THE TECHNOLOGY READINESS OR SOCIAL PRESENCE, WHICH ONE

COULD EXPLAIN THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE BETTER?

AN INVESTIGATION ON VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES1

SAID JUBRAN
SUMIYANA
Universitas Gadjah Mada

Abstract
The internet technology has accelerated the development of community from
face-to-face into computer-mediated communication. Individuals generally
joining to the virtual communities contribute greatly to build their
knowledge by sharing their experiences. This study investigated the
individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions using two approaches of research
model. The first approach is the adoption of Hung and Cheng (2013) model
that incorporates technology readiness, compatibility and technology
acceptance. The second approach is a new model built by this study by
combining social presence and compatibility into the technology
acceptance. Furthermore, this study compared both models to identify the
ability of both models to explain the individuals’ knowledge sharing
intentions.
The results of this study showed that using the first model, the technology
readiness, which was represented only by one construct that is
innovativeness (the other three constructs are optimism, discomfort, and
insecurity), was the only construct having positive effect on the technology
acceptance. In the new second model, social presence and compatibility that
are integrated into the technology acceptance model could actually affect
positively the technology acceptance.
The comparison showed that the individuals’ technology readiness level
concludes that the ease of technology is not the indicator to assess the
usefulness of the technology. Meanwhile, the individuals’ with social
presence level considers the ease of technology to assess the usefulness of
the technology. Furthermore, perceived usefulness and ease of use for the
individuals with both the level of technology readiness and social presence
affects the knowledge sharing intentions. The study found that the social
presence is able to explain the sharing kowledge intentions better than the
technology readiness does. It implies practically that virtual community
providers should make individuals to be more active in the virtual
communities. So that, all individuals could improve their knowledge and
their motivation to knowledge sharing.

Keywords: technology readiness, social presence, communications medium,

compatibility, virtual community, online learning

                                                            
1
  This article is the master thesis of the first author with the second author as the promotor. The thesis has been
examined and considered as passed by the examiners team which consists of Sony Warsono, Singgih Wijayana and
Sumiyana. Criticisms, comments and suggestions can be sent directly to: [email protected], and
[email protected]

