Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Understanding Behavioural Intention towards E-books Use:
Does Gender Really Matter?
Daniel Kofi Maduku*
Gender differences play a pivotal role in technology acceptance and thus influence
marketing strategies aimed at soliciting accelerated acceptance of technology. Using the
UTAUT, this study examined gender differences in the antecedents of behavioural
intention towards e-book use. Results based on survey data obtained from 544
participating students indicate that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social
influence and facilitating conditions are significant antecedents of behavioural intention
towards e-book use. Although gender was found to moderate the relationship between
facilitating conditions and behavioural intention, surprisingly, no significant moderating
effects of gender were found on performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social
influence. Implications of these findings on efforts aimed at promoting rapid acceptance
of e-books among students are highlighted in this paper.
JEL Codes: O31, I23 and M31
1. Introduction
Recent advances in information and communication technology have resulted in
dramatic changes to the publishing industry (Jiang & Katsamakas 2010). Books that
were hitherto produced in paper are now being converted into electronic formats, often
referred to as electronic books, or e-books. An e-book is thus an electronic version of a
printed book that can be read on a dedicated e-book reader, personal computer (PC),
mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) (Shin 2011).
The advantages that e-books have over printed books are manifold. E-books offer 24/7
access and availability, provide remote access, enable full-text search capability and
facilitate copying and pasting. Another important advantage of e-books over printed
books is that they are mobile. The use of e-books in this social networking age enables
users to chat and transfer their preferences for certain books. In addition, e-books are
convenient because a reader can bookmark a page, highlight text, or adjust text sizes.
The reader can also enjoy various multimedia effects such as oral reading, animations,
music and sound effects.
Owing to these advantages, e-books are increasingly becoming a standard platform for
providing reading materials (Aharony 2014). However, the adoption rate of e-books is
still low as their sales lag far behind projections and constitute only a small percentage
of the book market. In South Africa the e-book market constitutes only 1.5% of the total
book market (Publishers Association of South Africa 2013). The educational book
market in South African commanded over 57% of the revenue generate from the total
book market in 2012; this is projected to increase to 61% by 2017 (PwC 2013). To
increase the adoption of e-books in this segment, most major publishers of academic
literature have resorted to converting academic books into e-book formats which are
__________________
*Daniel Kofi Maduku, Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Management, University of
Johannesburg, South Africa. Email: dkmaduku@uj.ac.za
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
often promoted as low cost options (Quinn 2011). Thus it is important to understand the
factors that influence behavioural intention to use e-books among students in South
Africa. This understanding is frequently cited as a critical prerequisite for designing
effective marketing strategies aimed at retaining current users and attracting new users
of novel IT systems like e-books (Gu, Lee & Suh 2009; Tsai & Li 2011).This study
ascertains gender differences in the factors that affect the behavioural intention towards
e-book use and thus contributes to the publishing industry by providing information on
the kind of promotion strategies that could be pursued to increase the adoption of ebooks.
2. Problem Investigated
Gender has been and continues to be one of the most common bases of segmentation
used by marketers (Kim, Lehto & Morrision 2007). Many research studies that
concentrate on gender differences and their impact on technology acceptance
demonstrate that gender plays a significant role in determining the adoption and use of
technology. This is because men and women exhibit important differences in decisionmaking processes (Dong & Zhang 2011; Leong et al. 2013; Sáinz & López-Sáez 2010;
Terzis & Economides 2011; Wang & Wang 2010; Zhou, Jin & Frang 2014). However,
most of the studies conducted on gender differences in technology use have been
undertaken in developed countries. Be that as it may, available research emphasises
that the role of gender in technology use might rest on the nature of technology and
context of use (Venkatesh & Morris 2000; Hoeft et al. 2008).
