A combined variance and process perspective on IT culture and IT usage leading to the concept of IT acculturation

Abstract

We adopt a mixed-design grounded-theory approach to investigate the relationships between IT culture and different facets of IT usage – effective use and expectable use –  as well as the emergence and increasing level of IT needs perceived by users in their everyday life. We use cross-sectional quantitative data from 666 respondents, which we analyze from a variance perspective. We also use longitudinal qualitative data from six individual case studies, which we analyze from a process perspective. Combining the two perspectives, we highlight and explain some causal loops between constructs and a process that we name ‘IT acculturation’. Our contributions are theoretical and methodological. Our results help enrich the understanding of IT usage and how its evolution may be supported through the monitoring and nurturing of users’ IT acculturation.