Factors influencing micro-enterprises' information technology adoption
說明
186 p
附註
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 75-08(E), Section: A
Advisers: Kenneth Kriz; Jooho Lee
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2014
Public and non-profit organizations are operating different types of programs to help micro-enterprises appropriately adopt and utilize information technology (IT) for their businesses. Some programs provide mentoring or consultation services; some simply deliver discounted hardware and software; and some offer training services. However, it is uncertain which type would be more effective for micro-enterprises in appropriately adopting and continuously using IT, because it is unknown what factors are relatively significant in terms of micro-enterprises' decisions to adopt and utilize IT for their businesses. The purpose of this research is to examine relevant factors and theories and empirically test their significance and fitness to the context of micro-enterprises' IT adoption. A national mail survey was conducted for data collection, and partial least square structural equation modeling was conducted for data analysis. Findings reveal that factors such as awareness, compatibility, observability, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward behavior, trialability, anxiety, self-efficacy, business social influence, and technical facilitating condition are significantly associated with micro-enterprises' IT adoption, while resource facilitating condition and perceived behavioral control are not statistically significant. In addition, the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model are found to be more significant than the Theory of Planned Behavior in explaining the context of micro-enterprises' adoption and continuous use of IT. The findings suggest that a more general theory of IT adoption should be developed to explain different contexts of IT adoption. The findings also provide practical implications for better IT support programs for micro-enterprises. For example, an effective IT intervention program would be one that provides micro-enterprises with consultation services that appropriately inform IT solutions, addresses compatibility issues relevant to the individual micro-enterprise business context, and provides opportunities to observe how other micro-enterprises utilize IT solutions rather than simply addressing resource constraints by providing discounted hardware and software. This research contributes to public administration by providing significant implications for policy makers in public and non-profit organizations in designing IT assistance programs that help micro-enterprises effectively carry out a combination of IT solutions, which would foster economic development
