UTAUT

UTAUT, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, is a framework in information systems for explaining user acceptance of technology. Proposed by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis in 2003, it synthesizes eight previous theories of technology adoption, including the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Technology Acceptance Model. The goal is to predict users' intention to use a technology and their eventual usage behavior across organizational and consumer contexts.

Four core determinants of Behavioral Intention drive Use Behavior: Performance Expectancy (belief that using the technology will improve performance); Effort Expectancy (ease of use); Social Influence (perceived social pressure); and Facilitating Conditions (organisational/technical support). These influence intention, which in turn affects use, while Facilitating Conditions also has a direct effect on use. The model includes four moderating variables—Gender, Age, Experience, and Voluntariness of Use—that modify the strength of these relationships. In validation studies, UTAUT has explained about 70% of the variance in Behavioral Intention and around 50% in Use Behavior.

UTAUT2, introduced in 2012, extends the model for consumer contexts by adding Hedonic Motivation, Price Value, and Habit, while retaining the original constructs. The framework has been widely applied to information systems such as e-government, enterprise software, mobile services, e-learning, and healthcare IT. It is typically tested with structural equation modeling and meta-analytic reviews.

Strengths of UTAUT include its parsimony and ability to integrate several theories into a single model. Critics point to issues in measurement, cultural variation, and the model's focus on intention rather than broader determinants of actual use, as well as limitations in capturing contextual factors such as system quality and task characteristics.