An Exploratory Study on the Factors of Assimilation Gap in Information Technology at the Individual Level

개인의 정보기술 수용격차 요인에 대한 탐색적 연구

This study aims to explore factors of Assimilation Gap(AG) which is proposed and illustrated by Fichman and Kemerer(1997). AG is defined as the time delay between adoption and deployment and mainly studied at the organizational level. This study derives the factor affecting AG through a review of technology acceptance models and agency theory. The research model consists of three groups of independent variables(IT knowledge burden, Individual characteristics, and organization characteristics) and a moderator, which is goal incongruence. Using multiple regression analyses, four groups of hypotheses are tested with data of 221 knowledge workers from various organizations through e-mail survey. The result shows that radicalness(a dimension of knowledge burden), personal innovativeness, self-efficacy, and organizational support are statistically significant factors while complexity, experience, and perceived critical mass are not supported. The moderator effects of goal incongruence are found in personal innovativeness and organizational support. The results of this study demonstrate that agency theory is a useful perspective to deal with AG, especially in radical innovation. In addition, IT practitioners should consider not only user training but also incentives and possible organizational controls in implementing a new information technology.