 
INTRODUCTION
Humans are social beings who learn and work in groups (Read and Miller, 1995). The
internet technology connects internet users with information. Internet as a social
medium (Baym et al., 2004; Walther and Parks, 2002) is used to communicate with
friends, relatives, co-workers, even forming a new relationship (Madden and Lenhart,
2006). The growing of internet technology brings new innovations which one of them is
the formation of virtual communities as online learning. The virtual communities make
the knowledge sharing among the participants possible. The virtual communities
continue to grow in accordance with the organizations vision and mission, educational
institutions, and governments’ incentives to obtain or distribute knowledge through the
internet.
Previous research have identified several problems related to the contribution of
knowledge. Based on the behavioral aspects, Davenport and Prusak (1998) explain that
knowledge sharing is "unnatural" characteristic because people tend to believe that their
knowledge is more valuable than the other participants’. Furthermore, the individuals do
not give away their knowledge and are skeptical about the quality of knowledge of
others. However, there has been a shift in this behavior. The phenomena that occur at
this time are the individuals tend to override unnatural characteristic. The individuals
are willing to give their knowledge to other individuals within a virtual community.
Research by Hung and Cheng (2013) investigated the behavior of individuals’
knowledge sharing intentions of a new technology in virtual communities using the
concept of technology readiness index (Parasuraman, 2000), compatibility (Rogers,
2003), and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989) to measure individuals’
perceptions to receive or otherwise reject the use of a new technology. Hung and Cheng
(2003) found that the high individuals’ level of optimism and innovativeness affects the
acceptance of technology, as well as the perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of the
technology motivate the individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions. Furthermore, the
low level of insecurity and discomfort do not describe the individuals’ technology
acceptance, as well as the individuals’ perception of compatibility does not affect the
knowledge sharing intentions.
This study becomes very important since it provides an alternative model to the
concept proposed by Hung and Cheng (2003). From our point of view, the technology
acceptance does not highly depend on the individuals’ perspective, instead the
technology acceptance is supported by the individuals’ presence in the social
community and the suitability of the technology which stimulate the individuals to
attend and use it. It plainly implies that the technology acceptance is not affected by the
technology readiness index, but it is exactly affected by the social presence concept.
Furthermore, we presume that the technology acceptance is more stimulated by the
actions that of individuals’ outward looking perspective rather than inward looking. At
least, this study will further develop the technology acceptance by adding our proposed
presumptions.
Virtual community is a place where individuals from various places build the
knowledge and meet the individuals’ needs of information through the process of
communication and interaction. The social presence is a central concept in online
learning (Lowenthal, 2009). The social presence is used as a key component in the
theoretical framework of learning networks (Benbunan, 2005), distance education
(Vrasidas and Glass, 2002), student satisfaction (Gunawardena, 1995; Gunawardena
and Zittle, 1997; Richardson and Swan, 2003), development of a community learners
(Rourke et al., 2001; Rovai, 2002) and perceived learning (Richardson and Swan,
2003). Therefore, the theory of social presence is reliable regarding the online learning
environment. Short et al. (1976) indicates that, the greater the individuals’ perception of
personal, sensitive, warm, and sociable of a communications medium, the greater the
social presence is created. As a result, the interaction and communication among users
are getting better and the online learning process will further demonstrate its quality.
This study assumes that the users are active in social networking and their
intensity increases positively to influence others through knowledge sharing and
knowledge discovery (Lau, 2012). This assumption is supported by the concept of
social technologies which was created for the functions of socialization and personal
entertainment, and can be applied to learning environment. In the other side, virtual
communities are the product of the online social networks, and it is one of the features
of social technology in which there is social network ties. Furthermore, social network
ties, as a form of relationship bonding between two or more parties based on their
partnership, are formed within the social networks (Haythornthwaite, 1998).
Based on the background explanation, the research question is "which one
explain better the individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions: the technology readiness
or social presence?" This research provides insight to the understanding of the
individuals’ motivation for knowledge sharing. This study compares the two research
models that trigger individuals’ involvement in the knowledge sharing intentions. First,
we adopt the research model of Hung and Cheng (2013) that integrates the technology
readiness, compatibility and technology acceptance (Fig. 1). Second, we develop a new
research model by inducing the social presence, and compatibility into the technology
acceptance model (Fig. 2).
This study exposed and presented the introduction, then the rest of the
discussion are as follows. This study presents the theoretical basis and hypotheses
development for the knowledge sharing intentions, in the perspective of the two models
that are the technology readiness and social presence. The study further analyzed and
compared the two models of technological acceptance, and finished in conclusions.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Virtual Community and Knowledge Sharing
Virtual community is a part of cyberspace-based information technology that is used to
communicate and interact in order to learn, contribute, and build a knowledge (Hsu et
al., 2007). Virtual community also brings social values and expectations (Burnett and
Dickey, 2003). The internet technology facilitates the interaction and exchange of
information or knowledge among the users in a virtual space.
Knowledge sharing motivates the use of a virtual community (Wasko and Faraj,
2000). Knowledge exchange is important to improve learning performance. Knowledge
sharing is the behavior of conveyance or delivery, in which a person gains knowledge
from others (Ryu et al, 2003). Meanwhile, Lee (2001) said that knowledge sharing is an
activity in which an individual, group, or organization providing or disseminating
knowledge to other parties or people. Holthouse (1998) stated that the knowledge is a
flow concept, which connects the knowledge owners and recipients. Bock et al. (2005)
argue that knowledge sharing is a behavior to provide and deliver a knowledge.
Wijnhoven (1998) stated knowledge sharing is the process of knowledge transfer
through the medium of information, and the knowledge receivers integrate the
knowledge they received into a new knowledge. Related to perceived learning, Senge
(1997) states that the objective of knowledge sharing is to improve the ability of an
individual or organization, to help and not just to give or to get something from the
others.
Model Development
Technology Readiness Index-Compatibility-TAM (TRI-C-TAM)
Hung and Cheng (2003) induced the technology readiness index (TRI) into the
technology acceptance model (TAM). They argued that the technology acceptance is
determined by the individuals’ factors based on various arguments as follows. The
different views of the individuals always become the determinant factor of the new
information technology that is usually used to sell products or services (Agarwal and
Prasad, 1999; Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004; Venkatesh et al., 2003). The
individuals’ experience frustration usually come from the use of new information
technology. Rogers (2003) stated that the individuals’ traits dan experiences affect the
speed of user’s acceptance to the new technology and then influence the distribution of
information or knowledge. Parasuraman and Colby (1998) explain the concept of TRI
that evaluates extensively the individuals’ attitude toward the acceptance and use of
new technology. The TRI refers to the influences of personality traits when the
individuals wish to fulfill their goals at their work, especially when the individuals
adapt to the new technology.
The high compatibility tends to motivate the individuals’ willingness to adopt
the information technology (Moore and Banbasat, 1991). The concept of compatibility
explains that the ideas of new technology innovations will be adopted easily when they
were consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and requirement of potential
users (Rogers, 2003). Previous research shows that the perfect compatibility is very
useful in the activity of knowledge sharing at work, as it can give birth to the new ideas
by the employees (Hislop, 2003; Lai and Chen, 2011; Lin et al., 2009; Lin and Lee,
2006).
Social Presence-Compatibility-TAM (SP-C-TAM)
This study presents an alternative to the model proposed by Hung and Cheng (2003)
which induced the technology readiness index. This study induces the social presence
under arguments as follows. Senge (1997) suggests that the objective of knowledge
sharing is to increase the individuals’ ability or skill or organizations’ action. It means
that the individuals do not only either acquire or deliver their knowledge, but they are
ready to assist other individuals. Therefore, the individuals perform online learning
process. The social presence becomes the central concept in online learning (Lowenthal,
2009). The individuals gather, interact, and communicate via communication medium
as learning process to acquire knowledge from the features of new technology
innovations.
The concepts of compatibility explains that the ideas of new technology
innovations will be adopted easily when they were consistent with the existing values,
past experiences, and requirement of potential users (Rogers, 2003). The high
compatibility of technology will bring the high level of technology adoption by the
individuals. The social presence and compatibility are two external concepts which can
affect the individuals’ technology acceptance in virtual communities (Lee et al., 2003).

