IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v75y2023ics0160791x23001884.html

Beyond technology acceptance: Development and evaluation of technology-environmental, economic, and social sustainability theory

Author

Listed:
  • Al-Emran, Mostafa

Abstract

Cutting-edge technologies play a pivotal role in achieving the three pillars of sustainable development: environment, economy, and society. These technologies might have positive or negative impacts on sustainable development. While IS theories, such as TAM, UTAUT, and UTAUT2, have provided invaluable insights into the determinants of technology adoption and use, they overlooked the subsequent impacts of technology use. From the sustainability perspective, this necessitates a holistic theoretical framework that goes beyond existing IS theories/models by examining the direct effect of technology use on environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Therefore, we developed the Technology-Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability Theory (T-EESST) in this research. T-EESST extends beyond existing IS theories by linking technology use to the three dimensions of sustainability. Due to its inclusivity of all facets of sustainability, the Metaverse is selected as a case study to evaluate the T-EESST. The data collected from a survey of 311 Metaverse users provided empirical support for T-EESST. The results showed that technology use significantly impacts environmental, economic, and social sustainability. The T-EESST contributes significantly to the IS and sustainability literature by bridging the gap between technology acceptance models and sustainability. The study offers practical implications for policymakers, decision-makers, developers, designers, service providers, and practitioners. It also provides numerous research directions as a road map for future extensions to T-EESST.

