Internet banking in Jordan: The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) perspective

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the key determinants of the adoption of internet banking in Jordan. The paper also attempts to validate the appropriateness of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) within the context of internet banking. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed based on previous work in the areas of technology acceptance and internet banking. The questionnaire was distributed through three banks in Jordan to customers as they enter each bank's main office. Multiple regressions were utilized to evaluate the collected data. Findings: The results of this study indicate that UTAUT provides a good foundation for future technology acceptance research. The three main predictors relevant to this study (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence) were significant and explained a significant amount of the variance in predicting a customer's intention to adopt internet banking. The results also indicate that gender moderated the relationships between the three independent variables and the dependent variable (behavioral intention). Research limitations/implications: This study did not follow‐up with respondents to determine if they actually adopted internet banking. Therefore, the results do not measure actual adoption. Originality/value: This study is one of the first to utilize the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to the technology acceptance domain. It also provides a broader view of the technology acceptance decision in that the study took place in a non‐English speaking culture (Arabic – Jordan).