A Longitudinal Investigation of Personal Computers in Homes: Adoption Determinants and Emerging Challenges1

While technology adoption in the workplace has been studied extensively, drivers of adoption in homes have been largely overlooked. This paper presents the results of a nation-wide, two-wave, longitudinal investigation of the factors driving personal computer (PC) adoption in American homes. The findings revealed that the decisions driving adoption and non-adoption were significantly different. Adopters were driven by utilitarian outcomes, hedonic outcomes (i.e., fun), and social outcomes (i.e., status) from adoption. Non-adopters, on the other hand, were influenced primarily by rapid changes in technology and the consequent fear of obsolescence. A second wave of data collection conducted six months after the initial survey indicated an asymmetrical relationship between intent and behavior, with those who did not intend to adopt a PC following more closely with their intent than those who intended to adopt one. We present important implications for research on adoption of technologies in homes and the workplace, and also discuss challenges facing the PC industry.