Factors Affecting User Acceptance in IT Infrastructure

Factors Affecting User Acceptance in IT Infrastructure

Information technology constantly changes, with many innovations emerging to express the creative mind’s ability. However, this can sometimes become an impediment to the users who are using the technology. Many users are bombarded with “new tech,” which they are sometimes forced or encouraged to accept through learning and acquiring skills. Cloud-based applications are no different in their acceptance by users utilizing the tools. According to Amron et al. (2021), the critical factors concerning the acceptance of cloud-based applications in Malaysia’s public sector are performance expectancy, compatibility, security, and mobility. These factors are appropriate for the nature of cloud computing in the wake of emerging technologies. Users and organizations that integrate cloud computing into their infrastructure have misconceptions. Therefore, certain factors that may help alleviate the transition to these technologies may be overlooked. In essence, Krell et al. (2016) state that organizations should be vested in implementing their technology, considering the different determinants of success.?

For the successful implementation of a cloud-based application, specific criteria must be observed and evaluated so that users are at ease in using the tool for the betterment of the organization. The UTAUT framework provided by Amron et al. (2021) provides a model of the impact of humans and technology on users’ acceptance of cloud-based applications. Within the models, some factors affect the user’s acceptance of the technology. For instance, Jadil et al. (2021) state that performance expectancy is the extent to which a person thinks using “technology” would make it easier to complete specific chores. The complexity of an application falls within the realm of a lack of understanding of the architecture and the benefits that users may perceive it to have.

Main Theme

User Acceptance

User Acceptance is the organization’s ability to get users’ approval to use information technology. Amron et al. (2021) state that many concerns must be addressed before individuals or organizations use cloud computing, given the obstacles that frequently impede consumers from accepting and employing innovations. Therefore, management must do their homework before incorporating technology into the organization. Conducting thorough research into a system or technology for the organization has numerous benefits, such as saving money and resources. Accepting a system or technology in the organization brings about productivity, an improved workplace environment, and enhanced skills in IT tools.

UTAUT Framework

Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social impact are three distinct factors determining behavioral intentions to utilize a given technology. Jadil et al. (2021) claim that the UTAUT Framework is essential for deciding these intents. As Amron et al. (2021) noted, the UTAUT framework incorporates the aspects of compatibility, security, mobility, IT knowledge, top management support, awareness, performance expectation, effort expectancy, and social influence in the human and technology model. This comprehensive framework is valuable for identifying weaknesses in the organization’s implementation strategy and enhancing the audience’s understanding and ability to improve user acceptance.

Models: Human and Technology

In the UTAUT framework, Amron et al. (2021) look more closely at the technology model by looking at performance expectations, compatibility, security, and mobility. They also look more closely at the human model by looking at effort expectations, IT knowledge, top management support, awareness, and social influence. These were considered to influence the user acceptance of cloud-based applications positively. The prominent four influencers of user acceptance are performance expectancy, compatibility, security, and mobility, which are technologically related. The regular use of cloud computing in daily work is known as performance expectancy, which affects people’s opinions about technological advancements. Compatibility refers to the degree to which current values, past experiences, and potential adopters perceive an innovation. Security aspects play a vital role in ensuring the safety of data and information stored in cloud computing. One of the technological benefits of mobility is the convenience of using cloud computing to access applications via the Internet (Amron et al., 2021). The enhancers that support user acceptance are IT knowledge and social influence (Amron et al., 2021), which closely relate to the human nature of being trustworthy and safe when using technology. Acceptance in a social context requires trust, which, according to Kwateng et al. (2019), supports the enduring bonds between companies and people.

Literature Support: The Impact of legitimacy-based Motives on IS Adoption Success

In 2016, Krell et al. proposed that the success of adapting an information system (IS) depends on how well the project manager and team members work together. They also used coercive, mimetic, and normative pressure models to examine the factors affecting success. Through experimentation and research, the findings showed that project management through coercive and normative pressures proved successful in IS adaptation. Coercive pressures pertain to the pressures organizations receive from their suppliers and customers through regulations and policies that must be followed, or sanctions and fines may occur. Normative pressures relate to the influence organizations must uphold for their industry that brings about benefits, which means they are optional.

The coercive pressures model could connect to the technology factor model from Amron et al. (2021) in that technology is required for user acceptance as following regulatory requirements bring about IS adaptation success. Normative pressure relates to the human factors that are enhancers but are essential in supporting the end goal, which is, in this case, the organizational adoption of technology that may benefit its growth. The studies clarified the issue of users’ acceptance of technology by creating models that identified significant determinants that impacted the success of technological innovations in organizations.