Hypotheses Development
The technology acceptance model (TAM) was developed by Davis et al. (1989) based
on the theory of reasoned-action (TRA) model (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980) by adding
two main constructs, namely the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This
TAM model argues that the individuals’ acceptance of information technology systems
is determined by the two constructs. The perceived usefulness explains the users’
perception of the new technologies by improving the performance of duties as well as
future career prospects. Davis et al. (1989) indicated that behavioral intention is
influenced directly by the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Chismar and
Wiley-Patton, 2003; Hong et al., 2011; Lin, 2011; Taylor and Todd, 1995; Venkatesh et
al., 2003; Wu and Chen, 2005; Szajna, 1996). These arguments establish the following
hypothesis.

H1: The individuals’ level of perceived usefulness of a technology within

virtual communities have a positive effect on the individuals' knowledge
sharing intention.

The perceived ease of use can increase the intention to use online learning
through the perceived usefulness (Liu et al., 2010; Sánchez and Hueros, 2010; Sun and
Zhang, 2003). These arguments establish the following hypothesis.

H2: The individuals’ level of perceived ease of use of technology within a

virtual community have a positive effect on the individuals' knowledge
sharing intention.
 The new technology that is easily understood, implemented and can provide a
good experience to an individual, then the individual will feel the usefulness of the new
technology to be used in carrying out his activities.

H3: The individuals’ level of perceived ease of use of technology within a

virtual community have a positive effect on the individuals’ perceived
usefulness.

Compatibility
Compatibility is the external factor of TAM which could strengthen the knowledge
sharing intentions. According to Rodgers (2003), compatibility is the level of the
individuals' perception of an innovation which is consistent with the existing values,
past experience, and potential requirements for use. Compatibility is one of the
important attributes of innovations that may affect the adoption of technology by an
individual. Individuals who find technology meets their expectations, tend to build
knowledge in a virtual community. These arguments become the foundation of the
following hypothesis.

H4: The individuals’ level of compatibility of a technology within virtual

communities have a positive effect on the individuals' intention of
knowledge sharing.

Technology Readiness
Parasuraman (2000) build the technology readiness index (TRI) to measure the
individuals’ technology readiness. The technology readiness is the willingness and use
of a new technology by individuals to achieve their goals in daily life. The TRI contains
four dimensions of individuals’ beliefs toward the technology that can influence the
individuals’ technology readiness. Two dimensions are positive and serve as
contributors that are optimism and innovativeness. The other two are negative and work
as inhibitors of individuals to adopt the technology, namely discomfort and insecurity.
Tsikriktsis (2004) states that the users with different levels of technology readiness will
have differences in their use and intentions to use the information technology.
Optimism is the degree to which individuals believe that the new technology
will bring benefits and is controlable, flexible, and efficient in their daily lives.
Optimistic individuals tend to use a new technology (Scheier and Carver, 1987) and
form a more positive attitude towards new technologies (Loyd and Gressard, 1984;
Munger and Loyd, 1989). Liljander et al. (2006) measured the technology readiness of
self-service technology and found that users with high optimistic have high technology
acceptance. These arguments establish the following hypotheses.

H5a: The individuals’ high level of optimism within a virtual community will
improve the individuals’ perceived usefulness of a technology
H5b: The individuals’ high level of optimism within a virtual community will
improve the individuals’ perceived ease of use of a technology
H5c: The individuals’ high level of optimism within a virtual community will
improve the individuals’ perceived compatibility of a technology

Innovative individuals tend to be the first users of a new technology. They do

not consider the new technology as complex or difficult to understand (Karahanna et al.,
1999). They are enthusiastic about the presence of new technologies and try to use new
technologies based on its professional knowledge (Midgley and Dowling, 1978). Citrin
et al. (2000) state that users with a particular specialization that has a high level of
innovativeness tends to increase network utilization. These arguments establish the
following hypothesis.

