Antecedents and outcomes of internet usage within organisations in Yemen: An extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model

Abstract

In the past few years, the increasing use of the internet in many countries has changed the manner in the people socialise, learn, govern or do their business. However, there are countries such as Yemen which has a very low internet usage rate and sees little economic, social and cultural progress as a result. A significant volume of theoretical studies have already undertaken, seeking to understand ambiguities in technology usage, with a number of models being proposed. In this study, the researcher has focused on extending the UTAUT using an antecedent variable for the actual internet use (i.e., task-technology fit) and 4 outcome variables (i.e., decision quality, communication quality, knowledge acquisition, and user satisfaction). Survey questionnaires were distributed among the employees working in the various Yemeni governmental institutions and ministries, and primary data was collected from 520 different internet users. The data analysis was carried out using 2-stage procedures, wherein a measurement model was initially used, followed by a structural model for the assessment of the data, with the help of the SmartPLS 3.0. The multivariate data analysis yielded 2 results: 1) The different antecedent variables (like effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence, and the task-technology fit) positively affected the internet usage, and 2) The outcome variables (decision quality, communication quality, knowledge acquisition, and user satisfaction) were positively affected by internet usage. The proposed model could explain 29% of variance noted in the actual internet use. Finally, the researchers investigated the different practical and theoretical implications of the study.