The Legacy of the Technology Acceptance Model and a Proposal for a Paradigm Shift

This article presents a critique of a number of shortcomings with the technology acceptance model (TAM) and points to specific remedies in each case. In addition, I present a model for the purposes of providing a foundation for a paradigm shift. The model consists first of a decision making core (goal desire → goal intention → action desire → action intention) that is grounded in basic decision making variables/processes of a universal nature. The decision core also contains a mechanism for self-regulation that moderates the effects of desires on intentions. Second, added to the decision making core are a number of causes and effects of decisions and self-regulatory reasoning, with the aim of introducing potential contingent, contextual nuances for understanding decision making. Many of the causal variables here are contained within TAM or its extensions; also considered are new variables grounded in emotional, group/social/cultural, and goal-directed behavior research.