Moreover, many researchers such as Aharony (2014), Cassidy, Martinez and Shen
(2012), Berg et al. (2010), Elias, Philips and Luechtefeld (2012), Parsons, (2014), Sun,
Flores and Tanguma (2012), and, Gattiker and Lowe (2014), have examined and
supported e-book use in academic contexts. Nevertheless, only a few have examined
whether gender differences moderate the antecedents of behavioural intention towards
e-book use (Huang, Liang & Chiu 2013). There is currently no research pertaining to
gender differences in behavioural intention to use e-books in a multi-racial and multicultural country like South Africa. Therefore gaps exist in our understanding of this
aspect of e-book use in South Africa.
The research question this study focussed on is:
Does gender moderate the effects of the antecedents of behavioural intention towards
e-books use by students in South African higher education?
The aim of this study was to fill the gap that currently exists in research by using the
Unified Theory for the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to ascertain if
gender does influence the determinants of e-book use intention by students in the South
African higher education sector.
3. Theoretical Foundation and Hypotheses Development
Individual level technology adoption (also called user acceptance) is a very important
aspect of the information systems research stream (Dong & Zhang 2011; Qingfei,
Shaobo & Gang 2008). Indeed, user acceptance is often posited as a critical
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
determinant of the success or failure of an information system (Davis 1993). Previous
studies have applied theories from sociology, social sociology and psychology to
understand how and why users accept IT innovations (Dong & Zhang 2011; Dong
2009). Prominent among these theories are the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA),
Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and
Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). The most recent additions to these theories is the
Unified Theory for the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) propounded by
Venkatesh et al. (2003).
In developing the UTAUT, Venkatesh et al. (2003) synthesised the elements of eight
existing theoretical models, namely, the Theory of Reasoned Actions (TRA) (Fishbein &
Ajzen 1975), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis 1989), TAM 2
(Venkatesh & Davis 2000), the Motivational Model (MM) (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw
1992), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen 1991), the Combined Model of
TAM and TBP (C-TAM-TPB), the Model of PC Utilization (MPCU) (Thompson, Higgins
& Howell 1991), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Compeau & Higgins 1995), and, finally,
the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) (Moore & Benbasat 1991).
The UTAUT model is capable of explaining as high as 70% of the variance in intention,
much higher than any of the eight models put together to form it. The UTAUT postulates
four constructs: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and
facilitating conditions as critical determinants of behavioural intention and use
behaviour. The effect of these variables is moderated by gender, age, experience and
voluntariness of use (Venkatesh et al. 2003). The UTAUT has demonstrated robustness
in assisting researchers to gain insights into gender differences and their relationship to
technology adoption and use (Huang, Hood & Yoo 2013; Ibrahim, Khalil & Jaafar 2011;
Wang & Wang 2010). Thus this study employed the UTAUT to gain understanding of
the role gender differences plays in actual and intended e-book use. The researcher
adapted the UTAUT by positing performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social
influence and facilitating conditions as key antecedents of behavioural intention towards
e-book use. Moreover, the effects of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social
influence and facilitating conditions on behavioural intention to use e-books are
mediated by gender.
Performance expectancy (PE) is defined as the degree to which students believe that
using e-books is beneficial to their reading by enabling them to read more quickly, to
obtain information more easily or even to help them to read anywhere at any time. Effort
expectancy (EE) is the degree of ease associated with the use of e-books. It is argued
that students’ acceptance of e-books is based on whether or not they consider the use
of e-books to be easy and effortless. Social influence (SI) is the extent to which
students’ behaviour to use e-books is influenced by whether they believe others
important to them think they should or should not use e-books. Finally, facilitating
conditions (SI) denotes students’ perception of the resources and support available to
them to assist them to use e-books. Hence the following hypotheses were proposed:
H1:
H2:
Performance expectancy will positively influence students’ behavioural intention
to use e-books
Effort expectancy will positively influence students’ behavioural intention to use
e-books
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
H3:
H4:
Social influence will positively influence students’ behavioural intention to use ebooks
Facilitating conditions is using e-books will positively influence the intention to
use e-books
Researchers argue that gender plays a role in moderating the UTAUT relationships
(Curtis et al. 2010; Venkatesh et al. 2003; Wang & Wang 2010). Research on
technology usage regarding gender denotes that men’s intentions to use technology are
significantly influenced by their perception of its usefulness (Wang & Wang 2010).
