Enhancing the usefulness of UTAUT in gauging the value of digital training for nurses with MT

 Steven Aldo Marcello
Faculty of Nursing, Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, East Java, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4864-3710

April 26, 2024

The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is a well-established theory famous for its utilization for explaining the intention to accept and use (new) technologies among individuals [1]. The performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and technology adoption intention are among the UTAUT’s core components.



Illustration. Generated by Imagine AI (https://www.imagine.art/)

In a recent study published in Teaching and Learning in Nursing, the UTAUT has been complemented by Mindsponge Theory (MT), an information-processing theory, to explain the dynamic interaction between these three core components of UTAUT [2]. The MT views performance expectancy as perceived benefits gained from the adoption of information communication technologies (ICTs), while effort expectancy is seen as the cost of accepting or adopting the technologies. While the original UTAUT proposed that performance and effort expectancy have direct linear effects or influences on technology adoption intention, the new study suggests a new picture of the issue.

By analyzing a dataset of 702 Moroccan nursing students, Sari et al. [3] found that the effect of performance expectancy on technology adoption intention was conditional on effort expectancy [3]. In other words, although both performance expectancy and effort expectancy can affect technology adoption, performance expectancy plays a more crucial role. This conclusion was derived after weighting three different parsimonious models constructed using the Bayesian Mindsponge Frameworks (BMF) analytics [4]. The result estimated using the effort expectancy as the moderator was discovered to have a significantly larger weight than the model with effort expectancy as the direct predictor.

In practical terms, these insights underscore the importance of focusing communication on the benefits of ICTs for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of nursing education and training. Given the scarce educational resources, particularly in developing nations like Morocco, it is essential for educators, universities, and healthcare organizations to emphasize the advantages of ICTs and social media in clinical practice for nursing students rather than ease of use. This approach will help boost the quality and cost-effectiveness of nursing education and training.

The insight in the study of Sari et al. [3] not only broadens our understanding but also hints at the possibilities of other dynamic interplays between the core components of UTAUT. As the conceptual model has only been applied in the nursing field, it has the potential to be further utilized to study different populations and settings from various fields.

To sum up, MT can be a promising thinking framework for studying human-technology interactions. Its utilization in the study of Sari et al. [3] shows its usefulness and relevance in enhancing and complementing well-established theories, like UTAUT, in this case.

References

[1] Venkatesh V, Davis FD. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926

[2] Vuong QH. (2023). Mindsponge Theory. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3WHZ2B3

[3] Sari NPWP, Duong MPT, Li D, et al. (2024). Rethinking the effects of performance expectancy and effort expectancy on new technology adoption: Evidence from Moroccan nursing students. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1557308724000775

[4] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH, La VP. (Eds.)(2022). The mindsponge and BMF analytics for innovative thinking in social sciences and humanities. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4ZK3M74