The pendulum swings back: individual acceptance of re-centralized application platforms

After two decades of actively distributing computing power to individual users in the form of desktop and notebook PCs, IT executives are now being drawn back to the benefits of centralized computing platforms, as evidenced by the emergence of thin client technology and the application service provider (ASP) business model. But will individual users embrace this "re-centralization?" This study examines major influencing factors on end-user use of centralized application platforms using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Two new perceived behavioral control factors are identified: (1) relative functional advantage of the local PC versus the central server, and (2) response promptness of the central server. Data were collected using a paper-and-pencil survey of twenty-six users who had access to a centralized application platform. The two new measures demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, and both were strong predictors of intention to use the centralized platform and actual usage. Results also suggest that TPB has strong predictive power for individual use of centralized application platforms.