Developing an object-oriented systems development acceptance model
Richard A. Johnson, Bill C. Hardgrave · 1998
Information technology (IT) is critical for success in business, and systems development is considered a key element of IT. However, systems development continues to be plagued by a software crisis characterized by low developer productivity and poor system quality. A radically different method of systems development, object-oriented systems development (OOSD), is considered by many to be the best available solution to the crisis. However, the systems development community is not readily and wholeheartedly accepting OOSD. The purpose of this research is to develop an object-oriented systems development acceptance model (OOSDAM) to predict and explain the acceptance of OOSD methods by individual systems developers. A theoretical framework for this research was obtained by reviewing several theories of industrial and organizational psychology that attempt to explain the intentions and behaviors of individuals in an organizational setting. Elements of Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior (TPB) and several other theories were combined to formulate a proposed OOSDAM and a set of research hypotheses. A survey instrument was developed based on the methodology prescribed by the TPB. The instrument was designed to measure beliefs about, perceptions of, and intentions toward using OOSD. A mail survey of about 1500 randomly selected U.S. systems developers was conducted yielding a highly representative sample of n = 150. Using LISREL structural equation modeling software, the instrument was validated and the hypotheses were tested. The initial results yielded a version of the OOSDAM that (1) demonstrates the overwhelming importance of the perceived usefulness of OOSD, and (2) exhibits an acceptable overall fit with the collected data. To achieve the ultimate goal of developing a more meaningful final model, LISREL diagnostics and corroborating theory were used to-modify the initial OOSDAM. After several iterations, a final version of the OOSDAM was developed resulting in the following conclusions about intentions to use OOSD: (1) perceived organizational goals for the use of OOSD play a predominant role, (2) specific beliefs about usefulness, social norms, and ease of use influence their respective general perceptions, (3) the direct effect of perceived usefulness is extremely important, and (4) perceived ease of use influences perceived usefulness of OOSD.