Often asserted, never confirmed: the role of attitude in the acceptance of mandatory technology use, let’s settle this question statistically for LMS use in the educational context

Abstract

The objective of this research is to evaluate statistically the role of the attitude variable as a mediator in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model in the context of mandatory use of technology. We chose this objective to address two research gaps: the prevailing divide in opinions about the role of attitude in technology acceptance models and the contradictory results obtained by acceptance models in the context of mandatory use of technology. Achieving this objective will enable us to address the perennial question of the role of attitude in acceptance literature and to assess the boundaries of UTAUT, thus contributing to its continued development and providing guidance for its evolution. Data were collected from 475 students enrolled in online courses at a Canadian university that required the mandatory use of a learning management system (LMS). Results show that attitude exerts full mediation of the relationships between the independent variables performance expectancy and effort expectancy and the dependent variable behavioural intention. This mediation becomes partial for facilitating conditions and fades out for social influence. We call into question the relevance of behavioural intention as a measure of technology acceptance and present theoretical contributions and practical recommendations.