Technology Adoption by Rural Women: A Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) Analysis
Abstract:
This article analyses the factors that affect the adoption of technology by rural women in the
Umguza district of Zimbabwe. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of
Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model, provides the theoretical framework for understanding the factors that influence
rural women’s adoption of technology. By situating the investigation within the UTAUT2
framework, the study seeks to offer a more refined understanding of the
determinants affecting technology adoption among rural women and the implications
for inclusivity. A deductive
approach was used, and information was collected through a survey of 250 rural women in the 19 wards of Umguza district, as well as reviewing secondary data in the form of
government, non-governmental, industry reports and scholarly articles. Regression analysis was used to draw insights into the factors influencing the adoption of
technology by rural women. The study concluded that Performance Expectancy (PE), Facilitating conditions (FC), Social
Influence (SI) and Effort Expectancy (EE) influence technology adoption by
rural women in Zimbabwe. However, Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price
Value (PV) and Habit (HT) were found not to influence the decision to adopt the
technology. The results of this study help to shed light on the factors
affecting technology adoption among rural women and map strategies to promote
technology adoption. The
recommendations from this study can provide insights to government, private
sector, and civil society seeking to promote the adoption of technology by
rural women and contribute to the body of research on digitalisation and adoption
of technology by rural women.
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