The acceptance and use of e-books: A group study in Nigeria

Abstract

The academic institutions in Africa have begun to offer e -books. The study described a survey conducted on the members of faculty at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, to investigate the factors affecting user preferences and patterns of the use of e -books. The study examined the ways in which users are interacting with e -books, compared e -book and print book usage and investigated the constraints of the acceptance and the use of e -books. A survey questionnaire was us ed to collect data on the e -book adopters, to provide general contextual e -book data on use and behaviour of researchers, lecturers and librarians using a theoretical framework based on a modification of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). All the members of a project group that comprised of faculty members of the university were invited to participate in the survey. The findings suggested new factors influencing user preferences of e -books and revealed the reasons why e -books may not replace print books any time soon in Nigeria. The study found that the factors such as faculty member’s position, e -book availability, attitude, behavioural intention, relative advantages and peer pressure, influenced the acceptance and use of e -books by the members of faculty in Nigeria. The study recommended policy interventions, innovative practices of e -book adoption and use and extension of theory on e -books’ adoption.

Key Words: E-books, acceptance, use, technology, academics, Nigeria, models.