Exploring factors affecting academics’ adoption of emerging mobile technologies-an extended UTAUT perspective

Abstract

With the proliferation of technology and the Internet, the way education is delivered has undergone a rapid change in different educational settings. Whilst a large amount of research has investigated the implementation of mobile technologies in education, there is still a paucity of research from a teaching perspective across disciplines within higher education. For this reason, this study investigated the acceptance, preparedness and adoption of mobile technologies by academic faculties within higher education, using the context of China. Underpinned by the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) Model, a large-scale quantitative survey investigated the factors affecting academics’ behavioural intentions and use for mobile technologies, and variations between different demographic groups. Findings suggested that the most significant factors affecting academics’ behavioural intention and behaviours of use were their performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and habit. Behavioural intention also affected how the faculty staff used their mobile technologies. Moreover, gender, age, teaching experience and discipline were found to be moderating factors. This research provides further verification of the effectiveness of the UTAUT2 Model in the higher education context and the field of new technologies implementation. Findings from this study provide beneficial insights for universities, faculties, and academics in policymaking, faculty management, professional development and lecturer instruction concerning mobile technologies.