Unpacking the adoption behavior of restaurant management systems: A unified model

Amidst the 4.0 Revolution, the integration of innovative information technology solutions has become indispensable for firms seeking to enhance operational performance and gain competitive advantages. The restaurant industry is no exception, as Restaurant Management Systems (RMS) have increasingly attracted interest from both service providers and users. However, the underlying mechanisms driving the RMS adoption behavior (BH) of restaurant frontline personnel remain theoretically underexplored. This study addresses the identified gap by employing a unified theoretical framework that integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) to examine the influence of individual psychological and perceptual factors, along with innovation-specific characteristics, on the BH of RMS, with a particular focus on the restaurant industry in Vietnam. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling on a sample of 316 respondents, this study found the direct impact of Perceived Usefulness, along with perceptions of Compatibility, Observability, Risk on potential users Attitude (ATT) toward RMS, while Perceived ease of use and Trialability exerted no significant influence. The findings revealed that ATT, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control play crucial roles in shaping future adopters BI, which, in turn, could directly impact their BH. It was also confirmed that the relationship between BI and BH can be moderated significantly by gender and job position in the context of restaurants. These insights offer valuable implications for RMS providers to refine their promotion solutions, and for policymakers to design supportive measures that foster RMS adoption within the restaurant industry.