What Drives Smart Tech Choices? Comparing Manufacturing and Service Firms’ Journey into Intelligent IT

This study explores the roles of digital literacy and privacy concerns in shaping the intention to use intelligent information technology (IIT) across the manufacturing and service sectors, a key consideration for digital transformation in contemporary businesses. By surveying 316 mid- to senior-level managers from technology-based companies, split evenly between these two sectors, and employing structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis, this research integrates digital literacy and privacy concerns within the established Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework. The findings reveal that digital literacy (DL) universally and positively influences the intention to use IIT (ITU) in both sectors, though the underlying mechanisms differ significantly. In the manufacturing sector, DL directly influenced ITU. Conversely, digital information sharing lacked a direct effect on ITU but demonstrated a fully mediated effect through perceived usefulness (PU), thereby indirectly influencing ITU. In the service sector, higher DL amplified privacy concerns (PC); this privacy concern negatively moderated the effect of DL on PU, and consequently, PC also negatively moderated the overall impact of DL on ITU through PU. Notably, the effect of perceived ease of use (PEOU) on ITU varies significantly between the sectors. The study concludes that while digital literacy is crucial in both contexts, significant structural differences exist in the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, privacy concerns, and the ultimate intention to use IIT. These insights underscore the need for sector-specific strategies to ensure the effective adoption of IIT during digital transformation.