The Demise of Novell Netware—Did Perceptions Related to Network Administration Play a Role?

Abstract

In this study the authors examine some possible reasons for Novell Netware's fall from dominance in the 1990s to its near disappearance. The authors examine the role of the external variables security, productivity, and sharing on an administrator's perceptions and intention to use the software within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results show that difficulty in administration was not responsible for Netware's demise; on the contrary, Netware's environment resulted in a positive intention to use it.

Keywords:

• technology acceptance model
• local area network
• network operating system
• IT artifact
• security
• productivity
• sharing
• coercion

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the managing editor and anonymous reviewers for many helpful suggestions for revisions that improved the quality of the article. This article was partially funded by a UTEP College of Business Administration research grant

Notes

All authors contributed equally to this paper.