Abstract

ROTH, Eric  and  CLEMENTI, Clara. Innovación tecnológica: características psicológicas del adoptante temprano . Rev Cien Cult [online]. 2010, n.24, pp.23-41. ISSN 2077-3323.

The aim of the present paper was to obtain information concerning the relationship of certain psychological variables with technology adoption behavior in higher educational settings. The research was conducted with a university teaching sample of innovators and early adopters, according with Rogers’s typology. This study explored the links between perceived utility and perceived easy of use, widely studied by Technology Adoption Model (TAM), with other variables such as motivation, behavior use intention, attitudes toward technology application, internalisation of novelty and identification with the innovation. The results clearly showed relationships between adoption and certain demographical variables and significant correlations between perceived utility and perceived easy of use with that psychological variables already mentioned. The results strongly support TAM postulates, especially those that underline the predictive value of perceived utility. It was also possible to verify the extension of that predictive property to other psychological variables, improving the explanation of the technological adoption process. This study also enlightened the diffusion process relevance to accelerate the innovation adoption rhythm. The demonstration was conducted trough an eight month adoption follow up of an “on line” educational technology instrument. The design included three different teaching groups (extracted from three different academic programs). One of them received systematic diffusion influence, while the other two served as control groups. The results confirmed the importance of systematic diffusion during the early stages of adoption, stressing that finding of Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT).

Keywords : Technological innovation; adoption; perceived utility; perceived easy of use.

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