Regulatory focus and technology acceptance: Perceived ease of use and usefulness as efficacy

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely used to gage IS adoption. Over the years, although research on the replications, extensions, and modifications of TAM has been prolific in adding antecedents and moderators to TAM, scant attention has been devoted to exploring TAM mediators. The current research attempts to deepen the understanding of TAM by delineating the underlying theoretical mechanisms of TAM relationships. In addition, we propose a parsimonious moderator, regulatory focus, to help integrate previously identified moderators, such as organizational, technological, and individual characteristics, that have been noted in prior studies. We report the results of one pilot study and two main studies in support of our proposed model, which serves to simplify and facilitate practical and managerial applications and implementation of TAM in IS strategy.