JOURNAL ARTICLE:

TOPIC: Theoretical Models For the Usage Study Of Internet
Banking Systems

This article is divided in six parts:
1 - Overview of IT Usage Studies
2 - Theory of Reasoned Action
3 - Theory of Planned Behaviour
4 - Technology Acceptance Model
5 - Innovation Diffusion Theory
6 - A Comparison of TRA, TPB and TAM



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1 - Overview of IT Usage Studies
One of the key objectives of much IT and IS research is to assess the value of information technology to an organization and to understand the determinants of that value. The objective of such research is to help firms better deploy and manage their IT resources and enhance overall effectiveness. There are many levels from which to approach this kind of research. Some researchers have suggested macroeconomic approaches.

Intention-based Models

A variety of theoretical perspectives have been utilised to provide an understanding of the determinants of IT usage. One such important line of research has employed intention-based models which use behavioural intentions of individuals to predict usage and, in turn, focus on the identification of the determinants of intention, such as attitudes, social influences, and facilitating conditions. From this stream of social psychology research, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), an adaptation of TRA, has emerged as a powerful and parsimonious way to represent.

Innovation Diffusion-based Models

A second line of approach for IT adoption and usage research is based on a Diffusion of Innovations perspective.
In this approach, a number of factors are thought to be determinants of IT adoption and usage, such as: individual user characteristics, information sources and communication channels, and innovation characteristics. A more detailed elaboration of the Innovation Diffusion literature from an innovation characteristics perspective is described.

2 - Theory of Reasoned Action: Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is a widely studied theoretical model from social psychology. TRA is very general, designed to explain virtually any human behaviour and it does not specify the beliefs that are operative for a particular behaviour (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980). It is predictive in those situations where there are no significant barriers to behavioural performance.

TRA asserts that actual behaviour follows from behavioural intention and that behavioural intention is formed by one's attitude toward behaviour and subjective norm. More formally, behavioural intention is a weighted sum of the attitude and the subjective norm.

The Theory of Reasoned Action: According to TRA, behavioural intention (BI) is a measure of the strength of one's intention to perform a specified behaviour. Attitude towards behaviour (A) is defined as an individual's positive or negative feelings (evaluative affect) about performing the target behaviour. Subjective norm (SN) refers to the person's perception that most people who are important to him think he should or should not perform the behaviour in question.

BI = w1A + w2SN

According to TRA, a person's attitude toward a behaviour is determined by his or her salient beliefs (bi) about consequences of performing the behaviour multiplied by the evaluation (ei) of those consequences:

A = bi ei

Beliefs (bi) are defined as the individual's subjective probability that performing the target behaviour will result in consequence i. The evaluation term (ei) refers to the an implicit evaluative response to the consequence. TRA also theorizes that an individual's subjective norm (SN) is determined by a multiplicative function of his or her normative beliefs (nbi), i.e. perceived expectations of specific referent individuals or groups, and his or her motivation to comply (mci) with these expectations:

SN = nbi mci

A particularly helpful aspect of TRA from an IS perspective is its assertion that any other factors that influence behaviour do so only through indirectly by influencing A, SN or their relative weights. Such variables would include system design characteristics, user characteristics (including cognitive styles and other personality variables), task characteristics, etc.

3 - Theory of Planned Behaviour: TPB asserts that behaviour (B) is a direct function of behavioural intention (BI) and perceived behavioural control (PBC). Behavioural intention is formed by one's attitude (A) which reflects feelings of favourableness or unfavourableness towards performing a behaviour; subjective norm (SN), which reflects perceptions that significant referents desire the individual to perform or not perform a behaviour; and perceived behavioural control (PBC) which reflects perceptions of internal and external constraints on behaviour.

4 - Technology Acceptance Model: The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), TAM posits that two particular beliefs: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are of primary relevance for IT usage behaviours. According to TAM, perceived usefulness (U) and perceived ease of use (E) are determinants of attitude towards usage intentions and actual IT usage

5 - Innovation Diffusion Theory: An innovation is an idea, product, or process that is new to an adopter defines the diffusion of innovation as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. As put forward by Rogers, the attributes pertaining to the characteristics of an innovation are the determining factors towards its adoption.
Relative Advantage: Relative advantage is the degree to which using an innovation is perceived as being more advantageous than using its precursor. Either tangible or intangible, it is generally manifested as economic gains, increased effectiveness, enhanced status or other benefits.
Compatibility is the degree to which using an innovation is considered consistent with existing organizational values, experience, and needs of potential adopters. Some studies have found positive empirical association between compatibility and adoption behaviour. Complexity is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being relatively difficult to understand and use. A novel idea or product is often rated on a continuum from simplicity to complexity, either from a business or technical perspective. Researchers have suggested in the past that an innovation with substantial complexity requires more technical skills, greater implementation and operational efforts in order to adopt, thus decreasing the chances of adoption. Observability is the degree to which using an innovation generates results that are observable and can be communicated to others. In other words, the results of using the innovation can be conveyed either verbally, visually or in an audio manner. Trialability is the degree to which using an innovation can be carried out or experimented on a limited basis prior to adoption. Rogers (1983) argues that potential adopters are more likely to feel more comfortable with innovations that can be experimented, thus increasing the likelihood of adoption.
6 - A Comparison of TRA, TPB and TAM: TAM assumes that beliefs about usefulness and ease of use are postulated a priori, and are always the primary determinants of use decisions. This approach was taken with the view to arrive at a belief set that more readily generalizes to different computer systems and user populations. In contrast, TRA and TPB uses beliefs that are specific to each situation and the models does not assume that beliefs that apply in one context also apply in other. Thus, in general, TAM, in sacrificing some explanatory power to maintain a higher parsimony, is less costly to apply in most contexts. TPB, with the increased in complexity, is more costly to apply in practical situations, though it provides a fuller understanding than TAM.