Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and actual usage of anew financial management system: A case of Uganda National Examinations Board.

Abstract

The study attempted to examine the effect of system characteristics on user acceptance of computer based information systems. It sought to examine the relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards using and actual usage of a new financial & information system in Uganda National Examinations Board. A Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis, F. in 1989 and modified by Anakwe et al, (2000), was used as the conceptual basis for this investigation.

A cross-sectional study design was used in this research. The study population comprised of academic and administrative staff. Proportionate stratified and simple random sampling designs were used to obtain a sample size.

The results reveal that perceived usefulness was the most significant determinant of adoption of a new system, than all the other variables, underscoring the importance of incorporating the appropriate functional capabilities in new systems. The findings affirm that a system will be adopted if it is regarded as useful, irrespective of attitude, provided that the use of the system is perceived to offer direct benefits to the user.

All the relationships that is, between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude towards using, and actual usage of the system, were tested and found to be significant and positive. Regression analysis revealed that perceived usefulness was a strong predictor of actual usage as compared to perceived ease of use and attitude towards using the system. It should be noted that factors which influence technology are situation variant. That is to say, what influences technology acceptance in one region or organization may not necessarily be the same in all cases.