The digital age is characterized by a disturbing paradox: on the one hand, using information technology (IT) has become frictionless thanks to user-friendly interfaces that minimize the cognitive demand on users; on the other hand, IT has reached such a high degree of functional complexity that forming a clear and stable understanding of it often requires a great deal of cognitive effort. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate this paradox by introducing findings from the literature on metacognition. Study 1 (N = 220) develops a measure of Perceived Functional Ambiguity (PFA) and evaluates its validity and reliability. Study 2 (N = 411) places PFA in a nomological network and tests the construct’s usefulness for predicting usage. Our primary contribution includes the development and validation of a “Perceived Functional Ambiguity” scale to capture the belief that making sense of a technology is difficult. In addition, we found PFA (1) differs from important existing concepts such as perceived ease of use, (2) is simultaneously beneficial and detrimental to continuous usage, (3) does not have a detrimental effect on adoption within the first six months of usage, and (4) affects early adopters and late adopters equally, but uneducated and educated users unequally. We outline the limitations of this study and define future research avenues for behavioral research on technology adoption and continuous usage.
Bio
Jean-Charles Pillet is a PhD candidate in Information Systems Management at EM Grenoble (France) working on the digital transformation of work and society. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Toulouse Business School and a joined Master of Research in Human Resources Management from Toulouse Business School and University Toulouse I. Prior to embarking on a PhD, he worked as a management consultant on company-wide projects for Air France, Veolia, or Atos. His research focuses on improving our conceptual understanding of incomplete and malleable information technologies (e.g., smart devices, social media, etc.) using mixed methods. More generally, his area of expertise is in the development of multidimensional measurement instruments, and the method he developed to improve the quality of scale items has been nominated for the best paper award at AMCIS 2018. His work has been published in the International Journal of Information Management, Research in the Sociology of Organizations, and Système d’Information & Management.