Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.83.6.355-359

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Technology Acceptance in an Academic Context:
Faculty Acceptance of Online Education
Shanan G. Gibson , Michael L. Harris & Susan M. Colaric
To cite this article: Shanan G. Gibson , Michael L. Harris & Susan M. Colaric (2008) Technology
Acceptance in an Academic Context: Faculty Acceptance of Online Education, Journal of
Education for Business, 83:6, 355-359, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.83.6.355-359
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.6.355-359

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Technology฀Acceptance฀in฀an฀Academic฀
Context:฀Faculty฀Acceptance฀of฀Online฀
Education
SUSAN฀M.฀COLARIC
SAINT฀LEO฀UNIVERSITY
SAINT฀LEO,฀FLORIDA

SHANAN฀G.฀GIBSON฀
MICHAEL฀L.฀HARRIS
EAST฀CAROLINA฀UNIVERSITY
GREENVILLE,฀NORTH฀CAROLINA


ABSTRACT. The฀authors฀surveyed฀
faculty฀from฀a฀college฀of฀business฀and฀a฀
college฀of฀education฀regarding฀their฀attitudes฀toward฀online฀education.฀Results฀of฀
the฀survey฀were฀examined฀to฀determine฀
the฀degree฀to฀which฀the฀technology฀acceptance฀model฀was฀able฀to฀adequately฀explain฀
faculty฀acceptance฀of฀online฀education.฀
Results฀indicate฀that฀perceived฀usefulness฀
is฀a฀strong฀indicator฀of฀faculty฀acceptance;฀
however,฀perceived฀ease฀of฀use฀offers฀little฀
additional฀predictive฀power฀beyond฀that฀
contributed฀by฀perceived฀usefulness฀of฀
online฀education฀technology.฀
Keywords:฀distance฀education,฀online฀education,฀technology฀acceptance

Copyright฀©฀2008฀Heldref฀Publications



E


mployees฀ tasked฀ with฀ using฀ new฀
technologies฀ seldom฀ wholeheartedly฀ welcome฀ the฀ organizational฀
changes฀ associated฀ with฀ them.฀ Online฀
education฀embodies฀a฀shift฀away฀from฀
traditional,฀ classroom-based฀ teaching฀
activities฀typically฀associated฀with฀university฀education฀toward฀a฀technological฀ realm฀ where฀ teaching฀ requires฀ the฀
use฀ of฀ computers฀ equipped฀ with฀ specialized฀course฀software฀systems,฀both฀
synchronous฀ and฀ asynchronous฀ computer฀ applications,฀ and฀ the฀ frequent฀
frustrations฀ associated฀ with฀ dependence฀on฀the฀Internet.฀Online฀education฀
represents฀a฀dramatic฀step฀for฀universities—one฀that฀may฀be฀characterized฀as฀
analogous฀to฀many฀organizations’฀technology-based฀ change฀ initiatives.฀As฀ in฀
other฀ organizations,฀ university฀ administrators฀frequently฀view฀these฀technological฀changes฀as฀being฀a฀requirement฀
for฀ providing฀ one’s฀ product฀ or฀ service฀
on฀ demand,฀ reaching฀ a฀ broader฀ demographic,฀ and฀ sustaining฀ one’s฀ competitive฀ advantage฀ in฀ an฀ increasingly฀
competitive฀ market.฀ However,฀ despite฀
the฀ perceived฀ necessity฀ of฀ new฀ and฀
sophisticated฀technology,฀the฀end฀users฀
of฀ such฀ technology฀ may฀ not฀ readily฀
embrace฀ such฀ tools.฀ Our฀ study฀ examines฀ the฀ degree฀ to฀ which฀ the฀ technology฀ acceptance฀ model฀ (TAM;฀ Davis,฀

