Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action in Predicting Technology Adoption Behavior

Research related to the impact of individual characteristics in their acceptance of online systems driven by information and communication technology (ICT) observed that dissimilarities among individuals influence their adoption and use of the systems. Thus, research streams investigating this issue generally follow the traditions of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) or the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Research reveals that individual characteristics, mediated by beliefs, affect attitudes, which affect intentions and behaviors. These two major behavioral theories related to technology acceptance and the intention to use technology might provide significant theoretical paradigms in understanding how online system adoption and diffusion, driven by information technology, can vary globally. In this study, the authors’ first objective is to understand TRA and TPB as they study ICT-based online adoption and diffusion globally. Then, based on that theoretical framework, their second objective focuses on developing a theory of ICT adoption and diffusion as an online behavior.