Electronic library services acceptance and use. An empirical validation of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology
| Date | 02 November 2015 |
| Published date | 02 November 2015 |
| Pages | 1100-1120 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-03-2014-0057 |
| Author | Mohammad Sulieman Awwad,Sawsan Mohammad Al-Majali |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Electronic library services
acceptance and use
An empirical validation of unied theory of
acceptance and use of technology
Mohammad Sulieman Awwad and Sawsan Mohammad Al-Majali
Department of Business and Marketing, Mutah University,
Al-Karak, Jordan
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to apply the unied theory of acceptance and use of technology
(UTAUT) model in the context of electronic library services in public Jordanian universities. This study
investigated the determinants of use behaviour (UB) regarding electronic library services, and the
moderating effects of age, gender, experience, education level and academic discipline on the
relationships between the determinants and behavioural intention (BI).
Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative data were collected, through a questionnaire
instrument from a sample of 575 students. Statistical analysis of the study’s model was conducted using
the structural equation modelling technique.
Findings – Empirical examination of the model’s hypotheses indicated that students’ “intention to
use” electronic library services is dependent on performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE)
and social inuence (SI), while students’ “use behaviour” is dependent on facilitating conditions (FCs)
and intention to use. The effect of PE on BI was signicant for younger, undergraduate and social
sciences discipline students, while EE was signicant for older and applied discipline students.
Practical implications – Library directors should design promotional campaigns directed to
younger, undergraduate and social academic discipline studentsto promote the efciency of electronic
libraries. Faculty members can be targeted with these promotional campaigns to exert inuence on the
desired effect on students’ intentions toward using the electronic library. Easier-to-use technology and
training courses for older and applied academic discipline students are necessary. It is important to
ensure that the physical facilities and technical support provide students with needed assistance. Online
help should be available.
Originality/value – This study empirically validated the UTAUT model in the context of electronic
library services within an Arab culture. The study also investigated the moderating effects of students’
characteristics, including age, gender and experience, in addition to education level and academic
discipline, as new affects.
Keywords UTAUT, Behavioural intention, Social inuence, User behaviour,
Electronic library services, Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Facilitating conditions
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The rapid growth and advancement of new technologies has made tremendous
improvement in and provided for many changes in communication processes, as well as
reduced the cost of communication for individuals. Services rendered with the help of
information technology (IT) are faster and more effective. Moreover, the increased
efciency and speed creates faith and condence about the products and services of an
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
33,6
1100
Received 30 March 2014
Revised 30 April 2014
29 June 2014
19 September 2014
Accepted 27 October 2014
TheElectronic Library
Vol.33 No. 6, 2015
pp.1100-1120
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-03-2014-0057
organization among its customers (Vinitha et al., 2006). Electronic information sources,
a relatively recent development in information and communications technology (ICT),
are among the most powerful tools ever invented in human history and continue to
increase in importance for the academic community (Ayele and Sreenivasarao, 2013).
Library science is one eld where universities apply IT to provide library services to
students electronically. The introduction of computers and other telecommunication
technologies in libraries during the past quarter of the century has changed the concept
of libraries and the library profession (Tibenderana et al., 2010). The global trend
towards the digitization of library resources helps to improve the availability and
accessibility of information to users. Libraries have been transformed into digital and
virtual libraries where books, journals and magazines have changed into e-books,
e-journals and e-zines. Electronic resources are easily accessible in remote areas, as
information seekers are no longer conned to the walls of the library (Kwak et al., 2002).
Activities that were previously carried out manually in libraries with so much effort are
now being carried out more smoothly and effectively with the help of ICT. Library
organization, administration and technical processes have become easier because of
ICT, and more work can be done in a more relaxed mood (Vinitha et al., 2006).
Motivated by the widespread use of the Internet and associated IT, Jordanian
universities are investing considerable resources to change the traditional way they
operate and to deliver services that provide better, more convenient and less costly
services to their students through applying IT-enabled systems (Awwad and
Al-Mohammad, 2010). However, while many resources have been devoted to developing
these systems, library researchers have observed that digital libraries remain
underutilized (Wood et al., 1995), and if these systems are not widely utilized, then it will
be difcult to obtain a corresponding return on investment (Orji et al., 2010).
Organizations cannot achieve any return on their investments in information systems
unless the systems are actually used by their intended users (Allameh and Abbasi,
2010). Because the use of electronic library services at Jordanian universities is
voluntary rather than mandatory, their use by Jordanian university students is still
underutilized. The majority of students prefer to use traditional library services, rather
than electronic library services. This was obvious when interviews were carried out by
the researchers with a number of employees in the libraries and several students, who
pointed out the low level of acceptance and use of electronic services provided by the
libraries.
This study mainly adopts the unied theory of acceptance and use of technology
(UTAUT) model proposed by Venkatesh et al. (2003). The UTAUT model has been
proven to be more accurate than other models, with the ability to predict technology
acceptance 70 per cent of the time (Venkatesh et al., 2003), especially in developing
countries (Gupta et al., 2008). Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate
UTAUT in the context of electronic library services and to identify the effect of age,
gender, experience, education level and academic discipline as new moderating
variables.
Theoretical background
Electronic library acceptance and use
Several terms, such as electronic library, digital library, virtual library, web library and
online library, have been used synonymously to represent a similar concept which
1101
Electronic
library services
acceptance and
use
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