1989)฀ explains฀ the฀ acceptance฀ of฀ new฀
technology,฀ operationalized฀ as฀ online฀
education,฀by฀faculty฀in฀both฀a฀college฀

of฀business฀and฀a฀college฀of฀education฀
at฀a฀large฀regional฀university.฀
The฀Technology฀Acceptance฀
Model฀
Organizational฀change฀is฀not฀easy฀to฀
accomplish,฀ and฀ technological฀ changes฀
cannot฀ be฀ implemented฀ without฀ resistance.฀ The฀ implementation฀ of฀ new฀
technology฀ is฀ recognized฀ by฀ many฀ as฀
an฀ event฀ characterized฀ by฀ fear฀ of฀ the฀
unknown,฀ concern฀ over฀ organizational฀
changes฀and฀their฀implications,฀and฀criticism฀from฀many฀constituents.฀Specific฀
to฀online฀education,฀Cohen฀and฀Lippert฀
(1999)฀commented฀that฀computer-based฀
instruction฀ “may฀ be฀ useful฀ for฀ skillsbased฀training฀but฀may฀not฀be฀useful฀for฀
creative-thinking฀ instruction฀ or฀ general฀
management฀education”฀(p.฀745).

Davis’฀TAM฀(1989)฀has฀been฀the฀dominant฀theory฀associated฀with฀understanding฀ this฀ phenomenon฀ and฀ remains฀ an฀
important฀and฀viable฀tool฀for฀researchers฀
in฀ this฀ arena.฀ We฀ based฀ our฀ research฀
model฀ on฀ the฀ TAM฀ not฀ only฀ because฀ it฀
is฀a฀well-accepted,฀theoretically฀grounded,฀general฀model฀of฀user฀acceptance฀of฀
new฀ information฀ technologies,฀ but฀ also฀
because฀it฀has฀been฀used฀in฀prior฀management฀education฀research฀(Arbaugh,฀2000;฀
Martins฀&฀Kellermanns,฀2004).฀According฀ to฀ the฀ TAM,฀ perceived฀ usefulness฀
and฀ perceived฀ ease฀ of฀ use฀ are฀ hypothesized฀ and฀ empirically฀ supported฀ as฀ the฀
July/August฀2008฀

355

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fundamental฀determinants฀of฀user฀acceptance฀ of฀ a฀ given฀ new฀ technology.฀ Perceived฀usefulness฀is฀defined฀as฀the฀extent฀
to฀ which฀ a฀ person฀ believes฀ that฀ using฀ a฀
particular฀technology฀will฀enhance฀his฀or฀
her฀job฀performance,฀and฀perceived฀ease฀
of฀use฀is฀defined฀as฀the฀degree฀to฀which฀

a฀ person฀ believes฀ that฀ using฀ the฀ system฀
will฀be฀free฀from฀effort฀(Davis).฀In฀TAM฀
research,฀ user฀ acceptance฀ is฀ characterized฀as฀a฀combination฀of฀a฀positive฀attitude฀toward฀the฀technology,฀intention฀to฀
use฀ the฀ system,฀ and฀ actual฀ use฀ of฀ the฀
system฀ (Davis;฀ Taylor฀ &฀ Todd,฀ 1995).฀
The฀ TAM’s฀ utility฀ is฀ evidenced฀ by฀ the฀
numerous฀ modifications฀ and฀ augmentations฀that฀have฀been฀made฀by฀researchers฀
to฀ address฀ the฀ question฀ of฀ technology฀
acceptance฀ as฀ it฀ relates฀ to฀ several฀ variables.฀Gefen฀and฀Straub฀(1997)฀used฀the฀
TAM฀ and฀ concluded฀ that฀ women฀ and฀
men฀ differ฀ in฀ their฀ perceptions,฀ but฀ not฀
use,฀of฀e-mail,฀and฀Venkatesh฀and฀Morris฀
(2000)฀identified฀gender฀differences฀with฀
regard฀to฀the฀relative฀impact฀of฀perceived฀
usefulness฀ and฀ perceived฀ ease฀ of฀ use฀ in฀
predicting฀ technology฀ acceptance.฀ User฀
inexperience฀has฀also฀been฀found฀to฀play฀
a฀role฀in฀the฀relative฀predictive฀power฀of฀
the฀TAM’s฀ central฀ constructs฀ of฀ ease฀ of฀
use฀and฀usefulness฀(Taylor฀&฀Todd).฀

