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Research Article

The Effect of Task-Technology Fit (TTF) on Groupware Usage and Performance

Kim, Minsu · Kang, Sora · Yang, Huidong

Published: January 2008 · Vol. 37, No. 1 · pp. 67-96
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Abstract

This study sought to verify the existence of moderating effects between Task-Technology Fit (TTF) and dependent variables, and additionally aimed to present a new perspective by measuring TTF through a novel measurement approach rather than the traditional method. The traditional measurement method assesses users' perceptions of TTF itself, whereas this study separately measured the degree of demand for information technology in tasks and the degree of information technology supply, and then examined how the degree of demand-supply discrepancy (or fit) affects dependent variables (information technology use and task performance). To this end, a survey was administered over approximately one month, from June 2, 2005 to June 27, 2005, to employees in the IT department of Company A, a financial institution with a nationwide network, ultimately yielding 231 usable questionnaires for the study. The main findings of this study are summarized as follows. Job tenure and task content had significant effects on information technology use but did not extend their influence to task performance. Conversely, perceived usefulness and ease of use, which are emphasized in TAM theory, showed significant moderating effects between TTF and task performance but did not have significant effects on information technology use. The novel finding of this study is that TTF's influence on information technology usage intention and task performance can be variable depending on the situation. That is, even when TTF is perceived, the motivation to use information technology is more attributable to factors external to information technology itself (i.e., task type and job tenure) rather than judgments about the information technology per se. On the other hand, while TTF can have a positive effect on task performance, it was found that this effect is further amplified when beliefs about the information technology itself (i.e., perceived usefulness and ease of use) are established. Furthermore, this study finds its significance in being a novel attempt to introduce research on improving the measurement of fit—which has been actively pursued in organization theory—into the MIS field. It is considered a research contribution offering a new perspective by adopting a quantitative approach to fit and examining the consequences of quantitative discrepancies between information technology supply and task demand. Additionally, significance can be found in this study's adoption of a contingency approach that acknowledges the positive aspects of TTF while recognizing that its influence may not be absolute, thereby providing an opportunity to pursue more effective TTF implementation.
Keywords: 그룹웨어다차항 회귀분석반응표면접근법업무와 정보기술 간의 적합성