Following the crowd:social influence and technology usage

Abstract

This study examined the impact of social influence theory on distance education technology (DET) usage. Delineation of university culture types conceptualized by Bergquist (the collegial culture, the managerial culture, the developmental culture, and the negotiating culture) were also examined in relation to technology usage. This study tested the proposed relationships in a survey of distance education technology usage at a major southeastern university, and findings support the influence of past experience with technology and social influence, and provide limited support for the influence of the culture types and individual factors on technology usage. This study encourages administrators to more closely examine their own academic cultures to identify appropriate actions to take before pursuing organizational changes like DET adoption, so that the resulting DET usage might more closely mirror the expected outcomes.