Although฀ technology฀ acceptance฀
research฀has฀made฀valuable฀inroads฀into฀
the฀complexities฀of฀how฀and฀why฀humans฀
choose฀to฀accept฀or฀reject฀technology—
and฀the฀pace฀at฀which฀that฀acceptance฀or฀
rejection฀ occurs—many฀ of฀ the฀ studies฀
using฀ the฀ TAM฀ or฀ some฀ variant฀ thereof฀
have฀ centered฀ on฀ the฀ technology฀ acceptance฀dynamics฀associated฀with฀nonspecific฀user฀populations฀working฀in฀various฀
occupational฀settings,฀using฀a฀wide฀spectrum฀of฀information฀technology฀solutions฀
(Gefen฀&฀Straub,฀1997;฀Taylor฀&฀Todd,฀
1995;฀ Veiga,฀ Floyd,฀ &฀ Dechant,฀ 2001;฀
Venkatesh฀ &฀ Morris,฀ 2000).฀ University฀
faculty฀ represent฀ an฀ unusual฀ (although฀
not฀ unique)฀ population—individuals฀
who฀ are฀ highly฀ educated,฀ accustomed฀
to฀ having฀ considerable฀ autonomy,฀ and฀
who฀ frequently฀ work฀ in฀ highly฀ politicized฀ environments.฀ Studying฀ technology฀acceptance฀operationalized฀as฀online฀
education฀represents฀a฀distinct฀contribution฀to฀this฀research฀field;฀the฀technology,฀
user฀ group,฀ and฀ organizational฀ context฀
are฀all฀new฀to฀the฀technology฀acceptance฀

and฀adoption฀research฀domain.฀
356฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

Online฀Education฀
Distance฀learning฀is฀a฀broad฀term฀that฀
encompasses฀both฀distance฀education฀(a฀
term฀commonly฀used฀in฀academia)฀and฀
distance฀training฀(a฀term฀commonly฀used฀
in฀ industry).฀ We฀ examined฀ the฀ acceptance฀ of฀ distance฀ education฀ as฀ defined฀
by฀ Bourdeau฀ and฀ Bates฀ (1997):฀ education฀ that฀ is฀ computer-based,฀ remote,฀ or฀
asynchronous฀ and฀ supported฀ by฀ some฀
instructional฀ system.฀ We฀ use฀ the฀ term฀
online฀ education฀ to฀ more฀ specifically฀
describe฀ the฀ nature฀ of฀ distance฀ education฀considered฀herein.
For฀ universities฀ and฀ colleges,฀ online฀
education฀ provides฀ the฀ opportunity฀
to฀ serve฀ more฀ students฀ who฀ desire฀ an฀
education.฀ This฀ influx฀ of฀ students฀ is฀

typically฀ seen฀ as฀ encouraging,฀ because฀
although฀ there฀ are฀ additional฀ demands฀
placed฀ on฀ the฀ technological฀ systems฀ of฀
the฀ organization฀ (e.g.,฀ computing฀ networks,฀ new฀ hardware฀ and฀ software),฀
there฀ is฀ no฀ corresponding฀ demand฀ for฀
increased฀ physical฀ space฀ associated฀
with฀on-site฀students.฀This฀may฀result฀in฀
increased฀revenue฀from฀tuition฀with฀the฀
increased฀expenses฀related฀to฀technology฀supported฀by฀the฀new฀student฀body.
Faculty฀ frequently฀ express฀ apprehension฀regarding฀online฀education฀because฀
of฀the฀technological฀problems฀associated฀
with฀delivering฀the฀material,฀which฀may฀
lead฀to฀student฀frustration฀and฀poor฀student฀evaluations.฀Faculty have also indicated฀ concerns฀ over฀ the฀ technological฀
competence฀ of฀ students฀ and฀ their฀ ability฀ to฀ use฀ advanced฀ synchronous฀ online฀
tools฀(Perreault,฀Waldman,฀Alexander,฀&฀
Zhao,฀2002).฀Likewise,฀concerns฀related฀
to฀student฀learning฀and฀outcomes฀persist,฀
despite฀ several฀ indications฀ that฀ online฀
education฀ results฀ in฀ comparable,฀ if฀ not฀
better,฀educational฀results.฀Spooner,฀Jordan,฀ Algozzine,฀ and฀ Spooner’s฀ (1999)฀

