Comparing and Prioritizing the Factors Affecting Purchase Decisions in Innovation Adoption in a Post-Secondary Educational Setting

Introduction The innovation adoption process is among the most studied topics in IT research (Hirschheim, 2007; Travica, 2008; Venkatesh, Davis, & Morris, 2007; Williams, Dwivedi, Lal, & Schwarz, 2009; Wolfe, 1994). "It is a process through which an individual or other decision making unit passes from first knowledge of an innovation; to forming an attitude towards the innovation; to a decision to adopt or reject; to implementation of the new idea; and to confirmation of this decision" (Rogers, 1995a, p. 21). However, recent reviews of the adoption literature suggest that there are still many opportunities for increasing knowledge of the innovation adoption process (Hirschheim, 2007; Ramdani & Kawalek, 2007; Williams et al., 2009). Specifically, findings suggest that innovation adoption and non-adoption is not only driven by different factors (e.g., budget, redundancy) (Dewan & Riggins, 2005; Eckhardt, Laumer, & Weitzel, 2009; Lapointe & Rivard, 2007; Venkatesh & Brown, 2001) but also influenced by some factors more than others (Anderson, Thomson, & Wynstra, 2000; Eckhardt et al., 2009; Elpez & Fink, 2006). However, there has yet to be a comprehensive investigation of the different levels of impact that these factors may have on the innovation adoption process. The purpose of this study was to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the different factors and their level of impact on the innovation adoption process. This study compares and analyzes the factors influencing adoption of IT hardware in a post-secondary educational setting. Post-secondary institutions along with other public sector organizations are major investors in IT and rely heavily on IT to remain efficient and effective (Elpez & Fink, 2006). This perspective can not only expand the innovation adoption literature but also enhance marketing strategies used to influence innovation adoption. Although the innovation adoption process at the organizational level consists of different stages (awareness, consideration, intention, adoption decision, continued use), most studies focus on the adoption decision (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002). This study focuses on intention and the adoption decision. Figure 1 illustrates the innovation adoption process at the organizational level as described in the adoption literature (e.g., Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002; Rogers 1995a; Zaltman, Duncan, & Holbek, 1973). Given the major activities in the intention and adoption stage, we conceptualize that evaluating purchase options would occur during the intention stage and purchasing the innovation would occur during the adoption decision stage in the innovation adoption process. Given that the decision to make use of a product often involves the decision to purchase the product, it can be understood that some factors affecting the purchase decision may also affect the adoption decision. Some studies employ the terms purchase and adoption interchangeably (see Cabral, Salant, & Woroch, 1999). Our focus within the overall innovation adoption process is on the decision to purchase. Although we view these activities as conceptually distinct, we recognize that both activities may occur in the same innovation adoption process. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] This article begins with a literature review of the factors and theories that affect innovation adoption as well as a discussion of the research questions. The method section outlines how the research questions were addressed. Finally, the results of the empirical study are reported, and the implications for innovation adoption research are discussed. Literature Review In this section, the theories and factors related to innovation adoption and non-adoption are introduced in order to provide a context for the research questions in this investigation. The Innovation Adoption Process Documentation of the innovation adoption process started to develop when researchers recognized that marketers must understand the potential customers and the factors influencing their purchase decision in order to be successful in bringing innovations to market (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002). …