This study was conducted following the cross-sectional quantitive survey design in order to allow the observation of all of the population, regardless of the social-economical level or education background of the participants. The aim of this investigation was the measurement of the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and other factors influencing the usage and acceptance of digital TV converter boxes in Bolivia. All of the recipients of the survey were Bolivian natives residing within the Bolivian territory. 26This survey was developed following the TAM model developed by Davis; however it extended that model in order to incorporate additional questions related to both the dependent and independent variables. These variables were perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use. There were also three moderators considered during the elaboration of the questionnaire which are awareness, gender and age.
As a primary assumption it was considered that all of the participants in the survey would answer in an honest manner providing only accurate answers. A second assumption was that the participants had access to a television set and, in different measures, enjoyed viewing television. It proved necessary that surveyed had access to a television set and that they viewed television on a regular basis, since only under these circumstances would they be sufficiently familiar with the current quality and the system used for television broadcasting as well as being able to know the specifications of their own television set. The surveyed must fit the already mentioned criteria in order to adequately measure the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and the other factors influencing their usage and behavioral intention of digital TV converters.
Research Goals
Address the lack of empirical knowledge related to the transition from analogue to digital TV scheduled to occur in Bolivia in the coming years.
Recollect the general opinion of the average Bolivian citizen in regards to DTV and DTV converter boxes.
26 Davis, F.D. (1989, September). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information
technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 318‐340.
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Determine the awareness amongst the Bolivian population in regards to this new technology.
Establish the level of acceptance or rejection to this technology and the transition towards digital TV.
Provide insightful recommendations for both government and the DTV converter box manufacturers involved in this transition of technology.
Conceptual Framework
Moderators
The moderators utilized in this model played a crucial role in determining and studying the different factors that influence the behavioral intention of potential users‟ acceptance of DTV converter boxes. Age was of significance to this study since as mentioned previously in this study since the majority of Bolivia‟s population is part of the “Bottom of the Pyramid” it will be the younger population the one responsible for introducing new technology to the rest of the family since the older members of the family may not have been exposed to these kind of products due to the lack of open information in previous years, a situation that has improved in recent years thanks to an opening of information and access to it. Therefore in low income families, children will have a better chance at
Perceived Ease of Use
Perceived Usefulness
Behavioral Intention
Awareness, Age, Gender
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observing and learning about recent developments in technology and therefore introduce them to the rest of the household since the exposure to them is much higher than what their parents ever experienced.
Gender was also chosen as a moderator due to the fact that Bolivia is matriarchal society. Women play the role of head of the household especially in the country side amongst farming families, which make up 80% of the Bolivian population. Therefore it was necessary to introduce the concept of sex into this model in order to take into account this unique characteristic of Bolivian society. Finally awareness was an evident choice as one of the moderating factors that could influence PEOU, since it is only normal that those who have a higher level of familiarity with a specific technology will find it easier to use and therefore be more inclined to accept its introduction.
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Research flowchart
Research objectives and Motivation
Literature Review
Methodology
Research Design
Research Questions
Hypothesis
Survey
Data Analysis
Validity and reliability
Descriptive analysis
Factor analysis
Regression analysis
Conclusions and Limitations
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Research Questions
The questions to be answered by this research have been conceptualized on the basis of the TAM model.27 The obtained data from the survey will serve the purpose of
measuring the extent to which the subjective norm, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will influence Bolivian citizens into adopting and accepting Digital TV
converter boxes.
The research questions are:
1. What is the influence of perceived usefulness on behavioral intention?
1.1. Is the influence moderated by age so that the effect is stronger for the younger generation?
1.2. Is the influence moderated by gender so that the effect is stronger for females?
2. What is the influence of perceived ease of use on behavioral intention?
2.1. Is the influence moderated by awareness so that the effect is stronger for those users who are more familiar with this technology?
3. Is there a strong positive correlation between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on behavioral intention??
Hypotheses
1. The influence of perceived usefulness on behavioral intention will be
moderated by age so that the effect is stronger for the younger generation.
2. The influence of perceived usefulness on behavioral intention will be moderated by age so that the effect is stronger for females.
3. The influence of perceived ease of use on behavioral intention will be
moderated by awareness so that the effect is stronger for those users who are more familiar with this technology.
4. There is a strong positive correlation between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on behavioral intention.
27 Davis, F.D. (1989, September). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 318‐340.
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Sample and Data Collection
The population surveyed in this study was made up of Bolivian citizens residing in Bolivia since it would focus on a problem with exclusive repercussions to those permanently living within the Bolivian territory. All of the participants had access to a television set and viewed television at least once a week, this was important because they needed to be able to distinguish between analogue broadcasting and digital television broadcasting, besides this point it was important to collect their views on the quality of the current available programming and if they thought that digital television could improve their viewing experience. The survey was made available only to those 18 years of age and above in order to obtain mature and informed opinions. As to gender, both males and females were surveyed. The participants were from different social-economical levels and of different education backgrounds. The reason why the surveyed were so diverse was that it would allow for a sample truly representative of the total population, which is important since the switch from analogue to digital television broadcasting would affect all the Bolivian citizens regardless of their unique conditions.
Instrumentation
The instrument of this study was a survey developed under the application of the parameters of the Technology Acceptance Model which are the independent variables:
subjective norm, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness; and the dependent variables: behavioral intent and actual usage. The participants surveyed indicated their response through a series of yes or no questions, multiple choice questions and
285‐point Likert scale questions using ratings related to digital television box variables under evaluation. The survey is composed of three parts, the first of which is dedicated to analyze the consumption behavior of analog TV, the second part is focused on the consumption behavior of digital TV and the final segment of the survey is demographics.
The survey was made up of a total of 26 questions. Out of the 26 questions included in the questionnaire 12 were directly related to the constructs of the TAM. Table 1 illustrates the variables and measurements examined in this study.
28 Scott, J., & Marshall, G (2005). A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Table 2: Survey questions for the digital TV converter box function: Constructs and Measurement
TAM Construct Measurement
Perceived usefulness Strongly agree, Agree, Don‟t know, Disagree, Strongly disagree
Perceived ease of use Strongly agree, Agree, Don‟t know, Disagree, Strongly disagree
Awareness Strongly agree, Agree, Don‟t know,
Disagree, Strongly disagree
Survey Distribution
Due to the fact that this research focused on the Bolivian market and that the researcher was located in Taiwan, it had to be conducted under special circumstances. In order to surpass this limitation the survey was internet based. This allowed the distribution of the survey to Bolivian citizens without having to physically hand out the survey. All of the surveyed were invited to fill out the survey through an email invitation. The website used to conduct the survey is the Taiwanese my3q.com. The responses were automatically collected by the website and entered into an online database. This database was then used to analyze the response of the surveyed. The initial section of the survey explained the content and purposes of the questionnaire and clearly instructed the participants as to how they were to mark their answers on each section of the questionnaire. Bolivia‟s official language is Spanish therefore the entire survey has been designed in Spanish.
The survey was completely voluntary and the participants would be able to stop at any time.
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