Social influence and UTAUT in predicting digital immigrants’ technology use

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explored how social norms around digital immigrants’ tablet adoption affect their new technology use using expanded social influence measures, including three types of social norms and subculture variables, along with the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) variables. We found that social influence took a different role from UTAUT variables in predicting digital immigrants’ tablet adoption before and after a four-week community workshop – tablet training. Subjective norms (before training) and injunctive norms and subculture (following training) were significant determinants of intentions to use tablets while intention to use tablets (before training) and effort expectancy (before and after training) significantly predicted actual tablet use. Findings underscore that positively perceived social norms around digital immigrants as new technology adopters can increase their intention to use new technology, however, expected difficulties in using tablets are still impeding their adoption even when their actual knowledge of tablets improves overall.