Johannes Hugo VAN SCHALKWYK, Re-an MÜLLER

ANTECEDENTS OF GENERATION Y STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND INTENTION TO USE EBOOKS

The origin of the eBook can be traced back to 1971, when the declaration of independence was digitised. However, from there, the evolution of the eBook was slow-moving. It was only after companies such as Apple and Amazon had pushed for a new digital era for books that eBooks really became more popular. This popularity has slowly increased across the globe, but is a growth that has mostly passed South Africa by. This study investigated several reasons for this seeming lack of interest and proposed a model to assess the likelihood of individuals’ eBook usage. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 370 Generation Y students between the ages of 18 and 24, collecting data on a 6-point Likert scale. This study ensured that the data were valid and reliable before a conceptual model for the data was created. The variables used were environmental awareness, self-reported use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and interest and intention to use. The conceptual empirical model showed insufficient model fit and was therefore adapted to find the best fit. The model showed that environmental awareness, self-reported use, and perceived ease of use had a direct impact on both perceived usefulness, and interest and intention to use. Moreover, perceived usefulness had an influence on interest and intention to use. The empirical model showed that several factors impact whether the Generation Y cohort makes use of eBooks. Thus, it would benefit industry leaders as well as universities to showcase the environmental benefits of using eBooks, demonstrate the ease with which eBooks can be used, and enhance the abilities of eBooks and software to improve the experience. The perceived usefulness could therefore increase, which could lead to higher intention to use and interest eBooks.

Keywords:

attitude, eBooks Generation Y, interest and intention,

PDF

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