How robust is the UTAUT instrument? A multigroup invariance analysis in the context of acceptance and use of online community weblog systems

The recent Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model developed by Venkatesh et al. (Venkatesh, et al., 2003) as an integration of the various technology acceptance and use models is an important model in IS literature. However, the UTAUT instrument has not been tested in many different settings and contexts yet. If the scales for the UTAUT constructs are not robust and stable across settings, they are most likely to effect the interpretation of research results. It is, therefore, essential to assess whether these scales are perceived in the same way by individuals in different subgroups. In this paper, acceptance of online community Weblog systems is chosen as the context and data collected from 265 business school undergraduate students are analyzed using multiple group invariance analysis to assess the equivalence of the UTAUT scales across different subgroups based on gender, general computing knowledge, Weblog-specific knowledge, experience with Weblogs, and frequency of using Weblogs. Results indicate that scales for the four constructs in UTAUT including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions have invariant true scores across most but not all subgroups. Researchers and practitioners, therefore, need to apply caution when interpreting the results from the UTAUT instrument.