The intranet's role in newcomer socialization in the hotel industry in Taiwan – technology acceptance model analysis

Abstract

This study examined a research model for explaining the relationships of intranet adoption and newcomers' organizational socialization in the hotel industry. Data were gathered for a structural equation model (SEM) analysis, from 298 individual participants, who had only worked in a hotel for 6 months to 1 year. The research results demonstrated the mediation role of the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use of the intranet. The SEM results also revealed that usage of the intranet did increase the extent of an employee's socialization into the organization. Moreover, PU has direct and indirect effects on socialization. Tests on gender and age differences were conducted. The invariance analysis of the theory model showed that both males and females demonstrated the same patterns in performing technology acceptance factors and socialization, whereas different age groups demonstrated significantly different paths. The direct effect of PU was not significant for the newcomers aged over 35.

Keywords:

• hotel industry
• newcomer
• organizational socialization
• technology acceptance model (TAM)

Acknowledgements

This research work was supported by National Science Council, Taiwan, under grant number NSC96-2511-S-011-002-MY3, NSC90-2416-H-011-013, and NSC90-2413-H-031-002.