Abstract

Several factors have to be taken into account in order to guarantee computer usage. In this study, we focused attention on some of these factors and created a theoretical model to better understand the relationship between computer literacy, attitudes, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness as determinants of computer usage. Additionally, we examined the impact of some external variables such as gender, income, and others on computer literacy, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitudes toward computers. We studied these relationships and investigated how gender and educational background mediate the hypothesized relationships. To validate the research model, we collected data from 166 students at a regional Midwest university. Finding support for the proposed model is of vital importance for organizations that can make better decisions when facing employee training issues and also for scholars and curriculum administrators. The results showed that gender, traditional vs. non-traditional students categories, educational background (business vs. non-business), classification (full-time vs. part-time) were not significant factors in affecting students' computer usage. However, income, self-reported measure of computer knowledge, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, computer literacy, and attitudes toward computers (positive vs. negative) were significant factors that impacted students' computer usage.