Acceptance of automation manufacturing technology in China: an examination of perceived norm and organizational efficacy

Abstract

With a shift to more automation technology, social acceptance of technology plays an important role in the manufacturing sector. To what extent this occurs, and affects the adoption of technology, has been less researched, but is important in deciding how such technology is introduced, and the nature of the shift from labour-intensive manufacturing to automation. This research applies the revised technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine the impact of social and individual antecedents on the acceptance of automation manufacturing technology. Survey data are collected from 258 Chinese manufacturers. Results suggest that perceived norms significantly affect organizational intention to use automation manufacturing technology both directly and via perceived usefulness; organizational efficacy explains the intention to use via mediating effect of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This research is one of the first extending and applying TAM from individuals to organizations.

Keywords:

• Perceived norm
• organizational efficacy
• automation manufacturing
• technology acceptance
• China

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Professor Albert Jolink and Dr Devon Barrow for their constructive comments on an early draft of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was partly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant NSFC [71834006].

Notes on contributors

D. Cao

Dr Dongmei Cao is a Lecturer in Business and Management at the Faculty of Business and Law, Coventry University, UK. She holds a PhD in Strategic Management from Coventry University. Her primary research interests include resource and performance management, social media behaviour, digital analysis, sustainability and innovation. Her research contexts are primarily associated with Chinese industries and consumer behaviours in China from social, cultural, psychological and environmental aspects.

H. Tao

Dr Hong Tao is an Associate Professor at the Business School of Shaoxing University, China. He holds a PhD in Management Science and Engineering at Donghua University, China. Hong participated in a few National Social Science Foundation projects at his post-doctorate research. His main research area is in industrial technology economics.

Y. Wang

Dr Yichuan Wang is a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Digital Marketing at the University of Sheffield, UK. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Business and Information System from the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Auburn University (USA). His research focuses on examining the role of digital technologies and systems (e.g. big data analytics, AI and social media) in influencing practices in marketing, tourism management, operation management and healthcare management. His research has been published in the British Journal of Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Information & Management, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Production Economics, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, etc.

A. Tarhini

Dr Ali Tarhini is an Assistant Professor at the College of Economics and Political Science, Information System Department, Sultan Qaboos University. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from Brunel University London, UK. His research interests include big data, cloud computing, knowledge management, social media, ICT in Information Systems and cross-cultural issues in IS. Ali has published more than 50 articles in leading academic journals including Computers in Human Behavior, Information Technology & People, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Management Research Review, British Journal of Education Technology, etc.

S. Xia

Dr Senmao Xia is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Strategy and Leadership and International Center for Transformational Entrepreneurship, Coventry University, UK. His main research interests include international knowledge transfer, returnee entrepreneurship and OFDI. He acts as guest editor for Technovation Special Issue and International Journal of Technology Management.