The effect of digital literacy on technology acceptance: An evaluation on administrative staff in higher education

Abstract

Digital literacy is a critical skill that administrative staff must acquire to continue their business activities at higher education. However, digital literacy studies for administrative staff seem to be neglected in the current literature. This article examines the impact of higher education administrative staff’s digital literacy on their intention to use digital technologies while performing their tasks. For this purpose, a conceptual model consisting of effort expectancy and performance expectancy structures based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and expanded with the digital literacy dimension has been created. Data were collected from 158 participants who were administrative staff of two higher education institutions in Türkiye to evaluate the theoretical model. The data were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. The findings revealed the relationship between the digital literacy skills of higher education administrative staff and their intention to use digital technology. According to the results, digital literacy has a direct effect on effort expectancy but not on performance expectancy. Also, contrary to our expectations, digital literacy does not directly affect the intention to use. However, digital literacy affects the intention to use digital technology through effort expectancy and performance expectancy. In higher education, personnel with low digital literacy skills should be identified and in-service training should be provided. This is one of the first studies to address the impact of digital literacy on technology acceptance by administrative staff working in higher education.