Employee Acceptance and Use of Unified Communications and Collaboration in a Cross-Cultural Environment

Abstract

At the tip of the iceberg of the global financial crisis organizations are looking for economies of scale to survive in these challenging times. The Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) platform is the perfect answer to support an organization's new strategies, aiming to increase employee productivity while decreasing costs. Our study combines recent collaboration research theories with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The authors aim to close the existing research gap by extending previous research with a cross-cultural dimension. They conducted an international field study in 34 countries involving 120 employees who were users of UC&C technology. The authors found that the UTAUT constructs are mainly validated in areas in which results suggest that performance expectancy and social influence are the most influential drivers in employee acceptance and use of UC&C in organizations.