Literature Review: Factors Affecting the Adoption of Software as a Service

The study by Mokwena and Hlebela (2018) investigates the theory of diffusion of innovation (DIO) to address the issue of low adoption of software as a service (SaaS) in South Africa’s (SA) small and medium enterprises (SME) information technology infrastructure. Even though there are clear benefits to adopting SaaS, many SMEs in SA need to pay more attention to the technology there (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018) and seek to clarify this problem. A social system’s members can spread an invention over time by using particular channels, and this process is known as the Diffusion of Innovations (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018). The study uses a cross-sectional design and the DIO framework to quantitatively examine two groups of people. It looks at “relative advantage and complexity to predict acceptance and actual system usage” (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018). The sample population used were “a) organizations that have adopted SaaS and b) organizations that have not yet adopted SaaS” (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018), whose decision-makers were used for the survey questions.

The models used in the study were the DIO framework: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, awareness, and cost. Their findings (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018) revealed that cost had the most critical impact on organizations switching to SaaS, with trialability and complexity following the 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The results of the surveys provided insight into the inner workings of SMEs that had infrastructure capable of SaaS and some that needed to be adequately equipped for the change. The idea that cost, trialability, and complexity are essential in adaptation is similar to what Amron et al. (2021) said about how performance expectations, compatibility, security, and mobility are linked to the cost of technology since these are benefits of adaptation. The cost of launching an innovation is directly related to its advantages and hazards (Mokwena & Hlebela, 2018). When users and organizations find benefits with IT systems or tools, it is through the ease of use and ability to increase productivity. Therefore, IT knowledge and social influence were factors in adopting cloud-based applications. This line of reflection falls within Okwena and Hlebela’s (2018) theory, with trialability and complexity being significant determinants in the organizational adaptation of SaaS. When organizations are familiar with the product through a trial period, and the technology is flexible, they are more susceptible to adopting the innovation in their infrastructure.

Workplace Connection: Ticketing System Change Management

Change management is a constant issue in organizations because some users are not open to innovations or change. Changes could hurt the current workflow or the systems in place. Modifying current technology or infrastructure can hasten or slow organizational adoption rates. Thus, ensuring that the implemented innovations are well suited for the current systems and infrastructure is crucial to preventing adverse effects after usage (Amron et al., 2021). This statement relates to the compatibility of systems and the asset assessment process for proper integration. Working in the help desk field, we analyzed one occasion where an organization created an instance of an IT ticketing system different from the one currently used. Many users were apprehensive because of compatibility, performance, and security issues with their current workflow and the programs they use to report IT issues. As a result, management conducted thorough interviews and analyses with stakeholders and program leads to identify known gaps and constraints to ensure a smooth transition and minimal interruptions to business operations. Management successfully implemented their new ticketing system instance by taking the necessary steps, which pleased users.

Conclusion

Finding the factors that contributed to the low level of user acceptance of cloud-based applications in the Malaysian public sector was a challenge, according to the study by Amron et al. (2021). The study provides precise results through scientific research to conclude that performance expectancy, compatibility, security, and mobility significantly impact user acceptance, while IT knowledge and social influence support acceptance. From observation, the business process through which users use technology affects acceptance, which could have been a model included in the study by Amron et al. (2021). The amount of time and resources involved in an activity could impact the user’s acceptance of cloud-based applications. The study could have interviewed users who needed to be more experienced in using cloud-based applications, which could have helped with the standard method bias error. According to Amron et al. (2021), accurate disclosures and information on cloud-based apps should be provided to encourage further use and enhance their use. Including these inexperienced users could give more insight into the problem. The study was conducted using peer-reviewed literature that supported the findings substantially. Careful analysis of the samples and method could provide more direction about this problem in the future.

References

Amron, M. T., Ibrahim, R., & Bakar, N. A. A. (2021). Cloud computing acceptance among public sector employees. TELKOMNIKA, 19(1), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.12928/TELKOMNIKA.v19i1.17883

Jadil, Y., Rana, N. P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2021). A meta-analysis of the UTAUT model in the mobile banking literature: The moderating role of sample size and culture. Journal of Business Research, 132, 354–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.052

Krell, K., Matook, S., & Rohde, F. (2016). The impact of legitimacy-based motives on IS adoption success: An institutional theory perspective. Information & Management, 53(6), 683–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2016.02.006

Kwateng, K. O., Atiemo, K. A. O., & Appiah, C. (2019). Acceptance and use of mobile banking: An application of UTAUT2. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 32(1), 118–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-03-2018-0055

Mokwena, S., & Hlebela, C. (2018). Factors Affecting the Adoption of Software as a Service in South African Small Medium Enterprises. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/OI.2018.8535714