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Although mobile devices are ubiquitous among employees, their awareness and readiness to use mobile technologies for competence development is still not widespread and therefore requires further exploration. The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to explain the determinants that affect employees’ intention to use mobile devices and software for knowledge transfer during the process of knowledge management.

A conceptual model based on the UTAUT with new variables concerning relative usability (RU) and user autonomy (UA) and new connections between the determinants was developed as a result of a subject matter literature review. A structural equation modelling approach was used to validate the model on the basis of data collected via a survey collected from 371 employees from 21 sectors, both public and private.

The UTAUT model extended by new variables like RU and UA explains employee acceptance of mobile technologies for knowledge transfer reasonably well. New proposed variables highlighted that the usability of technology compared to other solutions and user autonomy in the selection and the use of applications have the strongest impact on the employees’ intention to use mobile devices and software for knowledge transfer.

This model explains the 55 per cent behavioral intention of employees to use mobile technologies for knowledge transfer. Even though it is quite high in terms of acceptance theories, some new variables should be explored. Furthermore, study does not verify whether m-learning acceptance for knowledge transfer is sector-specific.

Mobile technologies used for knowledge transfer by employees should allow for high UA through their ability to select solutions that they find convenient, use of preferred platforms, personalize applications and utilize devices and software in various environments. They should not be simplified and should have the same functionality and efficiency of use as alternative solutions like web and desktop applications, even if additional effort to learn them would be required. Mobile technologies that take into account UA and RU support the process of employees capturing, distributing and effectively using knowledge.

The elaborated model provides a valuable solution with practical implications for increasing mobile technologies acceptance for knowledge transfer. The study results contribute both to knowledge management and technology acceptance research fields by introducing two new determinants for the acceptance of technologies in knowledge transfer, such as UA and RU with several additional connections between existing UTAUT variables.

Many manufacturers are exploring adopting smart technologies in their operations, also referred to as the shift towards “Industry 4.0”. Employees' contribution to high-tech initiatives is key to successful Industry 4.0 technology adoption, but few studies have examined the determinants of employee acceptance. This study, therefore, aims to explore how managers affect employees' acceptance of Industry 4.0 technology, and, in turn, Industry 4.0 technology adoption.

Rooted in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model and social exchange theory, this inductive research follows an in-depth comparative case study approach. The two studied Dutch manufacturing firms engaged in the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in their primary processes, including cyber-physical systems and augmented reality. A mix of qualitative methods was used, consisting of field visits and 14 semi-structured interviews with managers and frontline employees engaged in Industry 4.0 technology adoption.

The cross-case comparison introduces the manager's need to adopt a transformational leadership style for employees to accept Industry 4.0 technology adoption as an organisational-level factor that extends existing Industry 4.0 technology user acceptance theorising. Secondly, manager's and employee's recognition and serving of their own and others' emotions through emotional intelligence are proposed as an additional individual-level factor impacting employees' acceptance and use of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Synthesising these insights with those from the domain of Organisational Behaviour, propositions were derived from theorising the social aspects of effective Industry 4.0 technology adoption.

This paper aims to examine the technology acceptance model’s applicability in understanding employees’ acceptance of online platforms for knowledge sharing in organisations. Specifically, this research explores gender differences in using online platforms for sharing knowledge at the workplace in an emerging market context and the role of individuals’ motivation in online platform usage in organisations.

A web-based survey was conducted in Vietnam with 290 responses from employees in the banking and insurance industries.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations influenced the perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and online platform usage for knowledge sharing. The results also confirm a significant influence of perceived ease of use directly on knowledge sharing behaviour using online platforms and indirectly via perceived usefulness. Regarding gender differences, perceived ease of use was more salient in women, while men considered perceived usefulness to a greater extent.

This study provides a complete picture of gender, motivation and technology used for knowledge sharing in organisational settings.

This research has provided additional insight into the importance of gender and motivation in technology acceptance. By doing this, this study helps organisations capture the potential of valuable human resources for their competitiveness.

This paper aims to create a conceptual model that connects learning organizations, service innovation and technology acceptance.

The importance of the interaction of variables benefiting both individuals and organizations has been comprehensively explained by combining two well-known theories – learning organizational theory and service innovation theory – with the technology acceptance model. In the first part of the study, conceptual model has been constructed and then applied to the hospitality industry of which results have been presented in the second part of this paper.

