An Investigation on the Application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to Evaluate the Adoption of ERP Solutions in MSMEs of Odisha

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have played a vital role in economic development of India. MSME in India has the potential to increase the share of contribution to GDP from the current 8 per cent to about 15 per cent by the year 2020. Despite the prevalence of computing in all aspects of society, some computer systems may not be fully accepted by their intended users or become underutilized. ERP systems have become the most common IT strategy for most large companies. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a way to integrate the data and processes of an organization into one single system. Its main goal is to integrate data and processes from all areas of the organization and unify it, to provide ease of access and an efficient work flow. Thus, acceptance and use of information technologies in MSMEs remain a paramount issue in information systems (IS) research and practice. Extending previous research by integrating computer self-efficacy, Prior experience, technical support and subjective norms as external variables to the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examines the direct and indirect effects of these factors on ERP system acceptance and use. The results indicated that external variables had significant direct effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as well as indirect effects on attitude and behavioral intention. However, the effect of perceived ease of use on attitude was stronger than that of perceived usefulness. In turn, attitude demonstrated a negligible impact on behavioural intention. These findings highlight several implications for research and practice.