Computers and the Internet as a job assisted tool: based on the three-tier use model approach

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Abstract

Personal attitudes are a major factor to affect individual information technology usage. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage for assisting job performance. This research applies the 3-TUM approach to understand individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage. After statistical analysis, the results provide a support that the 3-TUM is appropriate model for investigating faculty and staff perceptions toward computers and Internet. In addition, the results also support that using computers and the Internet may assist individual job performance. Furthermore; this study offer evidence that when individuals have more self-efficacy and feel computers and the Internet are more useful, then they have more behavioral intention to use and learn computers and the Internet for assisting their job performance.

Introduction

In an era shaped by rapid technological developments, our society is becoming increasingly more dependent on information technology, especially on communication and computer technology. Consequently, the effective use of information technology, particularly on computers and the Internet, has become an essential requirement due to its role as a tool for human advancement and application (Levine & Donitsa-Schmidt, 1998). Therefore, effective utilization of computers and the Internet is the ultimate goal of information technology implementation in our society (Woodrow, 1994). In general, no matter how advanced or capable the technology is, its effective implementation depends upon users having a positive attitude toward it. Thus, as individuals‘ attitudes on information technology become more positive, they have more intention to use the technology.

In recent years, researchers have realized that there is a need to build a multidisciplinary approach to research individual attitudes regarding computers and the Internet (Levine and Donitsa-Schmidt, 1998, Liaw, 2002, Zhang and Espinoza, 1998). Based on Liaw’s (2002) concept, constructs of computer attitudes can be divided into three major measurements: affective, cognitive, and behavioral measurements. The affective measurement (such as perceived enjoyment) and the cognitive measurement (such as perceived self-efficacy and perceived usefulness) have a positive effect on the behavioral measurement (such as behavioral intention to use computers) (Levine and Donitsa-Schmidt, 1998, Liaw, 2002, Zhang and Espinoza, 1998). In other words, individual behaviors are affected by his/her affective and cognitive feelings.

Based on the concept of 3-TUM (Three-Tier Use Model) (Liaw, Chang, Hung, &Huang,Huan), individual attitudes toward information technology can be divided three different tiers: the tier of individual experience and system quality, the affective and cognitive tier, and behavioral intention tier. From 3-TUM, the tier of individual experience and system quality can influence the affective and cognitive tier, and the affective and cognitive tier has positive effects on the behavioral intention tier. This research applies the 3-TUM to understand how faculty and staff to use computers and Internet as a job assisted tool.

Given the importance of individual attitudes in predicting and improving work usage and performance, this study raises the need for further research to examine fully the role of employees’ attitudes in computing behaviors. The present study detects the influence of demographic factors as well as computer and Internet experience on cognitive measurement. Additionally, it examines the effects of the cognitive measurement on the behavioral intention of using and learning more about computers and the Internet for assisting work performance.

Section snippets

Demographic factors

Understanding why users accept or reject information technology has been proven to be one of the most crucial issues in information technology research. Herbert & Benbasat (1994) stated that 77% of the variance of intent to use information technology was explained by attitudes toward computers. Attitudes reflect beliefs or perceptions about the object of the behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). The effect of a belief or perception on an attitude depends on an individual evaluation of and

Demographic factors on computer and Internet experience

Essentially, the interaction between an individual and computers is affected by the characteristics of both the computer system and the individual using it. Card, Moran, & Newell (1983) referred to human–computer interaction as “the user and computer engage in a communicative dialog whose purpose is the accomplishment of some task” (p. 4). In this study, we conduct three different demographic factors to detect which one would most affect computer and Internet experience. These three demographic

Participants

The study was conducted in a central Taiwanese university with a sample of 402 faculty members and staff personnels. All subjects needed to answer a questionnaire that includes demographic information combined with five different components (demographic information, computer and Internet experience, perceived self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, and intention to use more and learn more computers and the Internet for job performance). The questionnaire with a covering letter was distributed to

Results

The internal consistency reliability was assessed by computing Cronbach’s αs. The α reliability of three parts (Perceived self-efficacy, usefulness, and behavioral intention to use more and learn more about computers and the Internet for job performance) were found to be highly accepted (α = 0.95) and these coefficients were presented in Table 3. The values range from 0.67 to 0.83. Given the exploratory nature of the study, reliability of the scales was deemed adequate.

The descriptive analyses

Correlation among variables

There are significant correlations that are not deduced from the research model. First, the correlation between perceived usefulness and experience with word processing packages is significant. This evidence provides an explanation that computers are a useful tool for users to process office documents. Second, the correlation between experience using operating systems and experience with word processing packages is highly significance; this infers that when users have more experience with

Implication for 3-TUM

From 3-TUM, the first tier is the tier of individual experience and system quality, the second tier represents the affective and cognitive tier, and the third tier is the behavioral intention tier. Based on statistical results, this research provides evidence that the 3-TUM is an appropriate research model to understanding faculty and staff feelings toward computers and the Internet as a job assisted tool. In addition, from Hypothesis H1, this study extends that demographic factors are

Conclusion

Ajzen & Fishbein (1980) stated attitudes reflected beliefs about an object of behaviors. Essentially, users’ attitudes toward computers and the Internet are a factor that affects their computer literacy. It means that the more positive the users’ attitudes on information technology are, the more their behavioral intention to use and learn more about the technology will be. The purpose of this study was to explore fully the role of employees’ attitudes toward computers and the Internet as a job

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Council of Republic of China and the China Medical University, project numbers: NSC93-2520-S-039-001, NSC 93-2524-S-039-001 and CMU93-GCC-01. The formal version of this paper was presented in the Third International Conference on Technology in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

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