While TRA and TPB are general theories that explain general human behaviour, the TAM is specific to information system usage. The TAM was originally developed to understand the causal relationship between external variables and user acceptance of computer-based applications. The scales, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude towards use, actual use and external variables (level of competency and ICT infrastructure) were adopted for use in the present study. Applying scales which have already been developed and empirically validated in previous research avoids the potentially time-consuming and costly effort required to develop new measurement instruments. Adams, Nelson and Todd (1992:227-228) asserted that there is a wide variety of ways in which the TAM scales can be applied. First, in application settings, the scales may be used by systems designers to obtain user feedback on different system features or design approaches, or they may be used after implementation of a system to diagnose problems in user acceptance. Second, scales may be used in organisations to make selections between contending software packages. Third, by examining ratings of different user groups for the same software, the scales might be used to determine problem areas in acceptance or deficiencies in training. Lastly, Adams, Nelson and
22 Todd (1992:228) pointed out that scales may also be used by researchers interested in understanding the determinants of technology adoption, factors that impact on the success of information systems and the spread of information technology.
This study adopted the TAM to understand the determinants influencing digital information acceptance. The present study was conducted as a result of an observation that users of the ORI Library were increasingly showing a preference for digital information in a library that had the bulk of its collection in print format. For this reason, the TAM was applied in this study to determine predictors of users’ preferences for digital information at the ORI Library.
The present study chose to apply the TAM because it is a proven framework capable of predicting acceptance of technology. The relevance of its constructs to the use of digital information was validated in the present study. The objectives of this study were centred on the TAM’s constructs; perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude towards use, actual use, and external variables, level of competency and ICT infrastructure.
Objective 1 - Predictors of users’ preferences for digital information
This objective was addressed by the TAM’s two primary determinants of system use, namely perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Several studies highlighted the importance of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness as important determinants in predicting a person’s behaviour to technology acceptance (Davis 1993; Tan et al., 2005; Masrom 2007;
Park et al., 2009).
Objective 2 – Users’ attitude towards the use of digital information
The user attitude towards digital information was addressed by the TAM’s attitude construct.
A number of studies have examined how attitude can positively or negatively affect an individual’s acceptance or rejection of a technology (Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw 1989;
Mathieson 1991; Chau 1996; Doll, Hendrickson and Deng 1998; Porter and Donthu 2006;
Choi, Kim and Kim 2007; Madhusudhan 2010).
Objectives 3 - User competencies in the use of digital information
The TAM suggests that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness can indirectly be affected by external variables. Level of competency was identified as an external variable that can indirectly affect technology acceptance behaviour. An individual’s experience with digital resources can predict acceptance behaviour towards the resource.
23 Objective 4 - ICT infrastructure to facilitate access to digital information
ICT infrastructure is another TAM external variable that was identified as important in the present study, because use of electronic resources is only possible when adequate IT facilities are in place. In addition, it is a major issue worth investigating, especially within the African region where systems are still being set up in financially challenged economies.
Objective 5 - Patterns of use of electronic resources
This objective examined actual use of electronic resources. Various studies across the globe have been conducted to assess actual use of digital resources in different environments (Ali 2005; Gowda and Shivalingaiah 2009; Deng 2010; Madhusudhan 2010; Swain 2010;
Egberongbe 2011; Mulla 2011). Users of this study were showing a preference for electronic resources. The purpose of this objective was to confirm or refute these observations by assessing their real-life actions. Table 1 outlines how the research questions were mapped to the TAM variables.
Table 1: Mapping research questions to the TAM variables Research question Key variables of the
research question
Variables of the TAM correlating with the research question What are the predictors of users’
preferences for digital information?
Predictors of user preference for digital information
Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness What is the attitude of users
towards the use of digital information?
Attitude towards use of digital information
Attitude
What competencies do users have in the use of digital information?
Competencies in use of digital information
Competency (external variable)
What ICT infrastructure is in place to facilitate access to digital
information?
ICT infrastructure available
Accessibility (external variable) What are the usage patterns of
electronic resources?
Use of electronic resources
Actual use
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