Critical Success Factors Relating to the Adoption of XBRL in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this paper is to examine the various normative, attitudinal and control factors influencing the adopters’ intention to accept XBRL in Saudi Arabia. Based on the empirical data collected by using a self-administered questionnaire relating to the normative, attitudinal and control variables, this research analysis provides evidence regarding the perceived ease of use, perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, social influence, perceived knowledge, and Internet skills to significantly explain the behavioral intentions towards the adoption of XBRL. However, perceived usefulness, perceived complexity and perceived training were found to have no significance in this research. The two-fold significance of this research study is to provide some practical and useful guidelines to the policy makers in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to identify the factors that can influence the intention of the adopters to adopt XBRL in Saudi Arabia. The primary influences identified were perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility and perceived knowledge, which are the key determinants influencing XBRL adoption. Theoretically, this study has employed a research framework, which is an extension from research models used in the past. With the newly integrated framework, a greater level of comprehension can be achieved regarding the acceptance of XBRL among the Saudi adopters.