Towards the integration of culture into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

Educational technology is increasingly used in multicultural contexts and across national cultures. Educational technology users with different national and professional backgrounds may, however, exhibit different attitudes towards technology. Previous research provides isolated evidence of the relationship between learning technology acceptance and culture, and so an overall picture is missing. Therefore, this study attempts to integrate culture (sensu Hofstede, 2001) into an established technology acceptance model (ie. the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, UTAUT, Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003). Examining a large sample (N = 2866) of learning technology users from Germany and Romania by means of questionnaire survey, we investigate the differences in culture and technology acceptance between sample subgroups. The collected data reveal the presence of cultural differences both between countries and between professions. In line with previous research, these differences are associated with dissimilar acceptance profiles, ie. different values of acceptance variables and of path coefficients between them. Based on the findings, this study makes headway in cross-cultural research by proposing an extended model of UTAUT – one which integrates three of Hofstede’s culture dimensions. As a practical implication, national and professional culture may shape computer-based learning environments.

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