It is hypothesized that learning organization, service innovation and technology acceptance have significant relationships. It is also suggested that the learning organization plays an intermediary role in the relationship between technology acceptance and service innovation. Empirical results in this regard have been presented in the second part of the paper.

The relations have been established and tested in the hospitality industry in Antalya. However, the model can be applied and established relations tested in other industries.

This research contributes to our knowledge of the intricate linkages that exist between learning organizations, technology acceptance and service innovation. Originality of the paper is related to the novel multilayered model illustrating three-way interactions between the three dimensions of learning organization, technology acceptance and service innovation.

This research explores the link between job redesign and skilling in three Lebanese service provider industries, aiming to understand how these factors affect organizational agility, a crucial factor for efficiency and effectiveness and promote long-term interventions through job redesign, upskilling and reskilling.

This study employed two surveys, one for personnel (employees) and one for human aid managers (HR managers). These surveys collected data from 384 employees and 67 HR managers. The study utilized a work design questionnaire (WDQ), skilling application evaluation and the change acceptance model and testing to evaluate job redesign, skilling application effectiveness, technology acceptance and change readiness.

It was revealed that there is a significant and positive relationship between job redesign and the application of skilling programs. This relationship was shown to enhance organizational agility, with a particular focus on employees' technology acceptance and readiness for change. The integrated framework that combines job redesign, upskilling and reskilling was empirically tested and found to enable organizations to build their agility. The study also identified challenges and offered solutions for implementation, emphasizing the importance of employee responsiveness.

This research emphasizes the need for organizations to adapt job designs and enhance employee skills to enhance organizational agility, recommending a structured approach that combines job redesign and skill development efforts.

This research integrates job redesign, upskilling and reskilling in Lebanese service provider industries, contributing to organizational change and workforce development. It emphasizes technology acceptance and readiness for change.

The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of digital technology (specifically mobile applications) use on employees' perceptions of motivation at work (MW) and job performance (JP).

Survey data were collected from 4,089 employees working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered to Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (SMEDO) in Turkey. The relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling with bootstrap estimation.

The results support the proposed framework illustrating the positive effect of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of mobile applications on employees' perceived JP. Findings indicate that MW has exhibited a mediating effect between both PU and JP and PEOU and JP.

This article discusses the accelerating role of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on SMEs' technology acceptance and the acceptance's positive impact on employees' motivation and performance. This article adds to the literature on SMEs by enabling researchers and practitioners to understand the issues in digital technologies acceptance by SME employees and contributes towards enriching the knowledge on technology acceptance perceptions' role in SMEs coping strategies during the COVID-19.

Despite the widespread organisational adoption of e-procurement systems, we continue to witness disappointing performance outcomes from their implementation. This can be explained largely by the failure of many organisations to translate the initial adoption decision, made at an organisational level, into individual-level acceptance of e-procurement by an organisation’s employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the key antecedents of the technology acceptance model (TAM) for employees expected to use e-procurement systems in their day-to-day activities.

In this study, the authors apply and extend the TAM to examine the factors that influence the acceptance of e-procurement by individual employees. The authors’ focus is on the potential role of user-perceived e-procurement quality dimensions as the antecedents to the TAM’s cognitive mechanisms of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The structural equation model uses the survey data collected from 139 e-procurement users at a university in the Netherlands.

The results confirm the core TAM relationships within an e-procurement context. Extending the TAM model to explore the antecedents, the authors find that the e-procurement quality dimensions of processing, usability, and professionalism impact the levels of individual employee e-procurement acceptance. Interestingly, the system-level dimensions (processing and usability) appear to play a greater role than the support dimensions (professionalism) in these cognitive mechanisms.

The findings indicate that the need for e-procurement training and on-going support may be lessened by initial effective design covering system navigation and system usability and by ensuring that an e-procurement system has expedient information and product flows between the buyer and supplier.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the TAM and, more critically, its antecedents within an e-procurement context. It is also the first to empirically validate this extended model. Finally, by shifting the focus from the more typical organisational-level adoption to an individual employee acceptance unit of analysis, the authors provide a better understanding of how organisations can gain the most from investments in e-procurement and other similar e-supply chain management technologies.

