Acceptance of ICT: Applicability of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to South African Students

We are told that university students are Digital Natives and the diffusion of digital technologies into education holds prospective advantages. However, will students in Africa be prepared to engage with and accept the technology? This study aimed to determine the applicability of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model within a South African higher education setting and to clarify the factors that are influencing students’ intentions to make use of two digital technologies: an eBook and SLMS. 738 ICT students completed a questionnaire to gauge their responses to Performance expectancy (PEx), Effort expectancy (EfEx), Facilitating conditions (FC), Self-efficacy (SE), Anxiety (Anx), Attitude towards using technology (ATT) and Behavioural intention (BI). Statistical analysis was used to develop and assess a model of the factors that are affecting BI. Structural equation modelling was used and the goodness-of-fit test indicated that the model was supported by the data. PEx, FC and EfEx showed high practically significant relationships with BI. SE and ATT as mediators of the model are confirmed, however gender as moderator did not reflect the original findings of UTAUT.