The Social Component of Information Systems—How Sociability Contributes to Technology Acceptance

Abstract

The adoption of information systems is often explained in terms of usefulness and ease of use. Lately, researchers have begun to recognize that a hedonic streak in human beings provides a further contributing factor in the adoption and acceptance of information systems. Embedded in this streak is a broader social aspect that incorporates not only the solitary, individual pleasure one gets from using the system, but also a pleasure that one gets from interacting and socializing with others through the system. This becomes particularly evident in virtual environments that support high levels of interaction with others and with artifacts embedded in an immersive context. By drawing on IS theories of technology acceptance and IS success, and on theories of social interaction from evolutionary psychology, activity theory, situated action, and distributed cognition, we test the construct of sociability and its antecedents in Second Life—a popular virtual environment. Our results support that, in addition to an information and system component, a social component contributes to IS usage.

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