User Acceptance and Adoption of Information Technology

User acceptance and adoption of information technology examine how individuals come to embrace, use and continue to rely on digital tools and systems across diverse contexts. Rooted in interdisciplinary inquiry, this field blends insights from psychology, sociology, management and engineering to identify the drivers and barriers that shape adoption trajectories. Core concerns include the perceptions of usefulness and ease of use, the influence of social networks and cultural norms, the impact of trust and security apprehensions, and the role of organisational and technological infrastructures. Contemporary research has extended classical models to account for continuous usage, habit formation, transaction costs and expectation confirmation, recognising that adoption is not a single event but an evolving journey. Applications span e-governance portals, traceability systems in agriculture, educational platforms, healthcare records and enterprise resource planning systems. Global digital transformation initiatives—from smart cities to remote learning—underscore the practical urgency of understanding acceptance dynamics, enabling designers and policymakers to foster equitable access, maximise user satisfaction and drive sustainable adoption in both developed and emerging economies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A recent empirical study explored factors influencing the sustained use of an agricultural product traceability system over a two-year period. By integrating a technology acceptance model with an expectation-confirmation framework, the research demonstrated that user satisfaction and established usage habits directly fuel continuous engagement. Crucially, lowering transaction costs emerged as a key lever to enhance perceived value and satisfaction, while confirmation of prior expectations further bolstered perceived value. These findings offer a blueprint for policymakers and system providers seeking to scale digital traceability in rural and agri-business settings. No additional recent studies with the same rigorous methodology and context were identified.

User Acceptance and Adoption of Information Technology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in user acceptance and adoption of information technology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Perceived usefulness: The degree to which a user believes that a particular system will enhance their job performance or daily tasks.

Effort expectancy: The ease associated with the use of a technology, reflecting initial learning and long-term usability.

Social influence: The extent to which individuals perceive that important others (peers, leaders) think they should use a new technology.

Facilitating conditions: The organisational and technical infrastructure that supports system use, including training, help desks and hardware availability.

Expectation confirmation: A post-adoption belief formed when users compare pre-use expectations with actual system performance, influencing satisfaction and continued use.

References

1. The mechanism analysis on the farmers’ motivation of using the quality traceability system based on TAM-ECM model. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Do Religious Values Influence the Decision of Saudi Arabian Public Sector Employees to Adopt Government Resource Planning Systems?. IEEE Access (2022).
3. USER ACCEPTANCE OF DATA INFORMED DECISION MAKING PORTALS: APPLICATION OF THE UTAUT MODEL AND LEADERSHIP STYLES. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STUDIES AND MANGEMENT REVIEW (2021).