summary฀ of฀ past฀ studies฀ that฀ compared฀
cognitive฀factors฀such฀as฀amount฀of฀learning,฀ academic฀ performance,฀ achievement,฀ and฀ examination฀ and฀ assignment฀
grades฀ in฀ distance฀ learning฀ and฀ campus฀
courses฀typically฀reflected฀no฀differences฀
in฀cognitive฀factors฀between฀the฀distance฀
and฀traditional฀classes.
Objective฀of฀the฀Study
With฀the฀increasing฀demand฀for฀online฀
education฀ and฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ faculty฀ to฀

embrace฀ this฀ as฀ a฀ viable฀ teaching฀ tool,฀
user฀acceptance฀of฀technologically฀based฀
teaching฀is฀an฀important฀issue.฀Drawing฀
on฀earlier฀findings฀related฀to฀technology฀
acceptance,฀ our฀ research฀ extends฀ the฀
TAM฀ by฀ testing฀ its฀ efficacy฀ in฀ a฀ distinctive฀ population฀ and฀ organizational฀
context.฀ However,฀ the฀ defining฀ characteristics฀ discussed฀ in฀ this฀ study฀ are฀ not฀
unique฀to฀one฀organization฀or฀industry;฀
therefore,฀ we฀ believe฀ the฀ findings฀ will฀
have฀far-reaching฀implications฀for฀many฀

organizations฀engaged฀in฀change฀initiatives฀centered฀on฀technological฀innovation.฀Such฀insights฀can฀lead฀to฀new฀and฀
innovative฀ ways฀ to฀ mentor,฀ train,฀ and฀
motivate฀ technology฀ users฀ in฀ diverse฀
industries฀and฀organizations.
METHOD
Research฀Setting,฀Participants,฀
and฀Procedure
As฀ part฀ of฀ an฀ ongoing,฀ multiphase฀
research฀endeavor฀examining฀online฀education฀and฀learning,฀faculty฀associated฀with฀
both฀a฀college฀of฀business฀and฀a฀college฀of฀
education฀from฀a฀large฀regional฀university฀
were฀ asked฀ to฀ complete฀ an฀ anonymous฀
survey฀ regarding฀ their฀ perceptions฀ of฀
online฀education.฀The฀response฀rate฀for฀the฀
survey฀was฀46.8%;฀110฀completed฀surveys฀
(52%฀men,฀45%฀women,฀3%฀undisclosed)฀
were฀ received฀ from฀ the฀ 235฀ faculty฀ who฀
were฀ invited฀ to฀ participate.฀ The฀ average฀
age฀ of฀ faculty฀ participants฀ was฀ 48฀ years,฀
with฀an฀average฀of฀12.3฀years฀teaching฀at฀
the฀university฀level฀and฀an฀average฀of฀2.1฀
years฀teaching฀online.฀A฀PhD,฀EdD,฀MD,฀
or฀other฀terminal฀degree฀was฀held฀by฀77%฀
of฀respondents,฀and฀23%฀had฀an฀MA,฀MS,฀
MBA,฀or฀other฀master’s฀level฀degree.฀With฀
regard฀to฀academic฀rank,฀33%฀were฀assistant฀professors,฀22%฀were฀lecturers,฀19%฀
were฀associate฀professors,฀19%฀were฀full฀
professors,฀ and฀ 6%฀ reported฀ some฀ other฀
status฀or฀rank.฀Approximately฀28%฀of฀participants฀reported฀teaching฀undergraduate฀
courses฀ online,฀ and฀ 49%฀ reported฀ teaching฀graduate฀courses฀online.
Survey฀Questions
The฀ survey฀ instrument฀ used฀ for฀ the฀
current฀ study฀ was฀ based฀ on฀ questions฀
derived฀ from฀ Davis’฀ TAM฀ (1989).฀ Participants฀responded฀to฀questions฀measuring฀ the฀ central฀ constructs฀ of฀ the฀ TAM;฀

