Technology Adoption by Rural Women: A Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) Analysis

Abstract

This article analyses the factors that affect the adoption of technology by rural women in the Umguza district of Zimbabwe. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model, provides the theoretical framework for understanding the factors that influence rural women’s adoption of technology. By situating the investigation within the UTAUT2 framework, the study seeks to offer a more refined understanding of the determinants affecting technology adoption among rural women and the implications for inclusivity. A deductive approach was used, and information was collected through a survey of 250 rural women in the 19 wards of Umguza district, as well as reviewing secondary data in the form of government, non-governmental, industry reports and scholarly articles. Regression analysis was used to draw insights into the factors influencing the adoption of technology by rural women. The study concluded that Performance Expectancy (PE), Facilitating conditions (FC), Social Influence (SI) and Effort Expectancy (EE) influence technology adoption by rural women in Zimbabwe. However, Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price Value (PV) and Habit (HT) were found not to influence the decision to adopt the technology. The results of this study help to shed light on the factors affecting technology adoption among rural women and map strategies to promote technology adoption. The recommendations from this study can provide insights to government, private sector, and civil society seeking to promote the adoption of technology by rural women and contribute to the body of research on digitalisation and adoption of technology by rural women.