H6a: The individuals’ high level of innovativeness within a virtual community

will improve the individuals’ perceived usefulness of a technology
H6b: The individuals’ high level of innovativeness within a virtual community
will improve the individuals’ perceived ease of use of a technology
H6c: The individuals’ high level of innovativeness within a virtual community
will improve the individuals’ perceived compatibility of a technology

The individuals with discomfort felt unable to adopt a technology, will feel
uneasy because of his inability to control technology, or anxious of being controlled by
the technology (Dabholkar, 1996; Norman, 1998). Therefore, individuals with a high
level of discomfort perceive a new technology as complex and affect the level of
individual’s technology acceptance. These arguments establish the following
hypothesis.
 H7a: The individuals’ high level of discomfort within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived usefulness of a technology
H7b: The individuals’ high level of discomfort within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived ease of use of a technology
H7c: The individuals’ high level of discomfort within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived compatibility of a technology

Individuals with insecurity consider new technology is not safe to use because
it can not guarantee the confidentiality of the information of the users. Individuals who
are skeptical about the safety of the new technology are not willing to use it. Chen et al.
(2002) examined consumers’ behavior in an online store, and found that the insecurity
of the networks may affect the individuals’ intention to buy in the online store. These
arguments establish the following hypothesis.

H8a: The individuals’ high level of insecurity within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived usefulness of a technology
H8b: The individuals’ high level of insecurity within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived ease of use of a technology
H8c: The individuals’ high level of insecurity within a virtual community will
reduce the individuals’ perceived compatibility of a technology

Social Presence
Short et al. (1976) build the social presence theory that is often used to explain the
influence of communication medium (Lowenthal, 2009). According to Short et al.
(1976), social presence is the quality of presence among communicators within the
communication medium. This theory states that the physical and technological
characteristics of the communication medium, the objective quality of the
communication medium determines the level of social presence. Furthermore, this
theory as an essential attribute of the communication medium in determining how
people interact and communicate.
 Optimism
H5 Perceived
Usefulness H1
Innovativeness H6 H3
Knowledge
Perceived H2 Sharing
Ease of Use
Discomfort Intention
H7
H4
Compatibility
Insecurity H8

Figure 1 Research Model 1-Technology Readiness Index-Compatibility-TAM (TRI-C-

TAM) (Hung and Cheng, 2013).

H10 Perceived
Compatibility
Usefulness H1

H9a Knowledge
H3 Sharing
Intention
Social Perceived H2
Presence Ease of Use
H9b

Figure 2 Research Model 2-Social Presence-Compatibility-TAM (SP-C-TAM).

Previous studies in social presence indicate that the social presence may affects
learning networks (Benbunan, 2005), distance education (Vrasidas and Glass, 2002),
student satisfaction (Gunawardena, 1995; Gunawardena and Zittle, 1997; Richardson
and Swan, 2003), development of a community learners (Rourke et al., 2001; Rovai,
2002) and perceived learning (Richardson and Swan, 2003). Social presence is directly
related to the interaction of learner-to-learner, so learners need to interact with other
learners so they will be considered as "being there" and "being real" (Moore and
Kearsley, 2005).
The commonly used measurement of social presence is built by Short et al.
(1976). The measurement using four dimension; personal-impersonal, sensitive-
insensitive, warm-cold, sociable-unsociable and using seven bipolar semantic scale to
measure the subjective levels of social presence. The higher the individuals' perception
of the personal, sensitive, warm, and sociable, the higher the social presence. Gefen and
Straub (1997 ) investigated the influence of gender on TAM model by adding the
construct of social presence and information richness. The results showed that women
have a higher perceived usefulness, whereas men are more concern towards perceived
ease of use in computer usage. These arguments establish the following hypothesis.

H9a: The individuals’ higher perception of social presence within a virtual

community will increase the individual's perceived usefulness of a
technology.
H9b: The individuals’ higher perception of social presence within a virtual
community will increase the individual's perceived ease of use of a
technology.

More on perceived compatibility, Chau and Hu (2004) examined the technology

acceptance of telemedicine by the physicians in health services in Hong Kong. The
research results show that the construct of compatibility does not directly influence the
behavioral intention, but affects directly the perceived usefulness. Moore and Benbasat
(1991) examined the use of the personal work station (PWS) and found that the
compatibility affects the perceive usefulness. This suggests that the individuals’
perceived compatibility determine the level of their interest to use the information
technology. These arguments establish the following hypothesis.

H10: The individuals’ level of compatibility of a technology within a virtual

community have a positive effect on the individuals’ perceived usefulness
of the technology.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Sample and Variable Definition
The population in this study is the users of virtual communities. The sample is selected
using snowball sampling method. Although this sampling method has the disadvantage
namely its inability to control the respondents, but these studies still use this method for
the reasons of speed and cost efficiency of data collection. The data are collected using
surveying techniques. Web-based questionnaires are built for data collection. The
completion of questionnaire is voluntary. No forceful actions were taken to ensure that
the respondents’ assessment regarding the questionnaires is subjective. The
measurement of research constructs was adopted from previous studies and is shown in
Table 1. The constructs consisted of the technology readiness, social presence,
compatibility and technology acceptance.
After the data validity and reliability were secured, Structural Equation Model
(SEM) was employed to test the goodness of fit of the research models. The goodness
of fit is used to measure the suitability of the observation or actual input (covariance or
correlation matrix) with the predictions proposed by the model. The criteria of goodness
fit consists of the minimum discrepancy ‫ܥ‬መ divided by degree of freedom (CMIN/DF),
root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), goodness of fit index (GFI),
adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), Tucker Lewis Index (TLI), and comparative fit
index (CFI).

