An Investigation of the Factors that Influence User Acceptance of Mobile information Systems in the Workplace

Mobile information systems (IS) such as field force automation and mobile office applications are rapidly being adopted by a large number of organizations. Despite its popularity and widespread adoption, the body of knowledge regarding user acceptance of mobile information systems in the workplace still is largely anecdotal. The purpose of this study was to develop and rigorously test a model of the factors that influence user acceptance of mobile information systems in the workplace. A thorough review of relevant literature in electronic business, mobile business, user acceptance of technology and user acceptance of mobile technology provided the basis for the development of the conceptual model that guided this research. The model hypothesized that temporal, spatial and structural characteristics of the portfolio of tasks performed by users of mobile information systems in the workplace (namely, temporal requirements of job, spatial dispersion of job, spatial dependence of job, job structuredness and job interdependence) would influence their perceived individual need for mobile information systems (PINMIS). It also suggested that the perceived individual need for mobile IS would influence the performance expectancy as well as intention to use mobile IS. In addition, the model posed that system portability would influence effort expectancy and intention to use mobile IS. In order to develop a research instrument, construct domains were specified and an initial set of items was generated. This was followed by an extensive purification process which consisted of card sorting and expert review rounds, survey pre-tests as well as a pilot study with 234 respondents from a large telecommunications company in New Zealand. The results obtained in this stage helped to refine the measurements and provided the foundations for the main study. The main study was based on a survey with 309 respondents from a wide range of organizations in New Zealand. Using Partial-Least-Squares (PLS) the data collected in the main study was used to test the model. The model was successfully validated and statistically significant evidence was provided that temporal requirements of job, spatial dispersion of job, spatial freedom of job and job interdependence positively influenced PINMIS. On the other hand, job structuredness did not significantly influence PINMIS. It was also found that PINMIS significantly influences performance expectancy and that system portability has a positive effect over effort expectancy as well as intentions to use mobile IS.