Suggested Citation

  • Al-Emran, Mostafa, 2023. "Beyond technology acceptance: Development and evaluation of technology-environmental, economic, and social sustainability theory," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:75:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001884
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102383
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X23001884
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102383?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nripendra P. Rana & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Banita Lal & Michael D. Williams & Marc Clement, 2017. "Citizens’ adoption of an electronic government system: towards a unified view," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 549-568, June.
    2. A. Koohang & J.H. Nord & K.-B. Ooi & G.W.-H. Tan & M. Al-Emran & E.C.-X. Aw & A.M. Baabdullah & D. Buhalis & T.-H. Cham & C. Dennis & Vincent Dutot & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & L. Hughes & E. Mogaji & N. Pan, 2023. "Shaping the Metaverse into Reality: A Holistic Multidisciplinary Understanding of Opportunities, Challenges, and Avenues for Future Investigation," Post-Print hal-04292613, HAL.
    3. Les Levidow & Theo Papaioannou, 2018. "Which inclusive innovation? Competing normative assumptions around social justice," Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 209-226, July.
    4. Olan, Femi & Ogiemwonyi Arakpogun, Emmanuel & Suklan, Jana & Nakpodia, Franklin & Damij, Nadja & Jayawickrama, Uchitha, 2022. "Artificial intelligence and knowledge sharing: Contributing factors to organizational performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 605-615.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Mu-Chen & Pang, Shinsiong & Su, Shau-Yu, 2025. "Sustainable global semiconductor supply chain network design considering ESG," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Xin, Baogui & Song, Yaping & Tan, Hui & Peng, Wei, 2025. "Sustainable digital fashion in a metaverse ecosystem," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Islam, Md. Monirul & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Ahmed, Faroque, 2024. "Robot race in geopolitically risky environment: Exploring the Nexus between AI-powered tech industrial outputs and energy consumption in Singapore," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Rehman, Anisur & Behera, Rajat Kumar & Islam, Md Saiful & Elahi, Yasir Arafat & Abbasi, Faraz Ahmad & Imtiaz, Asma, 2024. "Drivers of metaverse adoption for enhancing marketing capabilities of retail SMEs," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Undheim, Trond Arne, 2024. "In search of better methods for the longitudinal assessment of tech-derived X-risks: How five leading scenario planning efforts can help," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Mehmood, Khalid & Kautish, Pradeep & Basahel, Sarah & Fiano, Fabio & Papa, Armando, 2026. "Unseen seeds, green minds in the digital era: How SMEs foster innovation through green intellectual capital, AI, and resource commitment," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Eitan, Tal & Gazit, Tali, 2024. "Explaining transformational leadership in the digital age: The example of Facebook group leaders," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Bin-Nashwan, Saeed Awadh & Li, Jackie Zhanbiao, 2025. "AI-infused knowledge and green intellectual capital: pathways to spur accounting performance drawn from RBV-KBV model and sustainability culture," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Jin, Keyan & Zhong, Ziqi & Zhao, Elena Yifei, 2024. "Sustainable digital marketing under big data: an AI random forest model approach," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121402, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Al-Emran, Mostafa & Deveci, Muhammet, 2024. "Unlocking the potential of cybersecurity behavior in the metaverse: Overview, opportunities, challenges, and future research agendas," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Jin, Seunga Venus & Ryu, Ehri, 2025. "Unraveling the dynamics of digital equality and trust in AI-empowered metaverses and AI-VR-convergence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    12. Kumar, Sachin & Kumar, Vinod & Chaudhuri, Ranjan & Chatterjee, Sheshadri & Vrontis, Demetris, 2025. "AI capability and environmental sustainability performance: Moderating role of green knowledge management," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Wang, Kai-Hua & Li, Shu-Mei & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona & Moldovan, Nicoleta-Claudia, 2025. "Is Green innovation the “Golden Ticket” in achieving energy security and sustainable development?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 297-314.
    14. Kumar, Aman & Shankar, Amit & Behl, Abhishek & Vrontis, Demetris, 2026. "Feeling the heat? metaverse as a platform for motivating pro-environmental behaviour through consumers’ climate (change) engagement," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    15. Papadopoulos, Thanos & Pattanayak, Sirsha & Ramkumar, M., 2025. "Exploring the impact of metaverse adoption on sustainability outcomes in retail organizations: A dynamic capabilities view perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    16. Shah, Sayed Kifayat & Yuan, Jingbo & Tajeddini, Kayhan & Gamage, Thilini Chathurika & Liu, Mingxia, 2025. "Exploring the nexus of institutional factors and regulatory focus in driving platform-based servitization and circular economy adoption," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Iandolo, Francesca & La Sala, Antonio & Maielli, Giuliano & Vito, Pietro, 2026. "The (Un)sustainability of the Metaverse: A topic modeling analysis of social, economic, and environmental impacts," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Mohammad Tahir Zainuddin & Wan Nur Fazni Wan Mohamad Nazarie & Ratna Roostika & Nofrizal Nofrizal, 2026. "Understanding Gen Z Consumers’ Behaviour in Digital Banking Adoption: An Empirical Study," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(5), pages 189-203, May.
