Under-Subjective Knowledge, Compatibility, and the Impact on Adoption and Implementation of Technology

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study is to explore the impact of compatibility on the relationship between under-subjective knowledge, a concept we develop here in the context of technology adopt and implementation research, and technology adoption and implementation. To do so, we develop two versions of mobile systems for a controlled experiment: 1) high compatible system and 2) low compatible system. The experiments are designed to test two hypotheses. Based on our hypotheses, we predict that compatibility may trigger a transformation from under-subjective knowledge to a condition of objective knowledge (and possibly, and less ideally, to a condition of over-subjective knowledge). Thus, the current study predicts that compatibility raise self-esteem or confidence and mitigates the negative effect of under-subjective knowledge on intention to adopt technology. Keywords Technology adoption and Implementation, Knowledge, Compatibility, Experiment INTRODUCTION Why do people resist using new technology? One of the answers of the questions is complexity. The more features and functions has technology, the more complex it is and the more knowledge people need to use it. Previous research, such as the technology acceptance model (TAM), suggests that ease of use is a critical factor influencing technology acceptance (Davis, 1989). Technologies in organizations as well as in daily personal life, such as a smart phone, are equipped with multiple powerful features and tasks with a variety of functions that are complex to perform. Efficiency and ease of use may be sacrificed for performance. The corollary to this is that to accomplish high performance with the cutting-edge technology, people require more knowledge to understand it. This study focuses on a specific type of knowledge condition, that of having under-subjective knowledge, and investigates the research question ―What is the impact of under-subjective knowledge on technology adoption and what is the impact of compatibility on this relationship? ‖ Consumer knowledge has been considered to be one of the more critical factors influencing the new technology adoption process (Gatignon and Robertson, 1985; Mahajan, Muller and Bass, 1995; Moreau, Markman and Lehmann, 2001; Sheth, 1981). People with more knowledge about technology are more likely to adopt technology. However, are individuals accurate about their perceptions regarding the knowledge they have about a particular technology? Consumer prior product knowledge is defined as ―the amount of accurate information held in memory about product alternatives as well as buyers’ self-perceptions of this prior knowledge‖ (Rao and Monroe, 1988, p.255) This definition includes two dimensions of consumer knowledge; 1) objective knowledge and 2) subjective knowledge. While objective knowledge refers to what consumers actually know (as measured by an authoritative third party), subjective knowledge refers to what consumers perceive they know. Many previous studies assert that there are independent effects of these two knowledge types on consumer behavior (Brucks, 1985; Metcalfe, 1986; Park and Lessig, 1981; Punj and Staelin, 1983; Raju, Lonial and Mangold, 1995; Schater, 1983). Empirically, the distinct roles of these two knowledge types have been tested and demonstrated in information search and decision-making processes in the psychology and marketing disciplines (Bearden, Hardesty and Rose, 2001; Brucks, 1985; Moorman, Diehl, Brinberg and Kidwell, 2004; Radecki and Jaccard, 1995; Raju et al., 1995; Schacter, 1983). While subjective knowledge leads consumers to a small amount of attribute evaluation, objective knowledge enables consumers to evaluate large amount of attributes with low search cost and high efficiency (Brucks, 1985). In addition, objective knowledge facilitates deliberation and use of newly acquired information, while subjective knowledge increase the reliance on internal information (Rudell, 1979). Despite this research, studies have overlooked another aspect of subjective knowledge: