Using digital tools by public relations practitioners in light of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT)

Abstract

The article aims to explore the attitudes of public relations practitioners in Jordanian telecommunications and smartphone companies in using tools, and the factors affecting their acceptance of employing them to communicate and interact with the public in the light of the unified theory of technology acceptance and use. The descriptive approach was adopted, and the questionnaire was distributed to (86) public relations practitioners in these companies to collect data. The study concluded; the diversity of digital tools that public relations practitioners employ in their communication with their internal and external audiences, where both e-mail and smartphone came from the most important digital tools used in communicating with the internal audience, while social networks and the smartphone came as the most used digital tools with the external audience. It also showed that the most important goals achieved because of employing these tools is measuring public satisfaction with the company's services, building relationships with customers, and identifying feedback. The results also showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between the factors affecting the acceptance of public relations practitioners (perceived benefit, ease of use, and available facilities) and the demographic variables of the sample.