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the฀perceived฀ease฀of฀use฀of฀online฀education฀ technologies฀ and฀ the฀ perceived฀
usefulness฀ of฀ online฀ education.฀ In฀ all฀
instances,฀ respondents฀ used฀ a฀ 5-point฀
Likert-type฀ scale฀ with฀ scores฀ ranging฀
from฀1฀(not฀at฀all)฀to฀5฀(very฀much฀so).฀
Both฀ the฀ Perceived฀ Ease฀ of฀ Use฀ Scale฀
and฀ the฀ Perceived฀ Usefulness฀ Scale฀
were฀ constructed฀ of฀ items฀ modified฀ to฀
specifically฀ reflect฀ online฀ education฀ as฀
the฀technology฀of฀interest.฀
To฀assess฀the฀criterion฀of฀technology฀
acceptance,฀ participants฀ were฀ asked฀ to฀
indicate฀the฀degree฀to฀which฀they฀agreed฀
with฀a฀statement฀assessing฀their฀intention฀
to฀use฀distance฀education฀technology฀in฀
the฀future.฀This฀is฀highly฀consistent฀with฀
previous฀ TAM฀ studies฀ that฀ have฀ used฀
intention฀to฀use฀technology฀as฀indicative฀
of฀technology฀acceptance฀(Ferren,฀2002;฀
Gefen฀&฀Straub,฀1997;฀Venkatesh,฀Morris,฀Davis,฀&฀Davis,฀2003).฀
All฀ survey฀ items฀ and฀ corresponding฀
measures฀of฀internal฀validity฀are฀shown฀
in฀Table฀1.฀
RESULTS
Initial฀exploratory฀analyses฀examined฀
the฀ relationships฀ among฀ the฀ predictor฀

and฀ criterion฀ variables.฀ Table฀ 2฀ presents฀the฀means,฀standard฀deviations,฀and฀
intercorrelations฀ of฀ all฀ variables฀ in฀ the฀
model.
To฀examine฀the฀degree฀to฀which฀both฀
perceived฀usefulness฀and฀perceived฀ease฀
of฀use฀were฀associated฀with฀online฀education฀ technology฀ acceptance,฀ we฀ con-

ducted฀two฀separate฀multiple฀regression฀
procedures.฀ The฀ first฀ analysis฀ included฀
the฀ five฀ variables฀ associated฀ with฀ the฀
perceived฀ usefulness฀ of฀ online฀ education฀ and฀ the฀ second฀ analysis฀ included฀
the฀ four฀ variables฀ associated฀ with฀ perceived฀ ease฀ of฀ use฀ of฀ online฀ education฀
teaching฀ technologies.฀ The฀ regression฀

TABLE฀1.฀Survey฀Items
Predictor฀Items
฀ Perceived฀Ease฀of฀Use฀Items฀(α฀=฀.594)
฀ ฀ 1.฀ I฀find฀our฀online฀education฀resources฀(course฀management฀software,฀etc.)฀to฀
฀ ฀ ฀ be฀easy฀to฀use.
฀ ฀ 2.฀ It฀is฀not฀easy฀for฀me฀to฀become฀more฀skillful฀in฀using฀the฀online฀education฀
฀ ฀ ฀ technology฀(reverse฀scored).
฀ ฀ 3.฀ I฀find฀it฀easy฀to฀get฀our฀course฀management฀software฀to฀do฀what฀I฀need฀it฀to฀
฀ ฀ ฀ do฀in฀my฀classes.
฀ ฀ 4.฀ I฀find฀online฀education฀technology฀inflexible฀(reverse฀scored).
฀ Perceived฀Usefulness฀Items฀(α฀=฀.859)
฀ ฀ 1.฀ I฀find฀online฀education฀technology฀not฀useful฀for฀education฀(reverse฀scored).
฀ ฀ 2.฀ Online฀education฀will฀lower฀my฀teaching฀effectiveness฀in฀the฀long฀run฀
฀ ฀ ฀ (reverse฀scored).
฀ ฀ 3.฀ Online฀education฀is฀not฀compatible฀with฀how฀I฀teach฀my฀courses฀(reverse฀
฀ ฀ ฀ scored).
฀ ฀ 4.฀ Online฀education฀is฀an฀effective฀way฀for฀students฀to฀learn.
฀ ฀ 5.฀ Online฀education฀is฀an฀appropriate฀tool฀for฀professors฀to฀use฀as฀a฀teaching฀
฀ ฀ ฀ medium.
Criterion฀Item
฀ 1.฀ Assuming฀that฀I฀have฀the฀opportunity,฀I฀will฀teach฀online฀courses฀as฀much฀as฀
฀ ฀ possible.

