The Impact of Personal Innovativeness on the Use of the Internet Among Employees at Work

Abstract

Examining Internet use among employees, this research investigated the theoretical proposition that personal IT innovativeness will positively impact the use of novel computer technologies. The research model included the individual traits of age, gender, experience with IT, and educational level. The article discusses the categories of organizationally relevant versus personal use of the Internet. Using a questionnaire, data was collected from 328 respondents in one organization. The results indicated that users perceive structural differences across various types of Internet use areas, although no clear support for a distinction between organizationally relevant and personal use was found. Additionally, the analyses indicated that personal use is considerably lower than organizationally relevant use of the Internet. However, employees may not distinguish clearly between these two categories. Personal IT innovativeness was the best predictor of organizationally relevant use of the Internet. Age contributed negatively to Internet use. Males appear to use the Internet more frequently than females. Educational level had no impact on Internet use.