Computer technology adoption in Saudi Arabia: Correlates of perceived innovation attributes

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Al-Gahtani, Said S.

Affiliations: Administrative Sciences Department, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 1183, Abha, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: In this paper we investigate how perceived attributes of computer technology influence its rate of adoption in the workplace. In order to achieve this, the diffusion of innovation literature was reviewed looking for a set of common attributes that could be responsible for the largest rate of adoption. The literature suggests that Rogers' five attributes of innovation namely, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability explain up to 87% of the innovation rate of adoption. About 1200 knowledge workers in 56 public and private medium and large organizations across Saudi Arabia of different managerial levels and spanning a wide spectrum of industries and services have participated in this study. The findings highlight the role and direction of these factors toward computer technology adoption in developing countries. This should help decision makers in this part of the world cultivate the positively correlating factors to enhance computer technology adoption while trying to reduce the effects of the negative factors. We contend that the findings are also valuable for practitioners from western cultures in applying computer-based information systems solutions to developing countries.

Journal: Information Technology for Development, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 57-69, 2003