Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Predict Website Usage: Extensions and Empirical Tests

Many organisations today are trying to increase the number of visits to their website, as well as the frequency and duration of their visits once they get there. In this paper, we empirically investigate an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM, originally developed by Davis, 1989) to explain the individual acceptance and usage of a website. The project extends TAM with two "website" constructs: "perceived entertainment value" and "perceived presentation attractiveness". To validate our model, we partnered with a Dutch portal site, that had over 300 000 subscribers at the time the research was conducted. Our measurement instrument was programmed into an online survey which was offered to every 20th subscriber that entered the portal. The survey was online for three subsequent days in Spring 2000, and resulted in a sample size of 887 respondents. The empirical test delivered the following results. In the first place, Entertainment Value is an equal partner to Usefulness, enjoying equally high or higher correlations with Website Usage. Second, Ease-of-Use does not seem to influence Website Usage directly, but indirectly through Usefulness. Likewise, Attractiveness does not appear to influence Website Usage directly, but indirectly through Entertainment value. The paper discusses these findings and considers the contributions and limitations of the extended TAM model for IS researchers.

[1]  Peter A. Todd,et al.  Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, and Usage of Information Technology: A Replication , 1992, MIS Q..

[2]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[3]  John Eighmey,et al.  Adding Value in the Information Age: Uses and Gratifications of Sites on the World Wide Web , 1998 .

[4]  Harri Oinas-Kukkonen,et al.  Balancing the vendor and consumer requirements for electronic shopping systems , 2000, Inf. Technol. Manag..

[5]  Kar Yan Tam,et al.  Impact of information presentation modes on online shopping: An empirical evaluation of a broadband interactive shopping service , 2000 .

[6]  Shoshana Zuboff,et al.  In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power , 1989 .

[7]  Maarten Gelderman,et al.  The relation between user satisfaction, usage of information systems and performance , 1998, Inf. Manag..

[8]  D. Hoffman,et al.  Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments: Conceptual Foundations , 1996 .

[9]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[10]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Consumer trust in an Internet store , 2000, Inf. Technol. Manag..

[11]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[12]  William J. Doll,et al.  The Measurement of End-User Computing Satisfaction , 1988, MIS Q..

[13]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[14]  Andrew Whinston,et al.  The Economics Of Electronic Commerce , 1997 .

[15]  Martha G. Russell,et al.  The Impact of Perceived Channel Utilities, Shopping Orientations, and Demographics on the Consumer's Online Buying Behavior , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[16]  William L. Goffe.  The Economics of Electronic Commerce , 2000 .

[17]  Patrali Chatterjee,et al.  Commercial Scenarios for the Web: Opportunities and Challenges , 1997, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[18]  R. Bharat Rao,et al.  Browsers or Buyers in Cyberspace? An Investigation of Factors Influencing Electronic Exchange , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[19]  Gerald L. Lohse,et al.  Internet retail store design: How the user interface influences traffic and sales , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[20]  Albert H. Segars,et al.  Re-examining perceived ease of use and usefulness , 1993 .

[21]  GroverVarun,et al.  Re-examining perceived ease of use and usefulness , 1993 .

[22]  M. Csíkszentmihályi,et al.  Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: The Experience of Play in Work and Games. , 1977 .

[23]  Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh,et al.  The content and design of web sites: an empirical study , 2000, Inf. Manag..