Decision Sciences Journal
Volume 27, Number 3
Summer 1996
A Model of the Antecedents of Perceived Ease of Use:
Development and Test
Viswanath Venkatesh
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
MN 55455, e-mail: venka007@maroon.tc.umn.edu
Fred D. Davis
College of Business and Management, University of Maryland, College
Park, MD 20742, e-mail: fdavis@bmgtmail.umd.edu
ABSTRACT
The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been widely used to
predict user acceptance and use based on perceived ease of use and
usefulness. However, in order to design effective training
interventions to improve user acceptance, it is necessary to better
understand the antecedents and determinants of key acceptance
constructs. In this research, we focus on understanding the
determinants of perceived ease of use. Data from three experiments
spanning 108 subjects and six different systems supported our
hypothesis that an individual's perception of a particular system's
ease of use is anchored to her or his general computer
self-efficacy at all times, and objective usability has an impact
on ease of use perceptions about a specific system only after
direct experience with the system. In addition to being an
important research issue in user acceptance research, understanding
antecedents of perceived ease of use is also important from a
practical standpoint since several systems in which millions of
dollars are invested are rejected because of poor user interfaces.
Moreover, the actual underlying problem might be low computer
self-efficacy of the target user group. In such cases, training
interventions aimed at improving computer self-efficacy of users
may be more effective than improved interface design for increasing
user acceptance.
Subject Areas: Computer Self-Efficacy, Perceived Ease of
Use, and Technology Acceptance Model.
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