The teaching objectives of the case study will enable the students as follows: to recognise the challenges of information technology (IT) implementation in the health-care sector associated with employee resistance, to apply the technology acceptance model for analysing the degree of employee resistance, to relate the utilisation of Kotter’s 8-step change management approach in successful IT implementation in the health-care sector and maintenance of employee productivity and to classify the leadership traits reflected by the leaders in training the 600 diverse employee population of Al-Ain hospital.

The case highlighted the predicament the government-owned Al-Ain City Hospital, United Arab Emirates, faced following the surge in the incidences of COVID-19 in the country in March 2020. The hospital management decided to initiate the work-from-home arrangement as a non-pharmaceutical intervention of handling the spread of the disease amongst its employees. Fatima Almur, the Information Technology Director in Al-Ain Hospital, asked the Application Support Manager, Aysha Shahwan, to deploy some IT tools significant for remote support to patient care within two weeks. Shahwan faced significant challenges in deploying the IT tools in two weeks given the diverse workforce, with the majority of them having limited knowledge in operating the tools, and hence, their apprehension in the usefulness of the tools. Besides, Shahwan had to deploy some advanced tools for easy and secured access to the electronic health record, telemedicine and telecommuting using mobile phones, tablets or PCs. The deployment of these advanced tools would be jeopardised by employee acceptance and consequent dwindling productivity. Considering the issue of employee acceptance of the change and their limited knowledge, Shahwan had, therefore, to develop training frameworks to boost the former’s perceived usefulness and ease-of-use of the IT tools. Will Shahwan successfully deploy the advanced IT tools to enable the hospital staff, including medical staff and departments, to ensure efficient patient care from a remote location? Will she be able to train the 600 employees across genders, ages and knowledge, use the IT tools and safeguard them from common software threats like email phishing and ransomware? Will the hospital be able to sustain its vision of quality patient care using advanced technologies through this new arrangement of remote support amidst the pandemic when patients are more?

Undergraduate business management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 10: Public sector management.

The purpose of this paper is to identify variables important to acceptance and use of advanced technologies by apparel retail employees and to recommend management strategies for effective technology integration in retail stores.

Current or past retail employees (N=71) were introduced to and given time to use three technologies – a 3D body scanner, product configurator, and social networking – in a laboratory setting using a within subjects design. A questionnaire measured participants’ perceptions of each technology in terms of usefulness, enjoyment, ease of use, task importance, technology self-efficacy – overall participant confidence in using new technology – and usage intent.

Results showed that employee's perceived usefulness of technology was a mediating influence on usage intent for all three technology types. Enjoyment also emerged as a significant mediator for 3D body scanning technology usage intent. Employees’ high self-efficacy scores corresponded to higher ratings for usefulness of each technology, suggesting that more technologically confident employees would be more likely to use the three types of technology presented in this study as part of their work.

The controlled environment of the laboratory setting may limit the generalizability of results to actual retail store settings. Future evaluations of technology usage in actual retail store environment involving both employees and customers are recommended.

This research explores the use of advanced in-store technologies from the perspective of apparel retail employees, applying the Technology Acceptance Model. It provides insight as to why employees accept and use innovative technologies that are relevant to their jobs and increase and enhance the points of contact between employees and customers. This knowledge of employee technology usage in the store environment could be used to improve job performance and job satisfaction – issues that often confront apparel retailers.

Knowledge is the main product of professional service firms; therefore, knowledge is the key to success. Due to the nature of this organizational type, management in professional service firms has faced many challenges in encouraging employees to share knowledge. The diffusion of technologies has facilitated technology-mediated knowledge sharing (TMKS), which helps the transfer of knowledge become easier without time and space limits. This study aims to unfold the impact of transformational leadership as an antecedent of TMKS under the interplay with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness in using technology.

An online survey was distributed to employees in professional service firms through the snowball sampling method. Three hundred forty employees, who had experience with technology-mediated knowledge sharing, participated in the survey.

The findings showed that transformational leadership had a significant impact on TMKS, which was moderated by perceived usefulness and gender. TMKS influenced organizational innovation, and the mediating effect of TMKS was identified.

This study provides solutions for management in professional service firms to motivate their employees to share knowledge via technology, which drives organizational innovation. More caution about gender differences and the low levels of perceived usefulness from employees need to be considered when adopting transformational leadership.