Moreover, previous researchers have demonstrated that effort expectancy has stronger
effect on behavioural intention of women to use IT than it has on men (Venkatesh &
Morris 2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003). Additionally the authors argue that women are
inclined to be more susceptible to the influence of ‘important others’ than men are.
Consequently social influence will be a more critical factor influencing the behavioural
intention of women toward using IT systems than men (Venkatesh, Morris & Ackerman
2000; Venkatesh et al. 2003). The moderating gender effect of gender on facilitating
conditions has not been initiated tested in the original UTAUT model. However, follow
up research has found that males have different perceptions towards facilitating
conditions compared to females. A study by Curtis et al. (2010) found that men scored
higher than women on their perception of facilitating conditions. Similarly this study
intends to ascertain the moderating role of gender on the relationship between
facilitating conditions and behavioural intention. Thus the following hypotheses are
proposed to test the moderating effect of gender:
H5:
H6:
H7:
H8:
Gender will significantly moderate the relationship between performance
expectancy and behavioural intention to use e-books.
Gender will significantly moderate the relationships between effort expectancy
and behavioural intention to use e-books.
Gender will significantly moderate the relationships between social influence
and behavioural intention to use e-books.
Gender will significantly moderate the relationship between facilitating conditions
and behavioural intention to use e-books.
4. Research Method
4.1. Measurement
The data gathering instrument used for this study was an interviewer-administered
paper-based questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of profile questions for the
target population and questions measuring the adoption of e-books, based on the
UTAUT model. The items used to measure constructs derived from the UTAUT were
developed based on items adapted from previous studies. All the items were measured
on a 7-point Likert-type response format scale ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to
“strongly agree” (7). Table 1 presents the main constructs used in this study, the
measurement items used in measuring the constructs and the sources from which these
items were obtained.
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Table 1: Construct Measurement Items and Cronbach Alpha Values
Construct
Measurement items
Sources
Performance
expectancy
Using e-books (enables/would enable) me to read
more quickly.
Using e-books (makes/would make) it easier for
me to obtain information.
Using e-books (makes/would make) it convenient
for me to read anywhere at any time.
Using e-books (enables/would enable) me to
have easy access to books.
I (find/would find) it easy to use e-books.
Learning how to use e-books (is /would be) easy
for me.
It (is /would be) easy for me to become skilful at
using e-books.
My interaction with e-books (is/would be)
understandable.
People who influence my behaviour
(influence/would influence) me to use e-books.
People who are important to me (influence/would
influence) me to use e-books.
People who are in my social circle
(influence/would influence) me to use e-books.
I have the necessary resources to enable me use
e-books.
My reading environment supports me to use ebooks.
Assistance is available when I experience
problems with using e-books.
Using e-books (is/would be) compatible with my
life.
I intend to (continue/start) using e-books in the
future.
I (prefer/would prefer) using e-books to printed
books.
I plan to (continue/start) using e-books frequently.
I encourage my colleagues to (start/continue)
using e-books.
Venkatesh et
al. (2011)
Effort
expectancy
Social
influence
Facilitating
conditions
Behavioural
intention
Cronbach
alpha
.853
Venkatesh et
al. (2011)
.883
Al Imarah,
Zwain and
Al-Hakim
(2013);
Venkatesh et
al. ( 2011)
Al Imarah et
al.(2013);
Venkatesh et
al. (2011)
.889
Al Imarah et
al. (2013);
Venkatesh et
al. (2011);
Yu (2012)
.864
.788
4.2. Data collection
Data for this study were obtained from students from five participating institutions of
higher learning (two public universities and three private colleges) in the Gauteng
Province of South Africa. Gauteng was chosen because it is the most cosmopolitan
province, widely regarded as the miniature representation of South Africa (Maringe
2014). Students in higher education in this province thus originate from varied racial,
religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Owing to this diversity, the views of the
students in this province are likely not only to be representative of what is happening in
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Gauteng, but also to mirror what is happening in the larger student population of South
African universities and colleges.
