User acceptance of expert systems: a test of the theory of reasoned action

Expert Systems pose significant challenges for management and may potentially have a profound impact in the workplace. This paper develops and tests a model based on the theory of reasoned action. The model is tested using a cross-sectional design based on a self-administered questionnaire completed by a sample of 94 users and non-users from two of the largest accounting firms in the U.S. The outcome measures were attitudes toward the system and intentions to use the system in the future (or continue to use it among existing users). The results supported several hypotheses. Intentions to use the system were influenced by social norms encouraging system use and by perceptions of the impacts of system use on valued skills, controlling for the effect of attitudes. Attitudes toward use of the system were affected by the perceived usefulness of the system and its impacts on valued skills. Attitudes were also strongly related to ease of system use, an unanticipated finding. The most surprising result was that general attitudes were not found to predict intentions to use the system, The data show no evidence of fearful reactions of employees to Expert Systems in this particular context. We discuss implications for user acceptance of expert systems, and how our results compare to those for other information technologies. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.