Appropriation Intention of a Farm Management Information System Through Usability Evaluation with PLS-SEM Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the results of the evaluation of usability for a web-based Farm Management Information System (FMIS) in terms of the following parameters: ease of use, usefulness, ease of learning, and their relation to the appropriation intention. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis, an FMIS called itagüe® was evaluated with a group of 64 fruit producers from the Tolima region of Colombia. The obtained results show that only the perceived usefulness of the FMIS is related to the appropriation intention, whereas ease of use is related to ease of learning and usefulness. Therefore, an important factor in successfully appropriating an FMIS is its perceived usefulness, which is related to its ease of use. Adopting this approach informs FMIS developers of the importance of designing systems that end-users in an agricultural context perceive as both useful and easy to use.