Determinants of Emergency Management Decision Support Software Technology: An Empirical Analysis of Social Influence in Technology Adoption

Technology is being applied to governmental functions with the intent to improve governmental operations. Most research on technology acceptance has focused on the private sector with less being applied to the public sector, and little applied to the domain of disaster management. As we continue to expand upon technological applications in governmental affairs, it is important to understand how the increasing role of information and communications technology (ICT) affects disaster management. Utilizing a conceptual model adapting Venkatesh et al’s (2003) unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model to an emergency management context, factors of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence along with emergency management specific factors such as threat perception, disaster history, social vulnerability, disaster exercises and emergency management collaboration are used to examine the intent to use EMDSS. Multiple regression analysis using data obtained from a survey of local emergency managers in FEMA Region VI taken in the fall of 2012 indicate that social influence, effort expectancy, community social vulnerability and collaboration among emergency management agencies influences the intent to use EMDSS technology. This study contributes to our understanding of technology adoption among local governments by showing that the factors that influence emergency management officials’ intent to use EMDSS differ from factors found in private sector applications. Most notably, in EMDSS applications, social influence and ease of use are the strongest predictors of intent to use rather than performance expectations.