University Students’ Intention of Smartphone Adoption for Academic Activities: Testing an Extended TAM Model

ISMAIL SHEIKH YUSUF AHMED¹, MUKTHAR EL-KASIM² & LAMBE KAYODE MUSTAPHA³
¹Qatar University, Qatar
²Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, Katsina, Nigeria
³University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract
New technology has been credited with the ability to extend human senses. However, adaptation and use of technology has been reported to be intricately mediated by usefulness and ease of use of technology among other contingencies. While Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has provided the theoretical basis for adaptation and use of technology in a plethora of contexts, little, if any, study has examined the use of ubiquitous smart technological apparatus for academic purpose among the greatest adopters of the technology, university students. The current study examines students’ intention of smartphone adoption from the TAM perspective. Data has been collected from students in two public universities in Malaysia and Nigeria. IBM-SPSS version 20.0 and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach with AMOS were used to analyze and test the hypothesized theoretical model. The results suggested that attitude, social influence and perceived usefulness were positively correlated with the respondents’ intention towards using smartphones for educational purposes. Moreover, students’ attitudes towards adoption of smartphones were directly predicted by perceived usefulness and directly self-efficacy, which in turn, had direct impact on students’ perceptions of easiness and usefulness. Findings made a considerable contribution to the heuristic value of TAM and facilitated the maximization of smart technologies for educational purposes.

Keywords: Smartphone, attitude, university students, TAM model, intention

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Ismail Sheikh Yusuf Ahmed is currently affiliated with the Mass Communication Department, Qatar University. His research interest areas include political communication, media effects, news consumption/credibility, and new media technologies adoption and consequences.
Mukhtar El-kasim is a senior lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic Katsina State, Nigeria. He has research interest in public relations, new media and communication theories.
Lambe Kayode Mustapha is associated with Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He is a senior lecturer and postgraduate coordinator at the department. His research focuses in corporate communication, political communication, new media studies and media effects research.