Piyawat Piyapaichayont owns a printing company in Bangkok, Thailand. Besides his own business, he also works for non-profit organizations to promote the printing industry in Thailand. Currently, he holds the position of deputy secretary at the Thai Printing Association, and secretary at the Printing and Packaging Industry Club, the Federation of Thai Industries.
He will defend his Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (EDBA) in September 2023, on the theme “Technology Acceptance, Innovativeness, and Technological Opinion Leadership: An Empirical Study in the Digital Printing Sector in Thailand” under the supervision of Professor Dr. Lars Meyer-Waarden, Professor at Toulouse 1 Capitole University, France.
Thesis Direction
Pr Lars Meyer-Waarden
Thesis Title
Technology Acceptance, Innovativeness, and Technological Opinion Leadership: An Empirical Investigation in the Digital Printing Sector in Thailand
Abstract
Technology acceptance has been studied and applied in various areas over the past decade. Even though digital printing technology is considered revolutionary, few researchers have studied its acceptance. Members of the Thai Printing Association are currently facing difficulties in digital transformation. They struggle to accept new technologies, such as digital printing, to respond to rapidly changing markets and lifestyles.
Based on Venkatesh’s unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT 1), this research aims to develop an extended model to examine the acceptance factors of behavioral intention to use and actual use regarding new digital printing technologies in Thailand. This thesis also investigates whether manager-related variables such as personal innovativeness, technological innovativeness, and technological opinion leadership moderate the links between the acceptance factors for digital printing technologies in the UTAUT model. The model is tested empirically with a quantitative survey targeting managers and users of Thai printing companies.
The results show that only performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE) statistically influence behavioral intention to use (BI) digital printing technology. Performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), and behavioral intention to use (BI) also show a statistically significant influence on the actual use of digital printing technology. Concerning moderating variables, this study did not find any moderating effects of personal innovativeness (PI), technological innovativeness (TI), and technological opinion leadership for behavioral intention to use (BI) or actual use (AU) of digital printing technologies.
Concerning its methodological contribution, the study investigates a UTAUT technology acceptance model with “real” users and those intending to adopt the new technology. From the managerial point of view, this paper offers recommendations about digital printing technology features to increase their acceptance. The research also provides societal contributions according to Goals 9 and 12 of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
This research used mixed methodologies between a quantitative survey (N=120)
among the Thai Printing Association (TPA) members and a qualitative managerial interview
with the current president of the TPA to triangulate the results. The data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) with moderating analysis via Jamovi software version 2.3.12.