Information technology (IT) acceptance research has yielded many competing models, each with different sets of acceptance determinants. In this paper, we (1) review user acceptance literature and discuss eight prominent models, (2) empirically compare the eight models and their extensions, (3) formulate a unified model that integrates elements across the eight models, and (4) empirically validate the unified model. The eight models reviewed are the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the motivational model, the theory of planned behavior, a model combining the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior, the model of PC utilization, the innovation diffusion theory, and the social cognitive theory. Using data from four organizations over a six-month period with three points of measurement, the eight models explained between 17 percent and 53 percent of the variance in user intentions to use information technology. Next, a unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), was formulated, with four core determinants of intention and usage, and up to four moderators of key relationships. UTAUT was then tested using the original data and found to outperform the eight individual models (adjusted R 2 of 69 percent). UTAUT was then confirmed with data from two new organizations with similar

This paper details an empirical pilot study that explores the development of several conceptual measures and models regarding intellectual capital and its impact on business performance. The objective of this pilot study is to explore the development of items and constructs through principal components analysis and partial least squares (PLS). The final retained, subjective measures and optimal structural specification show a valid, reliable, significant and substantive causal link between dimensions of intellectual capital and business performance. These results should help both academics and practitioners more readily understand the components of intellectual capital and provide insight into developing and increasing it within an organization. Suggestions are then made to advance and improve this research programme

A review of the literature suggests that few studies use formative indicator measurement models, even though they should. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to (a) discuss the distinction between formative and reflective measurement models, (b) develop a set of conceptual criteria that can be used to determine whether a construct should be modeled as having formative or reflective indicators, (c) review the marketing literature to obtain an estimate of the extent of measurement model misspecification in the field, (d) estimate the extent to which measurement model misspecification biases estimates of the relationships between constructs using a Monte Carlo simulation, and (e) provide recommendations for modeling formative indicator constructs. It has been more than two decades since Churchill (1979), Bagozzi (1980), Peter (1981), and Anderson and Gerbing (1982), among others, criticized the field of marketing for failing to pay enough attention to construct validity and associated measurement issues. A good example of this concern

Building on the theory of swift trust, we empirically examine the dynamic nature of trust and its changing patterns in both cognitive and affective elements between high- and lowperforming teams over time (early, middle, and late stages of project). Using data from 38, fourperson student teams from six universities competing in a web-based business simulation game over eight-week periods, we found that both high- and low-performing teams started with similar levels of trust in both cognitive and affective dimensions. However, high-performing teams were better at developing and maintaining the trust level throughout the project life. Moreover, virtual teams relied more on a cognitive than an affective element of trust. These findings provide a preliminary step toward understanding the dynamic nature and relative importance of cognition-and affect-based trust over time.

The study extends research on the geographic scope, product diversification and performance relationship by exploring both the antecedents and consequences of geographic scope. In so doing, it addresses a fundamental criticism of the geographic scope-performance relationship; namely, that the observed positive relationship between geographic scope and performance is spurious because it is the possession of proprietary assets that are the foundation of superior performance, not expansion into international markets per se. We tested the research model with data on the corporate performance of 399 Japanese manufacturing firms. In the Partial Least Squares analyses used to examine the study’s six main hypotheses, we demonstrate that geographic scope was positively associated with firm profitability, even when the competing effect of proprietary assets on firm performance was considered. Further, we find that performance was not related to the extent of product diversification; although investment levels in rent-generating, proprietary assets were related to the extent of product diversification. An important question concerning the internationalization of a firm involves the relationship between geographic scope and performance. This question is particularly salient in a world in

This research examines the impact of primitive affective reactions to information technology on subsequent cognitive reactions and behavioral intention on IT use, and the potential change of such impact over time. We ground our work in theories of psychology and information systems and propose a theoretical model in which the user’s perceptions regarding the affective quality of an IT influences cognitive reactions and behavioral intention to use IT. The model was validated by surveys in two field studies of 226 and 196 college students, respectively, who were asked to evaluate a course management system, WebCT. The first study occurred during weeks 3 and 4 of the spring 2004 semester, when subjects were getting familiar with WebCT for their classes. The second study ran during weeks 11 and 12 of the same semester, when WebCT had been used quite intensively in the classes. The theoretical model is supported by both studies, indicating that the impact of perceived affective quality persists, even when subjects ’ familiarity with and use of the IT increases. Our research identifies perceived affective quality as another, more-fundamental, and sustained source of user intention of IT use that has not been widely recognized yet. From a theoretical perspective, this research breaks the conventional cognition-driven paradigm of studying user reactions to technology and calls for attention to affect and emotion in examining people’s everyday, normal interactions with IT. Practically, the research provides empirical evidence for IT designers, trainers, and stakeholders to better strategize their resources and emphases.

The authors define the constructs of seller relationship orientation and buyer relationship proneness and develop and validate corresponding measurement scales. They propose and empirically test a conceptual model relating the two constructs to relationship effectiveness measured as trust, commitment, and behavioral loyalty in a consumer environment.

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Implications for the Globalization of Electronic Commerce Privacy concerns and willingness to participate in relationship marketing differ around the world. Using a sample of Internet users from 38 countries matched against the Internet population of the United States, we tested hypotheses relating variance in information privacy concern to differences in cultural values, national regulation of privacy, and familiarity with Web privacy practices. Cultural values and national regulation had a significant influence on privacy concerns, as did the sensitivity of the context of data collection. After controlling for differences in demographics and Internet experience, there were significant residual differences between the privacy concerns of consumers from six regions: U.S.; Canada, the UK, and Ireland; Continental Europe (current members of the EU); Australia and New Zealand; and Other Countries. While there are substantial areas of agreement, for example, that private information should not

Business acquisition, resource redeployment, and asset divestiture are elements of a dynamic process in which firms change their businesses by recombining internal and external resources. Analyzing 253 horizontal acquisitions, we show that post-acquisition resource redeployment leads to asset divestiture from the business that receives the redeployed resources, but not from the business that contributes the new resources. Consistent with scale economies rationales, we find that strategic similarity also leads to greater asset divestiture from the target firms. Many theoretical perspectives are skeptical about the positive rationale for acquisitions and many of these believe that asset divestiture is evidence of acquisition failure. Our arguments and analysis help refine the accepted wisdom. In particular, the pattern of resource redeployment and asset divestiture in our analysis suggests that acquisitions provide a means of reconfiguring the structure of resources within firms and that asset divestiture is a logical consequence of this reconfiguration process. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This study examines the causes of asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions. Asset divestiture is the partial or complete sale or disposal