usefulness (before and after training)between the skilled users and IS novices.Data Analysis and Expected ResultsMANOVA and MANOVA repeated measure will beemployed in this study, due to the characteristic of multidependent variables. Interestingly, the preliminaryanalysis of data demonstrates the decrease in perceivedease of use after the training, which is contradicting to thenormative belief. The in-depth analysis of this issue willbe conducted in order to test if such pattern occurs for allkinds of applications. However, the logical explanation isthe training generally provides the trainee with the newfunctions, which the trainees are unfamiliar. This issueand the test of above hypotheses will be available forpresentation at the conference.ReferencesAshton, D., Green, F., and Hoskins, M. "The TrainingSystem of British Capitalism: Changes and Prospects,"The Restructuring of the UK Economy, in Green, F. (ed.),Brighton: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989.Bostorm, R.P., Olfman, L., and Sein, M.K. "TheImportance of Learning Style in End-User Training," MISQuarterly (14:1), March 1990, pp. 101-119.Davis, F. D. "A Technology Acceptance Model forEmpirically Testing New End-User Information Systems:Theory and Results," doctoral dissertation, MIT SloanSchool of Management, Cambridge, MA, 1986.Davis, F. D. "Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease ofUse, and User Acceptance of Information Technology,"MIS Quarterly (13:3), 1989, pp. 319-340.Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., Warshaw, P. R. "UserAcceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison ofTwo Theoretical Models," Management Sciences (35:8),1989, pp. 982-1003.DeLone, W.H. and McLean, E.R. "Information SystemsSuccess: The Quest for the Dependent Variable,"Information Systems Research (3:1), March 1992, pp. 60-95.Diamond, D. "Training," Open Computing (32),November 1995, pp. 32-40.Finegold, D. and Soskice, D. "The Failure of Training inBritain: Analysis and Prescription," Oxford Review ofEconomic Policy (4:3), 1988, pp. 21-52.Igbaria, M., Zinatelli, N., Cragg, P., Cavaye, A. "PersonalComputing Acceptance Factors in Small Firms: AStructural Equation Model," MIS Quarterly (21:3), 1997,pp. 279-305.Kim, Y. and Kim, Y. "Critical IS issues in the NetworkEra," Information Resources Management Journal (12:4),October-December 1999, pp. 14-23.Mason, G., Van Ark, B., and Wagner, K. "Productivity,Product Quality, and Workforce Skills: Food Processing1200in Four European Countries," National Institute ofEconomic Review (1), 1994, pp. 62-83.Rainbird, H. Continuing Training in PersonnelManagement (2nd ed.) in Sisson, K. ed., Oxford: BasilBlackwell, 1994.Rose, G., and Straub, D. W. "Predicting General IT Use:Applying TAM to the Arabic World," Journal of GlobalInformation Management (6:3), 1998, pp. 39-46.Sprague, R.H. and Carlson, E.D. Building EffectiveDecision Support Systems, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982.Steedman, H., Mason, G., and Wagner, K. "IntermediateSkills and the Workplace: Deployment Standard andSupply in Britain," National Institute Economic Review(136), 1991, pp. 60-76.Straub, D. W., Limayem, M., Karahanna, E. "MeasuringSystem Usage: Implications for IS Theory Testing,"Management Science (41:8), 1995, pp. 1328-1342.Taylor, S., Todd, P. "Understanding InformationTechnology Usage: A Test of Competing Models,"Information Systems Research (6:2), 1995, pp. 144-176.Tristram, C. "Should you retrain programmers?," OpenComputing (32), November 1995, pp. 33-50.Venkatesh, V. "Creation of Favorable User Perceptions:Exploring the Role of Intrinsic Motivation, " MISQuarterly (23:2), June 1999, pp. 239-260.1201

Training Effect on Acceptance of Technology (The Difference Between Skilled User and IS Novice)

https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1851&amp;context=amcis2000

Training Effect on Acceptance of Technology (The Difference Between Skilled User and IS Novice)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)