Web Accessibility: Factors Enabling the Visually Impaired to Using Websites

This paper applies and extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to understand website usage among visually impaired users. We propose two new constructs, web accessibility and vision impairment level, and suggest that these constructs moderate the effects of UTAUT constructs on behavioral intention and actual usage behavior of visually impaired users. We present a plan to empirically test our proposed hypotheses using a field survey of visually impaired users regarding their usage of a website that conforms to accessibility guidelines. This paper contributes to research by drawing attention to the disabled population – an underserved area of information systems research, by identifying relevant constructs that apply in this unique context, and by elucidating how these constructs influence their technology usage