    19. Pathak, Kanishka & Albishri, Norah & Prakash, Gyan & He, Bei & Arrigo, Elisa & Nespoli, Pantaleone, 2025. "Positing metaverse as a superior technological tool for societal transformation by building sustainable value portfolio," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    20. Park, Eunil, 2024. "Examining metaverse game platform adoption: Insights from innovation, behavior, and coolness," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    21. Divine Senanu Ametefe & George Dzorgbenya Ametefe & Dah John & Abdulmalik Adozuka Aliu & Macaulay M. Owen & Solehuddin Shuib & Aisha Hamid, 2025. "Energy Generation from Plastic Composites: A Systematic Review of Sustainable Practices and Technologies," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 1307-1343, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zu, Xu & Ni, Guangxian & Hu, Ruifeng, 2025. "AI technology innovation, knowledge management and corporate environmental sustainability: Evidence from Chinese patent data," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Kashyap, Abhishek & Shukla, Om Ji & Kumar, Rupesh & Alam, Md Mahmudul & Oberoi, Sarbjit Singh, 2025. "Online retailing and the metaverse: Addressing stakeholder impediments in e-commerce," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Alalwan, Ali Abdallah & Baabdullah, Abdullah M. & Rana, Nripendra P. & Tamilmani, Kuttimani & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2018. "Examining adoption of mobile internet in Saudi Arabia: Extending TAM with perceived enjoyment, innovativeness and trust," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 100-110.
    4. Simoni, Michele & Sorrentino, Annarita & Venturini, Luca, 2025. "Metaverse as content or container? Exploring the future of customer experience in tourism," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    5. Femi Olan & Thanos Papadopoulos & Konstantina Spanaki & Uchitha Jayawickrama, 2026. "Social Entrepreneurial Marketing and Innovation in B2B Services: Building Resilience with Explainable Artificial Intelligence," Post-Print hal-04850236, HAL.
    6. Kaushik, Kapil & Mishra, Rajhans & Rana, Nripendra P. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2018. "Exploring reviews and review sequences on e-commerce platform: A study of helpful reviews on Amazon.in," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 21-32.
    7. Queiroz, Maciel M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel, 2019. "Blockchain adoption challenges in supply chain: An empirical investigation of the main drivers in India and the USA," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 70-82.
    8. Soni, Sigma & Arora, Parvinder & Kasilingam, Dharun & Jain, Varsha, 2025. "Digital daydreams: Exploring consumer motivations for engaging with the metaverse," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    9. Wang, Shaofeng & Zhang, Hao, 2024. "Green entrepreneurship success in the age of generative artificial intelligence: The interplay of technology adoption, knowledge management, and government support," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Elvira Ismagilova & Emma L. Slade & Nripendra P. Rana & Yogesh K. Dwivedi, 2020. "The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth Communications on Intention to Buy: A Meta-Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 1203-1226, October.
    11. Wang, Zheng & Liu, Hongchao, 2026. "Artificial intelligence and the historical performance expectation gap: Evidence from the moderating role of monetary easing," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 1077-1092.
    12. Shahzad, Khuram & Ashfaq, Muhammad & Zafar, Abaid Ullah & Basahel, Sarah, 2024. "Is the future of the metaverse bleak or bright? Role of realism, facilitators, and inhibitors in metaverse adoption," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    13. Heidemann, Gerrit & Schmidt, Sascha L. & von der Gracht, Heiko A. & Beiderbeck, Daniel, 2024. "The impact of the metaverse on the future business of professional football clubs – A prospective study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    14. Zhang, Yujie & Ba, Zhichao & Mao, Jin & Li, Gang, 2025. "Quantifying the impact of digital technology on enterprise processes using LLM-based causal claim networks," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3).
    15. Al Halbusi, Hussam & Popa, Simona & Soto-Acosta, Pedro & Alshallaqi, Mohammad, 2025. "The nexus of managerial and technical AI knowledge, disruptive innovation and the circular economy: The role of organizational change capability and financial resilience," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Chen, Qiuying & Choi, Beom-Jin & Lee, Sang-Joon, 2025. "Tailoring customer segmentation strategies for luxury brands in the NFT market – The case of SUPERGUCCI," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    17. Li, Jiaxin & Wang, Chaofan & Peng, Jiachao & Shuai, Jing & Shuai, Chuanmin, 2025. "Impoverished villagers’ solar PV adoption in rural China: A perspective of agent intervention, economic benefit perception and sense of community," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    18. Gajendra Liyanaarachchi & Fidan Kurtaliqi & Giampaolo Viglia & Moreno Frau, 2026. "The virtue-value spectrum: Managing ethical and pragmatic tensions in virtual reality retail for consumer wellbeing," Post-Print hal-05345849, HAL.
    19. Xing, Zeyu & Yalçin, Haydar & Daim, Tugrul, 2024. "Digital Economy's influence on R&D Network configurations: Integrating resource dependence theory and institutional theory," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    20. Mansur Samadovich Omonov & Yonghan Ahn, 2025. "Towards Smart Public Administration: A TOE-Based Empirical Study of AI Chatbot Adoption in a Transitioning Government Context," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-29, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:75:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001884. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.