Table 1 The Operational Definition

Constructs Measurement References
Optimism controllability, flexibility, and efficiency Parasuraman
in life due to technology; 5 items, 5 (2000)
Likert scales
Innovativene Tendency to figure out new technology,
ss enjoy the challenging, have fewer
problems than other people; 5 items, 5
Likert scales
Discomfort Not designed by ordinary people,
uncomfortable, embarrassing when you
have trouble, fail at the worst possible
time; 5 items, 5 Likert scales
Insecurity Unsecure, information will be seen by
other people; 5 items, 5 Likert scales
Personal Intimacy, familiarity, harmony; 7 scales Short et al.
semantic bipolar. (1989)
Sensitive Enthusiasm, excitement; 7 scales
semantic bipolar.
Warm Responsiveness; 7 scales semantic
bipolar.
Sociable Friendliness, complaisance; 7 scales
semantic bipolar.
Perceived Compatibility with the technology, Lin, (2011);
compatibility adaptability, fit their style; 5 items, 5 Gerrard and
Likert scales Cunningham,
(2003)
Perceived Helpfulness, performances’ Moore and
usefulness improvement, effectiveness, useful, Benbasat
increase productivity; 6 items, 5 Likert (1991)
scales
 Perceived Easy to use, flexibility, Davis et al.
ease of use understandability; 5 items, 5 Likert (1989); Chau,
scales (1996)
Knowledge Likely to use in the future, acceptability,
sharing seek of technology; 4 items, 5 Likert
intention scales

RESULTS
Demographics and Descriptive Statistics
This study obtained a valid sample of 306 respondents from electronic
questionnaires.Table 2 illustrates the respondent demographics. The respondents were
dominated by age range of 16-25 years as many as 188 (61.4%) respondents. From the
characteristics of occupation, 153 (50%) respondents, or half of the total respondents
are students. From the type of virtual community used, facebook dominated by 116
(37.9%) respondents and the least is blogger by 1 (0.3%) respondents. Most
respondents, as many as 146 (47.7%), doing their knowledge sharing once in 3 days and
the highest number of respondents, 115 (37.5%) of respondents, are in the knowledge
scope of mobile phone technology.
Table 3 shows the data obtained from respondents. All research constructs
shows good results, as shown by the values of standard deviation that are smaller than
the average value (mean) and the distribution of the data is also good.

Table 2. The Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Frequenc Percentage
Variable Charateristics
y (%)
Gender Male 154 50.3
Female 152 49.7
Age Under 16 7 2.3
16-25 188 61.4
26-35 92 30.0
36-45 13 4.2
Above 45 6 1.9
Occupation State Employee 30 9.8
Private Employee 70 22.8
Student 153 50.0
Entrepreneur 53 17.4
The Type of Virtual Indowebster 12 3.9
Communities Facebook 116 37.9
Twitter 71 23.2
Kaskus 75 24.5
Others 32 10.4
 Knowledge Sharing Once in three days 146 47.7
Frequency Once a week 64 20.9
Once a month 72 23.5
Others 24 7.9
The Scope of Computer 107 34.9
Technology PC Tablet 62 21.1
Mobile phone 115 37.5
Others 22 6.5

Tabel 3. Statistics Descriptive

Std.
Variable Min Max Mean Median Modus Deviatio
n
SP 2.00 7.00 5.0433 5.00 5.00 1.18303
OPT 2.00 5.00 4.0425 4.00 4.00 .63050
INN 1.80 5.00 3.5092 3.00 3.00 .55702
DIS 1.00 5.00 3.4118 3.00 3.00 .68568
INS 1.00 5.00 3.2464 3.00 3.00 .76192
C 2.20 5.00 3.9980 4.00 4.00 .62505
PU 2.17 5.00 4.1531 4.00 4.00 .63209
PEU 2.00 5.00 3.9373 4.00 4.00 .67400
KSI 2.25 5.00 4.1234 4.00 4.00 .61977
Note: SP=Social Presence, OPT=Optimism, INN=Innovativeness,
DIS=Discomfort, INS=Insecurity, C=Compatability, PU= Perceived
Usefulness, PEU=Perceived Ease of Use, KSI=Knowledge Sharing
Intention; N: 306