A non probability sampling procedure in the form of convenience sampling was used to
obtain respondents by a small group of trained research assistants. Participation was
voluntary and anonymous. Research assistants cautiously approached the research
participants. After explaining the rationale of the study to them and obtaining their
consent, the research assistants asked the questions of the structured questionnaire
and participants responded verbally. The research assistants recorded their responses
on the questionnaire. The use of this technique facilitated an immediate collection of the
data. Of the sample of 1000 students contacted, 544 consented to participate in the
survey, accounting for an effective response rate of 54.4%.
5. Data Analysis and Results
Data obtained for this study were analysed using SPSS version 22. To describe the
characteristics of the data, descriptive statistics were used. The Cronbach’s alpha (α)
was then used to assess the reliability of the constructs before being included in the
main analysis. Hypothesis analysis was then used to ascertain the relationship between
the constructs. Finally, regression analysis was used to measure the predictive power of
the independent constructs on the dependent construct and to measure the interaction
effect of gender on the independent constructs. The empirical results obtained in the
study are presented and discussed below.
5.1. Sample Characteristics
Of the 544 respondents that participated in the survey, 296, representing 54.4% of the
participants, were female while 248 (45.6%) were males. Within this sample, 354
(65.3%) were undergraduates and 188 (34.7%) were post-graduates. The survey
indicated a high participation rate of black students, namely 354 (65.3%) relative to
other racial groupings. This was followed by white students with 80 (14.7%), coloured
students, 69 (12.7%) and Indian/Asian students 45 (8.3%). Furthermore, 83% of the
respondents indicated that they had access to a device that enabled them use e-books.
The use of e-books among respondents appears to be reasonably high, as 70.1%
respondents who had access to devices that enabled them to use e-books indicated
that they had used e-books. Many of the users (42.6%) indicated that they used ebooks a few times a week, while 41.6% found e-books extremely useful.
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Table 2: Sample Characteristics of Respondents
Demographic Profile
Gender (n=544)
Male
Female
Educational level
Undergraduate
Post-graduate
Racial group
Black
Coloured
Indian/Asian
White
Access to a device that enables Yes
e-book usage
No
Use of e-book
Yes
No
Frequency of e-book usage
Daily
among users
Few times a week
Once a week
A few times a
month
Once a month
Usability of e-books
Not at all useful
Slightly useful
Neutral
Useful
Extremely useful
Frequency
248
296
354
188
350
69
45
80
452
92
317
135
63
135
41
53
25
Percent
(%)
45.6
54.6
65.3
34.7
64.3
12.7
8.3
14.7
83
17
70.1
29.9
19.9
42.6
12.9
16.7
7.9
4
36
85
132
60
1.3
11.4
26.8
41.6
18.9
5.2. Reliability Analysis
Reliability was analysed using the Cronbach alpha to assess the internal consistency
and to determine whether the factors identified were reliable. The results presented in
Table 1 indicate that good internal reliability was achieved, as the measures were all
above the recommended value of 0.70 (Pallant 2010).
5.3. Correlation Analysis
The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to ascertain if the
relationships posited in H1-H4 could be supported by the sample. Correlation coefficient smaller than 0.1 is considered negligible; a correlation co-efficient between 0.1
and 0.3 is considered small/weak; a correlation between 0.3 and 0.5 indicates a
moderate effect, and a correlation coefficient of 0.5 or higher is considered large. The
results of this analysis are presented in Table 3.
Results of the Pearson product-moment correlation yielded a statistically significant
positive correlation (r=.628, p<.05) between performance expectancy and behavioural
intention to use e-books. Statistically significant positive correlations (r=.575, p<.05)
were also found between effort expectancy and behavioural intention; social influence
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
and behavioural intention (r=.490, p<.05) as well as facilitating conditions and
behavioural intention (r=.503, p<.05). The results therefore found support for H1, H2, H3
and H4.
