User Acceptance of Pervasive Information Systems: Evaluating an RFID Ticketing System

Abstract

Pervasive Information Systems (Pervasive IS) constitute an emerging class of Information Systems in which Information Technology artefacts are embedded in the physical space, working together to sense and communicate user related and environmental information, and supporting user tasks and activities unobtrusively.Drawing from the novel properties of Pervasive IS, this study seeks to investigate whether the extant IS user acceptance theories may adequately predict user behaviour within pervasive environments.The theoretical background of the study was drawn from the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and enhanced with factors related to privacy and switching cost features.The research model was tested with data gathered through a lab experiment (N=71).The participants perceived the system as useful and easy to use, and expressed the willingness to adopt it should it become commercially available.The results from a multiple regression analysis suggest that the salient beliefs of the technology acceptance model, namely perceived usefulness and ease of use are still strong predictors of user behaviour towards actual Pervasive IS use.Conversely the remaining factors such as perceived risk and attractiveness of alternatives do not seem to hold significant power in predicting user behaviour in the Pervasive IS domain.