Constructs Validity and Reliability Analysis

The research instruments were considered valid if the value of confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) was above 0.50 and were considered reliable if the composite reliability
was above 0.70. The measurement items having the value of factor loading of under
0.50 were excluded from examination.
The construct of social presence has four valid and reliable measurement items.
A number of items of the construct of technology readiness do not meet the value of
factor loading, thus excluded from examination. The constructs of compatibility,
perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use are considered valid and reliable. One
measurement item was removed from the constructs of knowledge sharing intention
because it does not meet the determined value of factor loading. The results of
constructs validity and reliability analysis are presented as follows.
 Table 4. The Results of Constructs Validity and Reliability Analysis
N. of Factor Confirmatory Composite
Construct Items Loading Factor Reliability
Analysis
Social Presence 4 0.81 0.82 0.82
0.83
0.80
0.85
Optimism 5 0.80 0.69 0.93
0.90
0.71
0.54
0.51
Innovativeness 2 0.90 0.74 0.81
0.59
Discomfort 3 0.53 0.63 0.67
0.87
0.50
Insecurity 4 0.52 0.72 0.82
0.64
0.88
0.85
Perceived 6 0.80 0.82 0.96
Usefulness 0.82
0.86
0.86
0.85
0.72
Perceived ease of 5 0.77 0.80 0.93
use 0.79
0.80
0.82
0.82
Perceived 5 0.68 0.70 0.88
Compatibility 0.78
0.80
0.55
0.67
Knowledge Sharing 3 0.66 0.81 0.91
Intention 0.94
0.82

The GFI and AGFI values do not meet the criterion that is above 0.90, but the
values are closer to the specified criteria. The TLI, CFI, and RMSEA research models 1
and 2 are both met the fitness criteria. The chi-square value of the research model 2 is
lower than the research model 1.
 Table 5. Goodness of Fit Model
Research Research
Cut-off Model* 1 Model 2
Criteria
Standards TR-C- SP-C-
TAM TAM
Chi-Square Limit close to 962.147 408.776
small
p ≥ 0.05 0.000 0.000
CMIN/DF ≤ 2.00 2.096 1.937
RMSEA ≤ 0.08 0.060 0.055
GFI ≥ 0.90 0.836 0.892
AGFI ≥ 0.90 0.799 0.859
TLI ≥ 0.95 0.906 0.950
CFI ≥ 0.95 0.906 0.950
Notes: *Adopted from Hung and Cheng (2013); TRI-
C-TAM: Technology Readiness Concept –
Technology Acceptance Model; SP-C-TAM: Social
Presence Concept – Technology Acceptance Model.
Analysis and Discussion
Table 6 presents the results of hypotheses examinations. Table 6 shows that, in the
research model 1, the perceived usefulness affects knowledge sharing intentions (H1: R²
= 0.43, p < 0.01), as well as the perceived ease of use (H2: R² = 0.26, p < 0.01). In the
research model 2, the perceived usefulness (H1: R² = 0.54, p < 0.01) and ease of use
(H2: R ² = 0.26, p < 0.01) influence the knowledge sharing intentions. Therefore, H1
and H2 in both research models are supported positively and significantly, and support
previous studies (Chismar and Wiley-Patton, 2003; Hong et al., 2011; Lin, 2011;
Venkatesh et al., 2003; Wu and Chen, 2005; Szajna, 1994). Technologies that provide
benefits in the form of the improvement of effectiveness and efficiency of task
execution, the improvement of performance, improvement productivity, and ease of use
can increase the individuals’ level of technology acceptance. The high level of
technology acceptance can increase the individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions in
virtual communities.
Hypothesis H3 on the research model 1 which states that the perceived ease of
use affects the perceived usefulness, is not supported (H3: R² = 0.08, p > 0.1). In
contrast, the H3 on the research model 2 is supported positively and significantly (H2:
R² = 0.33, p < 0.01) and supports previous studies (Liu et al., 2010; Sanchez and
Hueros, 2010; Sun and Zhang, 2003). In the technology readiness model, individuals
usually perceive technology as mandatory, so that they do not consider the ease of use
and technological efficiency as important attributes when assessing the usefulness of
new technologies. In the social presence model, individuals did not perceive technology
as a pressure nor mandatory, so that the ease of use and technological efficiency are
considered as important properties to assessing the usefulness of new technologies.
Hypothesis H4 in the research model 1 which states that the compatibility affects
the knowledge sharing intentions, is supported (H4: R² = 0.12, p < 0.05). In the research
model 2, H10 which states that the compatibility affects the perceived usefulness is also
supported positively and significantly (H10: R² = 0.41, p < 0.01) and supports previous
research (Chau and Hu, 2004; Moore and Benbasat, 1991). These findings indicate that
the compatibility affects the knowledge sharing intentions both directly and indirectly.
Individuals, whose performance is increased or having good experiences in their work
with the help of technological compatibility and controlability, have opportunity to
share their experiences to other individuals in a virtual community.