TABLE฀2.฀Means,฀Standard฀Deviations,฀and฀Intercorrelations฀of฀Predictor฀and฀Criterion฀Variables
Variable฀
฀ 1.฀I฀find฀our฀online฀education฀resources฀฀
฀ ฀ (course฀management฀software,฀etc.)฀฀
฀ ฀ to฀be฀easy฀to฀use.฀
฀ 2.฀It฀is฀not฀easy฀for฀me฀to฀become฀more฀฀
฀ ฀ skillful฀in฀using฀the฀online฀education฀฀
฀ ฀ technology.฀
฀ 3.฀I฀find฀it฀easy฀to฀get฀our฀course฀฀
฀ ฀ management฀software฀to฀do฀what฀I฀฀
฀ ฀ need฀it฀to฀do฀in฀my฀classes.฀
฀ 4.฀I฀find฀online฀education฀technology฀฀
฀ ฀ inflexible.฀
฀ 5.฀I฀find฀online฀education฀technology฀not฀฀
฀ ฀ useful฀for฀education.฀
฀ 6.฀Online฀education฀will฀lower฀my฀฀
฀ ฀ teaching฀effectiveness฀in฀the฀long฀run.฀
฀ 7.฀Online฀education฀is฀not฀compatible฀฀
฀ ฀ with฀how฀I฀teach฀my฀courses.฀
฀ 8.฀Online฀education฀is฀an฀effective฀way฀฀
฀ ฀ for฀students฀to฀learn.฀
฀ 9.฀Online฀education฀is฀an฀appropriate฀฀
฀ ฀ tool฀for฀professors฀to฀use฀as฀a฀฀
฀ ฀ teaching฀medium.฀
฀10.฀Assuming฀that฀I฀have฀the฀opportunity,฀฀
฀ ฀ I฀will฀teach฀online฀courses฀as฀much฀฀
฀ ฀ as฀possible.฀



SD฀

1฀

2฀

3฀

4฀

5฀

6฀

7฀

8฀

9฀

10

3.80฀ 0.79฀

—฀

.21฀

.12฀

.58฀

.53฀

.46฀

.70฀

.55฀

.55฀

.34

3.72฀ 1.05฀



—฀

.20฀

.17฀

.19฀

.16฀

.29฀

.18฀

.07฀

.21

3.71฀ 1.03฀





—฀

.02฀ –.09฀ –.01฀

–.02฀

.012฀ .12฀

.12

4.03฀ 0.96฀







—฀

.76฀

.46฀

.58฀

.57฀

.51฀

.58

4.08฀ 0.85฀









—฀

.59฀

.58฀

.52฀

.52฀

.53

3.32฀ 1.19฀











—฀

.55฀

.53฀

.62฀

.46

3.47฀ 1.13฀













—฀

.41฀

.46฀

.70

4.14฀ 0.85฀















—฀

.72฀

.56

4.07฀ 0.95฀

















—฀

.55

3.53฀ 1.25฀

















M฀





July/August฀2008฀

357

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 23:16 11 January 2016

equation฀ with฀ the฀ perceived฀ usefulness฀
was฀ significant,฀ R2฀ =฀ .587,฀ adjusted฀ R2฀
=฀ .567,฀ F(5,฀ 104)฀ =฀ 29.517,฀ p฀