Investigating the Intention to Adopt Telecommuting during COVID-19 Outbreak: An Integration of TAM and TPB with Risk Perception

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has spawned a wave of telecommuting all over the world. Based on Technology Acceptance Mode (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this paper investigates how the external technical factors (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) and internal personal factors (risk perception, including perceived severity and perceived susceptibility) influence telecommuting using intention in the context of COVID-19 outbreak. Our findings suggest that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use strongly affect user’s favorable attitude towards telecommuting. The results also support previous research in the TPB field, as attitude, normative influence, and perceived behavioral control all have a significant positive impact on the adoption of telecommuting. In addition, the hypotheses that perceived severity positively relates to attitude and normative influence are supported. However, perceived susceptibility has a positive impact on normative influence, but has no significant effect on attitude. Finally, the pivotal role of normative influence in the formation of telecommuting using intention is verified, as it has a strong positive influence on both attitude and perceived behavioral control. On this basis, the implications of telecommuting business management and pandemic risk management are discussed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research work is fully supported by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [grant number 2021M702386], National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 72001142], National Social Science Foundation of China [grant number 18BGL060], Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent, and National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Sino-German cooperation and exchange project “International emergency supply chain planning and operation coordination under major public health emergencies” [grant number M-0310].

Notes on contributors

Limeng Chai

Limeng Chai is a researcher at Soochow University, Jiangsu, China. Her research interests include consumer behavior, supply chain management, and structural equations modeling.

Jian Xu

Jian Xu is a full-time assistant professor at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai, China. His current research focuses on behavior operations management and omnichannel retailing.

Shanliang Li

Shangliang Li is a professor at Soochow University, Jiangsu, China. His main research fields are supply chain management and supply chain finance.