Table 6. Research Models’ Causality Examinations

Hypothese Causality Relationship Research Model 1 Research Model
s TRI-C-TAM 2
SP-C-TAM
Coefficient C.R Coefficie C.R
nt
H1 (+) PU → KSI 0.43*** 6.100 0.54*** 7.446
H2 (+) PEU → KSI 0.26*** 4.238 0.26*** 3.981
H3 (+) PEU → PU 0.08 1.019 0.33*** 4.115
H4 (+) C → KSI 0.12*** 1.958 - -
H5a (+) OPT → PU 0.25*** 3.318 - -
H5b (+) OPT → PEU 0.16 1.927 - -
H5c (+) OPT → C 0.06 0.703 - -
H6a (+) INN → PU 0.63*** 5.578 - -
-
H6b (+) - -
INN → PEU 0.66*** 2.442
H6c (+) INN → C 0.73*** 6.631 - -
H7a (-) DIS → PU 0.04 0.430 - -
-
H7b (-) - -
DIS → PEU -0.30*** 2.442
-
H7c (-) - -
DIS → C -0.08 0.678
-
H8a (-) - -
INS → PU -0.08 0.897
H8b (-) INS → PEU 0.28*** 2.589 - -
H8c (-) INS → C 0.01 0.119 - -
H9a (+) SP → PU 0.32*** 6.147
H9b (+) SP → PEU - - 0.41*** 6.379
H10 (+) C → PU - - 0.37*** 4.116
 Note: SP=Social Presence, OPT=Optimism, INN=Innovativeness,
DIS=Discomfort, INS=Insecurity,
C=Compatibility, PU= Perceived Usefulness, PEU=Perceived Ease of Use,
KSI=Knowledge
Sharing Intention

The social presence affects the individuals' perceived usefulness (H9A: R² =

0.37, p < 0.01) and ease of use (H9B: R² = 0.41, p < 0.01). Thus H9 in the research
model 2 is supported. The high quality of communications medium will bring the
quality of interaction and communication among the individuals within virtual
communities so that the knowledge in the form of understanding of the benefits and
ease of technology will increase. This will further encourage the individuals’ intentions
to share knowledge about the new technology. The social presence is directly related to
the interaction of learner-to-learner (Moore and Kearsley, 2005). The interaction and
communication are formed when individuals in virtual communities form a social
presence, so that a knowledge that can build together. The individuals also establish
perceived learning (Richardson and Swan, 2003), learning networks (Benbunan, 2005),
in which they share and fill each other in what they know about the technology through
the virtual communities. The individuals’ specific knowledge of technologies will
increase, both in terms of the benefits, usability, and ease. The individuals can assess a
technology based on information they can obtained. Therefore, this study supports
previous research by Gefen and Straub (1997), which states that the social presence
affects the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.
The positive dimension of technology readiness, optimism, correlates positively
and significantly with the perceived usefulness (H5A: R² = 0.25, p < 0.01), does not
have positive and significant effect on the perceived ease of use (H5B: R² = 0.16, p >
0.1) and compatibility (H5c: R² = 0.06, p > 0.1). It shows that the individuals have a
conviction that the new technology will bring benefits into their daily lives.
 Significant and support the
hypothesis
Optimism .25***
Perceived
Significant, but not support the
.16 Usefulness
hypothesis .06
.43***
.63***
Not significant
Innovativeness .08
.66***

.73*** Perceived Ease .26*** Knowledge

of Use Sharing
.04 Intention
Discomfort -.30**
-.08
.12**
-.08
.28** Compatibility

Insecurity
.01

Path Significance: *** = p<0.01, ** =

p<0.05

Figure 3. The Results of the Research Model 1 (TRI-C-TAM)

Significant and support the

hypothesis
  .37***  Perceived
 
Compatibility
Usefulness .54***
Significant, but not supported the
hypothesis
Knowledge
Not significant
.33***  
.32***  Sharing
Intention

Perceived .26***
Social
   
Presence .41***  Ease of Use

Path Significance: *** = p<0.01,

** = p<0.05

Figure 4. The Results of the Research Model 2 (SP-C-TAM)

 New technology with the latest features is beneficial for completing the job
effectively and efficiently. However, the individuals have positive belief that is only
limited to the benefits of the technology, but not entirely optimistic about the ease and
comfort of the technology. It takes more efforts and learnings to encourage the use new
technology with its features.
Innovativeness has positive and significant effect on the perceived usefulness
(H6a: R² = 0.63, p < 0.01), ease of use (H6b: R² = 0.66, p < 0.01), compatibility (H6c:
R² = 0.73, p < 0.01) so that H6 is supported. These findings indicate that an innovative
and creative individual rarely has difficulties to adapt to the new technology and can
quickly assess the new technology. Individuals with a high level of innovativeness are
enthusiastic individuals with the new technology, so that the individuals use and build
the knowledge related to the technology.
The negative dimension of technology readiness, discomfort, correlates
positively and significantly with the perceived ease of use (H7b: R² = -0.30, p < 0.05),
so H7b supported. Anxiety, ignorance, and the inability of individuals to control the
technology does not rule out the possibility of individuals to utilize technology in their
daily lives. However, the discomfort did not affect the perceived usefulness (H7a: R² =
0.04, p > 0.05), and compatibility (H7c: R² = -0.28, p > 0.05). Individuals cannot adapt
to the new technology because it brings the risk in its use, such as the risk of being spied
by certain parties, health and safety risks. Therefore, the individual does not feel the
ease because they need to add more effort to minimize the risk.
The high level of insecurity does not affect the perceived usefulness (H8a: R² = -
0.08, p > 0.05) and compatibility (H8c: R² = 0.01, p > 0.05). However, it has a
significant and positive influence on the perceived ease of use technology, though it
does not have the direction coefficient as expected (H8b: R² = 0.28, p < 0.05), so H8 is
not supported. The perception of insecurity does not affect the technology acceptance.
The individuals assume that the new technology brings better security for its users.
Technology with a high level of security convinces the people regarding the benefits
and convenience of its use in daily lives.

