Decision Sciences Journal
Volume 32, Number 4
Fall 2001
Information Technology Acceptance by Individual Professionals:
A Model Comparison Approach
Patrick Y. K. Chau
School of Business, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University
of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, e-mail: pchau@business.hku.hk
Paul Jen-Hwa Hu
Accounting and Information Systems, David Eccles School of Business,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, e-mail: actph@business.utah.edu
Abstract. The proliferation of innovative and exciting
information technology applications that target individual “professionals”
has made the examination or re-examination of existing technology
acceptance theories and models in a “professional”
setting increasingly important. The current research represents
a conceptual replication of several previous model comparison
studies. The particular models under investigation are the Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB),
and a decomposed TPB model, potentially adequate in the targeted
healthcare professional setting. These models are empirically
examined and compared, using the responses to a survey on telemedicine
technology acceptance collected from more than 400 physicians
practicing in public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong. Results
of the study highlight several plausible limitations of TAM and
TPB in explaining or predicting technology acceptance by individual
professionals. In addition, findings from the study also suggest
that instruments that have been developed and repeatedly tested
in previous studies involving end users and business managers
in ordinary business settings may not be equally valid in a professional
setting. Several implications for technology acceptance/adoption
research and technology management practices are discussed.
Subject Areas: Information Technology Acceptance, LISREL,
Professional Users, Structural Equation Models, and Technology
Adoption and Management. |