Technology adoption: an analysis of the major models and theories

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, as with the rapid movement of scientific discoveries, the development of new technologies and innovations has picked up a similar pace. Some of these technologies have drawn public attention and rapidly prevailed in the societies, while some others have faded away after some time. The factor which must be considered in alignment with the development of new technology is the precise recognition of the demands and the impacting factors for the acceptance of new technology. Hence, many scholars have investigated the topic and developed different frameworks for modelling the method through which users accept a technology. With that respect, in this article, the most important models or theories related to user acceptance and adoption since 1962 to this point are investigated and the evolution of different theories and models of technology acceptance during these years are evaluated in order to provide a comprehensive review of the topic.

KEYWORDS:

• Technology adoption
• technology acceptance
• innovation
• user acceptance

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 The philosophy of Behaviorism argues that for knowing a live creature, investigating the external behaviours and qualities suffice, and that there is no need to examine and inspect its internal conditions and thoughts.

2 The initial theory was presented in 1957.

3 The initial theory was presented in 1985.

4 The initial theory was presented in 1983.

5 The initial theory was presented in 1994.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mahdi Yadegari

Mahdi Yadegari is a PhD Candidate in Information Technology (area of e-Commerce) at K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Iran. He is conducting research on innovation management, technology adoption models, blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Shahriar Mohammadi

Shahriar Mohammadi is currently a lecturer in the Industrial Eng. Department of the K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Iran. He is a former senior lecturer at the University of Derby, UK and a former network consultant in the UK for more than 15 years. His main research interests and lectures are in the fields of networking, data security, network security, e-commerce and information systems. He has published more than 200 papers in various journals and conferences as well as 11 books.

Amir H. Masoumi

Amir H. Masoumi is an Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management in the Management & Marketing Department of the O’Malley School of Business at Manhattan College, New York. His main stream research focuses on applications of supply chain networks in the context of healthcare systems.