Personality Types as Moderators of the Acceptance of Information Technologies in Organizations: A Multi-Group Analysis in PLS-SEM

This study aims to examine the influence of personality types on the acceptance of information technologies at work. Based on the model of the five dominant personality traits and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, 155 users of Enterprise Resource Planning systems were examined in two Chilean organizations. A cluster analysis applied to personality traits identified three different types of personalities. Subsequently, a multi-group analysis in Partial Least Squares of the technology acceptance model detected statistically significant differences among these types of personalities. Specifically, although for all personality types, the intention to use technology is explained in more than 60 percent, the strength of the antecedent variables changes radically depending on the type of personality. These findings indicate that personality type plays an essential role as a moderator of technology acceptance at work. This study is one of the first attempts where personality types, instead of specific personality traits, have been associated with technology acceptance models. In it, we performed an analysis of statistically significant differences among the types. Its practical implications are to identify the personality type of employees and adapt the implementation of innovations accordingly. This can help organizations to implement technology successfully, which, in turn, contributes to their sustainability.