Technology use within meetings: a generational perspective

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine generational formative referents as factors that influence meeting attendees’ adoption and technology use within virtual and hybrid meetings, and test the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) as presented by Davis (1986). This study investigates how attendees’ experiences from their respective formative years (i.e. generational formative referents), the basis of the Generational Cohort Theory (GCT), influence the TAM model constructs. Design/methodology/approach A partial least squares analysis test is utilized to determine technology acceptance within meetings across three generations: Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1978) and Generation Y (1979-2000). Findings The multi-group comparison determined all three generations responded similarly with regard to the paths being tested, indicating each of the three generational cohorts within this study are influenced by the experiences of their formative years, which are different for each generation. Research limitations/implications The findings add to the limited foundation for scholars wanting to further analyze technology use within meetings, and for those interested in generational influences. Practical implications This study provides useful information for marketers and planners to increase meeting attendance, enhance attendee satisfaction, and further explore meeting engagement opportunities. Originality/value Underpinning the GCT, this study is the first within hospitality and tourism studies to investigate a theoretical model on generational technology use within meetings.

Progress on technology use in tourism

“…By examining the applicability of the TAM and Hedonic Theory, (Yu-Chih Huang et al, 2013) developed a research framework to identify the factors that affect tourists' experience and behavioural intentions within a 3D tourism destination. From a generational perspective, (Sox et al, 2016) synthesised a theoretical model of technology use within meetings by investigating how attendees' experiences and the basis of the Generational Cohort Theory (GCT) influence the TAM. Integrated TAM with the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behaviour, and the innovation diffusion theory, Amaro and Duarte (2015) proposed and test a model of consumers' intentions to purchase travel online.…”

“…By examining the applicability of the TAM and Hedonic Theory, (Huang et al, 2013) developed a research framework to identify the factors that affect tourists' experience and behavioural intentions within a 3D tourism destination. From a generational perspective, (Sox et al, 2016) The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) is another widely used theory in tourism technology research. UTAUT was developed by Venkatesh et al (2003) to predict user adoption of an IT.…”

PLS path modeling – a confirmatory approach to study tourism technology and tourist behavior

“…Typical latent variables in tourism and hospitality that are modeled as common factors include perceived usefulness (Sox et al , 2016), perceived value (Deng et al , 2013), consumers’ behavioral intention (Balouchi et al , 2017) and perceived winning in table gaming (Jeon et al , 2013).…”

The impact of Wi-Fi service on millennial diners

“…In fact, both topics of Wi-Fi technology and millennials are receiving substantial attention from both marketing academics and practitioners (Cobanoglu et al, 2012;Duerr, 2014;Hwang and Griffiths, 2017;Jacques et al, 2011;Schewe et al, 2013;Smith, 2012;Yepes, 2015). Existing research also interrogates whether millennials show parallel behavior universally and emphasizes the importance of cross-cultural research on this generation (Schewe et al, 2013;Sox et al, 2016;Suh et al, 2017). Regardless of all the strong interest, there are a limited amount of empirical studies that examine the effect of Wi-Fi on the millennials' loyalty toward a restaurant from a comparative perspective.…”

“…We choose the USA (84.2 per cent) and South Korea (84.8 per cent) because their internet penetration rate appeared to be comparable, and they are ranked among the highest internet usage rate countries (Internet World Stats, 2018). Because of their potentially substantial purchasing power, hospitality businesses are especially focusing on attracting millennials by offering various types of service (Elnolf, 2016;Sox et al, 2016). The older generations generally do not tend to search for information about new products and younger consumers usually prefer to seek alternative information that can influence their loyalty behavior (Sox et al, 2016).…”