Self-efficacy as an antecedent of cognition and affect in technology acceptance

Purpose – This paper aims to examine whether self-efficacy plays an important role in shaping the effect of cognition and affects in high technology adoption. It also examines whether cognition and affect mediate the effect of self-efficacy on attitude toward adoption. Design/methodology/approach – Using an experimental survey to collect data, subjects performed two different tasks (utilitarian and hedonic) to make sure that they had cognitive and affective experiences to draw upon as they developed attitudes toward the focal innovation. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the model. Findings – The result shows that self-efficacy influenced cognitive perceptions and emotional reactions. Specifically, self-efficacy was found to play a substantive role in shaping individuals’ attitudes via a cognitive route (perceived usefulness and ease-of-use) and an affective one (pleasure, arousal and dominance). Research limitations/implications – The study of self-efficacy as an external variable provides further insights into the process and is expected to increase the explained variance of the theoretical model. Practical implications – This study confirms that a belief about something besides the product also plays a key role; it is the confidence consumers have in their own abilities to understand and effectively use a new piece of technology. Originality/value – The research makes important contributions to our understanding of technology acceptance and has implications for marketing managers.