Electronic Resources Adoption by Academic Staff in Public Universities in Tanzania Using the Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract This paper analyzes emerging issues on the use of electronic resources (e-resources) by academic staff in public universities in Tanzania. Notable issues include factors influencing adoption of e-resources by academic staff. A quantitative research design based on a cross-sectional survey of academic staff in four public universities was used. The study was informed by the Technology Acceptance Model ( TAM ) with demographic and institutional factors like awareness on ICT policy and regulations added. A sample of 292 academic staff obtained through a combination of stratified and random sampling was used. Cross-tabulations and Chi-Square statistics were used for analysis of association to establish the influence of the factors on adoption. Through TAM , perceived benefits were measured by eagerness for promotion and increase in income. Perceived ease of use was measured by capacity built on ICT use and perception on ICT infrastructure. Awareness was measured by members’ recognition of ICT policy and regulations. The findings show that experience, age, and awareness have a significant correlation with e-resources adoption. Also, the mostly accessed and used e-resources by academic staff are scholarly search engines such as Google Scholar.