Table 3: Correlation Analysis
Performance expectancy
Effort expectancy
Social influence
Facilitating conditions
Pearson correlation
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Behavioural intention
.628
.000
544
.575
.000
544
.490
.000
544
.503
.000
544
5.4. Regression Analysis
5.4.1. Testing the main effects
Results of the regression analysis presented in Table 4 and 5 indicate that performance
expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are significant
predictors of behavioural intention towards e-book use. From Table 4, it is evident that
the predictors are capable of explaining 47.2% of the variance in behavioural intention
towards e-book use.
Table 4: Model Summaryb
Change Statistics
Std.
Adjusted Error of
R
R
R
the
Square
F
Sig. F
Model
R Square Square Estimate Change Change df1
df2 Change
1
.690a
.477
.472 4.17097
.477 104.282
4 458
.000
a. Predictors: (Constant), Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Social influence, Facilitating conditions.
b. Dependent variable: Behavioural intention.
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Table 5: Coefficientsa
Model
1 (Constant)
Performance Expectancy
Effort Expectancy
Social Influence
Facilitating Conditions
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
Std. Error
Beta
2.318
.872
.343
.049
.339
.166
.056
.159
.299
.048
.246
.123
.046
.111
t
2.659
6.992
2.945
6.214
2.647
Sig.
.008
.000
.003
.000
.008
a. Dependent Variable: Behavioural intention.
5.4.2 Interaction effects of gender
The interaction effects (or moderation effects) were measured by adding another term
to the regression model that is estimated through the multiplication of the independent
variable and the moderator (gender). When using categorical variables in the
regression, researchers recommend the use of dummy coding (AbuShanab & Pearson
2007). In this study, gender was coded with females in the reference (control) category.
The regression analysis for the interaction effects was conducted using the block
method. In the first block, the independent variables (PE, SI, SE and FC) and the
moderator (gender dummy) were entered into the model. The second block included all
of these variables and the interaction terms i.e. multiplication of the dummy variable by
the independent variables (Gender*PE, Gender*EE, Gender*SI and Gender*FC). The
significance level of the interaction effects was set at 0.05.
From the results presented in Table 6, it can be seen that there is no statistically
significant interaction effect of gender on the relationship between performance
expectancy and behavioural intention (ρ>0.05). The same is seen about the interaction
effect of gender on effort expectancy (p>0.05) and social influence (p>0.05). Thus
statistical support was not obtained for H5, H6 and H7. However, relationship between
facilitating conditions and behavioural intention was moderated by gender with a beta
value of 0.206 (p<0.05) providing statistical support for H8.
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
27 - 29 July 2015, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
Table 6: The ANOVAa Table for the Interaction Effects of Gender
Model
1 (Constant)
Performance Expectancy
Effort Expectancy
Social Influence
Facilitating Conditions
Gender Dummy
2 (Constant)
Performance Expectancy
Effort Expectancy
Social Influence
Facilitating Conditions
Gender Recoded
Gender*PE
Gender*EE
Gender*SI
Gender*FC
Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B
Std. Error
Beta
2.697
.904
.352
.051
.345
.173
.058
.165
.290
.049
.239
.112
.048
.101
-.652
.397
-.057
2.819
1.243
.349
.079
.342
.223
.085
.214
.352
.073
.291
.019
.066
.017
-.915
1.788
-.080
.006
.103
.012
-.113
.116
-.212
-.136
.099
-.172
.206
.095
.385
t
2.982
6.949
3.005
5.871
2.358
-1.640
2.267
4.392
2.619
4.810
.287
-.512
.063
-.974
-1.372
2.164
Sig.
.003
.000
.003
.000
.019
.102
.024
.000
.009
.000
.774
.609
.950
.330
.171
.031
a. Dependent Variable: Behavioural Intention
* Interaction terms
6. Discussions and Implications
6.1. Discussions
The goal of this study was to ascertain if gender moderates the effects of the
antecedents of behavioural intention towards e-book use by students in South African
higher education. The results of the analysis suggest that performance expectancy,
effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are significant antecedents
of behavioural intention towards e-book use by these students. It is further noted that
performance expectancy is the most important antecedent of behavioural intention. This
is supported by the highest standardised beta (.339) that it attained relative to the other
predictors. These results provide strong empirical support for the findings of the seminal
work of Venkatesh et al. (2003) on the UTAUT, and follow-up researchers that applied
the UTAUT to understand technology use behaviour (AbuShanab & Pearson 2007;
Kaba & Touré 2014). Performance expectancy is, indeed, widely accepted as the key
determinant of technology use adoption behaviour especially for highly educated and
skilled consumers (Park, Yang & Lehto 2007).
