The Role Of Attitudes And Beliefs In Personal Computer Utilization

A two-phased study investigating the role of attitudes and beliefs in the use of personal computers was conducted in 9 organizations. During the first phase a questionnaire was administered to 278 knowledge workers within one organization. The measurement scale items were tested and revised slightly, and the research model tested also. In the second phase, the revised questionnaire was administered to 364 knowledge workers (80% gross response rate) in 8 diverse organizations. The measures and research model were tested using Partial Least Squares. Nine of eleven hypothesized relations were supported statistically, and 38% of the variance was explained in the major dependent variable, utilization. The general findings were: (1) There were three distinct components of attitudes identified which relate to the utilization of personal computers, including (a) job-related expectations of use, (b) correspondence between job tasks and personal computer use, and (c) general beliefs about personal computer use (difficulty, time requirements). (2) Of the different attitude components, only correspondence had a significant influence on personal computer utilization. (3) Experience with personal computers strongly influenced all three components of attitudes, and also influenced the utilization of personal computers directly. (4) Management support had a positive influence on expectations and general beliefs about personal computer use, but there was no direct relation between management support and utilization. (5) A strong relation was observed between the utilization of personal computers and related aspects of performance.;The implications of the findings for practitioners are that organizations wishing to increase the amount and effectiveness of personal computer use by knowledge workers should stress the potential correspondence between the personal computer environment and current job tasks. As the experience level with personal computers increases, further applications for job tasks are discovered and utilization increases. The cycle repeats itself, with increased use and experience leading to greater appreciation of the correspondence between job tasks and the personal computer environment. For researchers, the results confirmed the need to examine separate components of attitudes within the context of system utilization. Also, the measures which were developed and tested are appropriate for future research