E-service Adoption: The Three Q Model

Previous studies on information technology (IT) acceptance have focused on instrumental beliefs as the drivers of behavioral intention. The factors influence adoption decisions are perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness [1]. Wixom and Todd [2] integrated the user satisfaction and the technology acceptance literatures to theorize about and account for the influence of the information technology artifact on usage. In their research, information quality (IQ) and system quality (SysQ) were found to be precursors of information satisfaction and system satisfaction which in turn predict behavioral intention. Xu, Benbasat, and Cenfetelli [3] argued that service quality (SQ) is critical to the success of e-service and has to be added into Wixom and Todd’s [2] model. They assert that the adoption decisions have to factor into account of the three Qs: information quality, system quality, and service quality. This study takes a theory building approach to further develop the concepts appeared in adoption and IS success research. Xu et al.’s [3] model does not take into account the affective aspect of IT usage which found to be crucial to Web-based adoption decisions. We then proposed the 3Q model which contains the information quality, system quality, service quality, instrumental beliefs (i.e. ease of use and usefulness), affective factors (i.e., enjoyment and cognitive absorption), and flow. The 3Q model builds upon the current research efforts and advances the theories by including both cognitive and affective aspects of human judgment; by doing so, we advance the knowledge of adoption in Web context; therefore the theories can be continuously developed and refined along with the development of IT artifacts that are used in consumer contexts. Online surveys were conducted to test the 3Q model. The results with Partial least squares (PLS) analysis show the structural relationships with the 3Q model. Managerial implications were discussed.