However, the results of this study do not support the finding of the original UTAUT with
regards to the moderating effects of gender on the relationships between behavioural
intention and performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence.
According to the results of the study, males and females do not differ in their belief
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
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ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
about the usefulness of e-books, effort required in using e-books and the external
pressure exerted on them to conform. Although these findings are inconsistent with
those of the original UTAUT, they concur with recent studies that that have replicated
the UTAUT in studying user adoption behaviour (Chu 2013; Fillion, Braham & Ekionea
2011; Leong et al. 2013).
This study makes an important contribution to literature by testing the moderation effect
of gender on the relationship between facilitating conditions and behavioural intentions
which was not previously tested in the original UTAUT model. The results indicated that
males had a stronger effect on facilitating conditions than females. This suggests that
males and females have different believes regarding the availability of infrastructure and
personal support available to them in using e-books.
6.2 Implications
The findings of this study present important managerial implications. In order to promote
massive acceptance of e-books by the students in the South African higher education
sector, e-book producers should address performance expectancy, effort expectancy,
social influence and facilitating conditions. In addressing performance expectancy, ebook producers should consider making use of exciting value-adding properties to
improve the benefits that students may derive from using e-books. It is also critical for ebook producers to increase the usability of e-books by making them user-friendly and
easy to operate, as indicated by the importance of effort expectancy on e-book use
intentions. The results also show that social influence is a significant predictor of
behavioural intention towards e-book use. This means that what people who are
important to students think about using e-books ultimately plays a significant role in their
intentions to use e-books. E-book marketers can take advantage of social influence to
promote the acceptance of e-books by creating incentives current users to convince
their colleagues and friends to use e-books.
Facilitating conditions were also found to be significant antecedents of e-book use
intentions. Therefore, e-book produces should collaborate with educational institutions
to provide the needed resources required for e-book use. Moreover, when users
become frustrated with using e-books, assistance should be readily available to help
them overcome their frustrations.
The fact that performance expectancy is the most significant of all the predicators of
behavioural intention to use e-books means that e-book producers should incorporate
higher levels of performance expectancy by offering more useful functionalities and
features of e-book.
While the significant moderating effect of gender on facilitating conditions is expected,
the staggering finding of this study is perhaps the insignificant moderating effects of
gender on performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence. These
findings provide e-book manufacturers and marketers in South Africa with a better
understanding of students’ decision-making processes in terms of gender differences.
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Proceedings of 31st International Business Research Conference
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ISBN: 978-1-922069-80-1
7. Limitations and Future Research
This study, like any other study, comes with limitations which provide scope for future
research. Firstly, in order to participant in the survey, respondents had to have access
to a device that enabled e-book use. The findings of this study may thus have been
different if students who did not have access to devices that enabled them use e-books
had been included. Secondly, the sample was not equal for both genders. Females
constituted a larger number of the participants than males. The results may have been
different if more men had participated in the study. Thirdly, owing to time constraints,
only cross-sectional data were obtained.
Future studies could make use of longitudinal designs using larger sample sizes with
equal numbers of male and female participants in order to arrive at more valid
conclusions.
8. Conclusion
The most significant contribution of the research was the identification of the
determinants of behavioural intention towards e-book use among students in South
African higher education using the UTAUT as the theoretical lens. Moreover, the study
tested and established the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between
facilitating conditions and behavioural intention in e-book use context. The findings of
this study provide useful managerial guidelines for designing and promoting a more
kindly-disposed adoption of e-books among students in South Africa and others in
similar contexts.
Acknowledgment
This research is partially supported by the NRF Knowledge Interchange and
Collaboration funding (KIC150324115851).
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