Investigating Employees' Technology Acceptance: The Role of Digital Mindset and Social Exchange Relationships

Abstract

With the growing dependence on technology and its rapid introduction in organizations, employees’ acceptance of technology remains a critical issue. Addressing this challenge, the purpose of this study is to investigate how variations in employees’ relational beliefs and beliefs about technological change influence technology acceptance determinants. This study utilizes the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and incorporates dimensions of digital mindset, leader-member exchange (LMX), and team-member exchange (TMX). Using a cross-sectional research design, data were collected from 208 individuals who had experienced new technology implementation at their workplace within the last 12 months.

The results confirm established findings in the technology acceptance domain, revealing that performance expectancy is the strongest predictor of behavioral intention (BI) to use technology. However, no support was found for the relationship between effort expectancy and BI. Regarding the included factors, the results demonstrate that (1) TMX directly influences BI, (2) LMX influences BI indirectly through performance expectancy, (3) Growth digital mindset influences BI indirectly through performance expectancy, and (4) Expandable-sum digital mindset influences BI, with this relationship being partially mediated by performance expectancy. This study contributes to the technology acceptance literature by demonstrating that individually held beliefs, beyond those about technological attributes, play a significant role on employees' perceptions and acceptance of new technology. Theoretical and practical contributions of the results are discussed.