William A. Kleintop
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the results of a study on the effects of practice, a form of on the job training, on the pre-implementation attitudes and on post-implementation use of an information technology. The successful use of information technologies by end users is dependent on many variables including training of end users. Providing support to workers by training them to use information technologies can have positive effects for the implementation process. Training may directly effect workers' attitudes toward the information technologies making it more likely that they will voluntarily and persistently use the technologies. This research found practice before implementation of an electronic mail system in a business setting to be the best predictor of end users' perceptions that the system was easy to use and useful. The results also showed practice to be the best predictor of actual use of the electronic mail system by end users after its implementation. By providing employees the opportunity to practice skills necessary to use information technologies, managers may be making an investment in training that provides high returns in use of information technologies.
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Index Terms
- Practice makes use: using information technologies before implementation and the effect on acceptance by end users
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Reviews
James Edward Miller
“This paper reports the results of a study on the effects of practice on the pre-implementation attitudes, job insecurity of end users, and post-implementation use of an information technology.” The system selected for study was an electronic mail system that was to be installed in a Fortune 500 transportation firm that had found it necessary to replace its existing email system. For this study, “practice” was taken to mean “a form of OJT [on-the-job-training] engaged in at the discretion of the end user with respect to when training occurs, for how long it occurs and which skills are practiced.” The research found that as the amount of practice using an information technology increases, “perceptions of the ease of using the information technology increase above perceptions of ease of use associated with user sociodemographics and experience” and “perceptions of the usefulness of the information technology increase above perceptions of usefulness associated with user sociodemographics and experience.” The study did not find support for either the hypothesis that “end users' pre-implementation attitudes toward the information technology become more positive” or the hypothesis that “end users' job insecurity related to the information technology decrease,” however. The hypothesis that practice would increase use after implementation was supported. It was noted that the positive results reported for practice may have been influenced by both the participants' experiences with the existing email system, which gave them a level of expertise that allowed them to take advantage of practice, and by the long period of time (one month) allocated for practice. The paper is well written, and the extensive references (61) both support the paper and serve as an excellent framework for anyone who is looking into training and acceptance of information technologies.
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