Research Findings: Comparison Analysis

Based on the results and findings of the research, the research model 2 (SP-C-TAM) is
better than the research model 1 (TRI-C- TAM). Thus, the social presence is one
important concept to motivate the technology acceptance and the individuals’
knowledge sharing intentions. Interaction, communication, learning, and the formation
of social relationships influence and determine the individuals’ knowledge sharing
intentions.
Studies of TAM showed that high level of the technology acceptance affect the
knowledge sharing intention. Individuals who are members of a virtual community are
motivated to acquire knowledge of new technologies. The results of this study suggest
that individuals with high level of the social presence perceived technology acceptance
in terms of usability and ease of use. Conversely, individuals with high level technology
readiness does not perceive technology acceptance from the ease of use, because their
use of technology is mandatory. Therefore, this study contributes to the literature that
the social presence becomes the main (primary) alternative when investigating the
individuals’ knowledge sharing intentionswithin organizations or virtual communities.
The individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions are formed when the individuals’
perception of social presence was high. This study provides practical contribution to the
academics who use the virtual communities-based online learning to pay more attention
to the aspect of the quality of individuals' presence. The quality of individuals' presence
determines the quality of online learning, particularly the knowledge sharing intentions.
The practitioners, especially the developers of virtual communities, need to pay more
attention to the quality of communications medium. The individuals' perceived social
presence depends on the quality of the communications medium has to offer. For public,
virtual communities offer benefits in the form of a variety of knowledge within the
scope of a particular area. To achieve this knowledge, the quality of social presence in a
virtual community is an important step to obtain or build the knowledge. This has the
same meaning as the shift of the individuals' tacit knowledge to the organizational
explicite knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This study focused on the comparison of two research models, namely the research
model 1 that includes the technology readiness index, compatibility, and technology
acceptance (TRI-C-TAM), and research model 2 that includes the social presence,
compatibility, and technology acceptance (SP-C-TAM). The comparison was made by
analyzing the relationship between each construct within the models with the
individuals’ knowledge sharing intention within virtual communities, where the people
are the users of technology.
 The results of the research model 1 showed that seven hypotheses are not
supported significantly and one of those hypotheses laid in the hypothesis of technology
acceptance. Positive perception of the TRI such as optimism affects positively and
significantly the perceived usefulness. The innovativeness affects positively and
significantly the technology acceptance and compatibility. High levels of
innovativeness show good adaptability of the individuals to the new technology.
Negative perception of the TRI such as discomfort only affects positively and
significantly the perceived ease of use, while the insecurity has significant effect on the
perceived ease of use, but the direction of its coefficients does not support the
hypothesis.
The study findings suggest that the perception of technology readiness does not
fully explain the individuals’ technology acceptance within virtual communities. Thus,
the individuals’ tendency of knowledge sharing intentions is low.
The results of the research model 2 showed that all hypotheses are supported
positively and significantly. These results signify the social presence as one of the
important concepts to accelerate the technology acceptance and knowledge sharing
intentions. The individuals interact and communicate and also build social relationships
with other individuals by forming a perceived learning (Richardson and Swan, 2003), in
which they can obtain or provide information to the others. It means that all individuals
have already possesed the required skill and abilities to use the technology. In other
words, the technology is easily understood by all individuals.
The TRI concept focuses only on the individual, namely how the perception of
the individual when confront a technology without being influenced by the people
around him. Meanwhile, the concept of social presence is that the individuals interact
and communicate with other individuals via the communications medium. Within the
scope of virtual community, the research model 2 can explain better the knowledge
sharing intentions in online virtual communities. It implies that information system
providers should make individual to be more active in the virtual communities. The
providers should have some policies to attract individuals attending actively in the
virtual communities.
The limited time became the main constraint in this study. Future studies are
expected to continue the research into the phase of actual behavior, in the context of this
research is the knowledge sharing behavior. Many other factors can strengthen the
relationship between the variables in this study, so further researches can add these
factors. Further research could also reexamine the research model to a virtual
community to follow the level of social presence, because different communication
medium leads to different perceptions of social presence.
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