Acceptance of Business Information Systems

The concept of acceptance in the viewpoint of BIS mostly relates to the acceptance of application systems. The research concentrates primarily on the acceptance or rejection of the systems by the user and the organizational measures when introducing application systems (Amberg, Hirschmeier, and Schober, 2003, p. 575). In this context, the term “technology acceptance” is used. With modern information and communication technologies, due to their interdisciplinary task, the focus is on human action regarding developments and the use of technical innovations. In addition to the technical framework conditions at the human/machine interface, determinants from society, economics, and sociology are also considered (Dethloff, 2004, p. 18).

Simon defines acceptance in connection with technical innovations as "the positive decision to accept an innovation by the user" (Simon, 2001, p. 87). Reichwald understands the acceptance of a technology system as “the willingness of a user to call-up the usage potential offered by the technology system in a task-related manner in a specific application situation”

(Reichwald, 1978, p. 31).

When using the term acceptance in connection with information systems, a positive assumption of a situation or product is generally assumed. The exact definition, however, depends on the respective objective and subject of investigation. In the technical and business environment, a concept of acceptance with an evaluative (attitude acceptance) and a conative (behavioural acceptance) dimension has become established. Accordingly, a positive willingness to use does not necessarily have to lead to the use of the technology. The specific usage behaviour is an essential part of the technology acceptance, since only a positive attitude towards an information system does not mean that it is used. In connection with information systems, it is advisable to start from a dichotomous concept of acceptance that takes both, the acceptance decision and the use, into account (Königstorfer, 2008, p. 10).

Figure 13 shows the acceptance in dealing with technology as a multi-level construct of possible characteristics between “rejection” and “consent”, which is mapped within an acceptance continuum. Different levels of acceptance (usage levels) can be identified in BIS.

There is a high level of acceptance, if the user assumes several roles in the system (Simon, 2001, p. 88).

Figure 13: Acceptance scale

Source: London, 1976, p. 89

Since systems are BIS, the same acceptance term applies to them. For CRM-systems this means on the one hand use for administrative activities (e.g. contact management), and on the other hand use for active customer care (e.g. preparation of offers).

In the following, the factors that influence the development of acceptance are described and an overview is given of how influencing factors affect the development of technology acceptance. The acceptance is the result of a perception, evaluation, and decision-making process. Certain attitudes and actions result from these processes. Acceptance subject, acceptance object, and acceptance context shape these attitudes and actions. Due to changed framework conditions or perceptions, the acceptance of the subject and object of acceptance can vary depending on the time and situation. Therefore, acceptance is an inconsistent construct (Lucke, 1995, pp. 91-92). Whether a CRM-system is accepted by employees is determined by

several influences. The identification of starting points for interventions plays a major role here.

For this purpose, factors that promote or prevent the development of acceptance can be examined. In principle, these acceptance factors can be assigned to the previously described acceptance triangle.

Factors that are determined by the subject of acceptance or that are predicated on this are treated in a very diverse way. Psychologically oriented, these factors form central starting points and points of reference. Factors that influence technology acceptance are attitudes, (personal) norms and values, emotions, and sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, social class, and education/occupation (Schäfer and Keppler, 2013, p. 25).

These above-mentioned factors include attitudes and feelings regarding CRM-systems, such as emotional connection, past experiences, and expectations. Attitudes can be considered as the main factor influenced by the other mentioned factors. Personal attitudes to certain behaviours associated with a CRM-system, the perceived possibilities for action, as well as the assessment of one's own possibilities of influencing the results of the CRM-system introduction are seen as influencing factors on the actions of a person (Schäfer and Keppler, 2013, p. 25).

Factors that influence the acceptance object start with its properties. These factors vary depending on the object (CRM-system). What is relevant here, however, is how the acceptance subject (sales representative) perceives and evaluates the influencing factors. The same properties can cause a wide variety of reactions depending on the employee and the context of acceptance. In relation to CRM-systems as an object of acceptance, the following influencing factors often exist (Schäfer and Keppler, 2013, p. 26):

 Costs and benefits of using the CRM-system, individually, socially, financially, socially, and ecologically in the form of the effort involved in acquiring the use of the CRM-system, acquiring skills, making work easier

 Risks associated with the deployment or use of a CRM-system, such as reliability or performance

 Ease of use and usability

 Suitability of the CRM-system to carry out the tasks to be performed

 Aesthetic aspects of CRM-system design, e.g. visual or auditory impairments or attractiveness

 General acceptance of the CRM-system

The factors that influence the context include those factors that cannot be directly assigned to the acceptance subject or acceptance object, but which shape the context and influence the assessment of the subject in relation to the object. Depending on the interaction with the properties of the acceptance subject and object, the following effecting elements of the acceptance context are mentioned (Schäfer and Keppler, 2013, p. 27):

 The work tasks to be performed or facilitated by the CRM-system

 Social processes in groups or organizations, project teams, etc.

 The social/organizational environment with its expectations of behaviour and routines

 Physical, cultural, social, and economic contexts and references

 Norms, values, legal conditions, economic situation, price development, etc.

 Design of the execution of a CRM-system in relation to the organizational introduction (training, design of the communication process, communication behaviour, opportunities to participate, credibility, etc.)