Analysing technology acceptance by social workers in South Africa

Abstract

Social service organizations have characteristics different from conventional manufacturing or retail organizations. They operate in the healthcare-related services industry, and their service products are produced and consumed on the spot by their customers, called clients, who come to these organizations because they have a psychosocial need that has to be fulfilled. Service products are highly customized in response to each client's unique needs. Quality of service, therefore relies substantially on the knowledge and skills of the social workers in such an organization. Due to their often not-for-profit social service character, the needs of the client become paramount and profit, not a primary consideration. Lean operations management theory has influenced many production processes and contributed to more effective production processes across an array of industries, and as of recent has made significant inroads in the health care industry. Derived from the Japanese Toyota Production System (TPS), Lean operations strive to make production processes more efficient by introducing time and cost-saving measures to workplace behavioural processes that can increase an organization's profitability, improve quality and reduce waste. Closely associated with production efficiency is the use of IT-system that have been designed to fulfill a range of Lean objectives, many of which are instrumental in making processes more efficient. The uptake of IT-systems in the social services industry is generally slow and sometimes met with resistance, as the role of IT in services efficiency, is often not directly associated with the nature of social services. This study examines the adoption and acceptance of IT-systems in the South African social services sector employing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), an internationally refined and widely used framework for understanding and measuring IT-systems integration in organizations. Using a cross-sectional survey design and the statistical techniques of ANOVA and Multiple Regression Analysis to, amongst others, predict the behavioural intention of a sample of 102 social workers from different contexts, to accept and use a locally developed IT-system called CORE-DMS, significant conclusions can be drawn. The study found that, overall, social workers regarded themselves as willing to accept and use IT-systems in terms of the expected performance of such systems to make work easier for them, the effort it would require to start using such system, the conditions that would facilitate the use of such system, and the extent to which such use would be intrinsic or based on social influences from management. Overall, it is concluded that social workers are ready to engage IT-technology and behaviourally respond positively towards IT-technology, expecting IT to make a significant contribution to the way they perform their duties towards clients. As an implication for management, the study found a direct positive association with Lean conceptual knowledge, indicating that the introduction of IT-technology should be part of a Lean management strategy directed towards these organizations to prepare the context first before introducing and adopting an IT-system. Valuable strategic guidelines are recommended to management regarding how the transformation of the sector towards IT-technology can be facilitated by the simultaneous introduction of Lean principles.