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Rural Technology Adoption and Use Model in Rural Africa: A

Predictive Approach to Telephony Acceptance

Article in International Journal of E-Adoption · January 2021

DOI: 10.4018/IJEA.2021010103

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Ida Tognisse Jules Degila

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International Journal of E-Adoption
Volume 13 • Issue 1 • Semi-Annually 2021

Rural Technology Adoption and

Use Model in Rural Africa:
A Predictive Approach to Telephony Acceptance
Ida Sèmévo Tognisse, Institute of Mathematics and Physics, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
Jules Degila, Institute of Mathematics and Physics, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4688-9178

ABSTRACT

Mobile telephony networks have seen a high rate of adoption worldwide in recent years. However,
these networks do not exist everywhere, and even where they are, their adoption is lagging. Especially
in uncovered rural areas, it is difficult to predict the technology’s acceptance and adoption factors.
This study deals with the usage gap of mobile telephone networks and attempts in a methodological
approach based on structural equation modeling to prevent the telephone usage gap in rural Africa yet
to be covered. To that purpose, the authors use a research model based on the technology acceptance
model (TAM) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). By combining
these two models and incorporating the moderating effects of demographic variables such as age,
gender, education, and experience of technology use, this paper has retained a model with the ability
to determine how rural residents will accept and use future networks.

KEywoRdS
Adoption, Rural Areas, TAM, Telephony, Unconnected Areas, Usage Gap, Use, UTAUT

INTRodUCTIoN

Today, wireless telephony is an indispensable technology for humankind. More than a tool for
communication and information sharing, it brings many opportunities and shows the potential to change
human life in many areas. With the development of information and communication technologies
and the recent growth of the mobile telecommunications sector, there has been an unprecedented
increase in digital inclusion in low- and middle-income countries. However, mobile phone networks
and users’ subscriptions are far from common (GSMA, 2019). The digital gap is a reality related to
the coverage gap, coming from the difficulties and challenges operators encounter in extending their
networks in some areas.
In many cases, even when the deployment challenge has been overcome with lightweight and
low-cost technologies, the users’ subscription to the services is not guaranteed to ensure a return on
investment. Thus the usage gap, which threatens the viability of the network. In 2019, according to
GSMA reports, the usage gap problem was estimated to affect 44% of the world’s population, i.e.,
people who have access to technology but do not use it (GSMA, 2020). Especially in rural areas,
the telephony market is critical and unprofitable because the usage gap is even higher in these areas.
With the usage gap, the rural telephony market is mainly a market with low purchasing potential.
It is then relevant to explore the factors that make people in rural areas that are not yet covered

DOI: 10.4018/IJEA.2021010103

Copyright © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

36
 International Journal of E-Adoption
Volume 13 • Issue 1 • Semi-Annually 2021

adopt and use the future networks that will be put in place to bridge the coverage gap. This will
help anticipate the needed policies to ensure a better subscription to the planned services. That’s the
purpose of this study, which uses a methodological approach based on Structural Equation Modelling
(SEM). This approach makes it possible to evaluate a set of causal relationships between several
factors. It is widely applied as a popular method of data analysis (Birgit et al., 2019; Joseph F. Hair
et al., 2019; Sabiu et al., 2019; M Sarstedt et al., 2019; Umrani et al., 2017) and is well suited for
predictive applications(Chin, 1998). Several studies evaluated the acceptance of technologies, and
several of them addressed mobile telephony, but few studies have dealt with the particular context of
unconnected rural areas. Determining the factors that encourage technology adoption in this context
is of significant interest to the operators’ strategic plan for extending its network to those areas. For
this reason, this article is structured around the following questions:

• What are the fundamental elements or factors that can play a role in encouraging the adoption
of telephony in rural areas?
• By ensuring that the inhabitants adopt the technology, we also ensure the real use in the future?
• What are the factors that determine the use of technology in these environments?

Based on the existing literature, in a methodological approach, this paper proposes a model for
adoption based on two widely used models, TAM and UTAUT. By offering a predictive analysis of
future users’ behavior of a yet to be deployed network, this study makes an essential contribution to
enriching the existing literature. First, in this paper, we present the theoretical development of our
research model. Then, we describe the research methodology and give the results. Finally, the results
are analyzed and discussed, along with their implications and future work.

THEoRETICAL dEVELoPMENT

Modeling techniques are commonly adopted in empirical work in many research works. As structural
equation models, these techniques are, for the most part, approaches based on statistical methods that
allow testing hypotheses dealing with the relationships between observed and latent variables. The
partial least squares method is particularly interesting because of its rather confirmatory predictive
nature (Mourre, 2013). In this respect, they are more advantageous than the various traditional analysis
methods such as simple and multiple regressions, simple correlation tests, and canonical analyses.
This study considers two theories based on structural equation modeling, from recent information
and communication technologies literature, widely used as the main theoretical framework for
understanding and explaining adoption and use behavior.

Technology Acceptance Model

The Technology Acceptance Model is an analytical model proposed by Davis(Davis, 1993), based
on the theory of reasoned action to explain why a person accepts or refuses to use technology. This
model postulates that Intention to Adopt (IA) depends on factors such as Perceived Usefulness (PU),
Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), and Attitude towards using (ATT).
Perceived Ease Of Use (PEOU) defines the degree to which an individual perceives that
adopting the system improves their job performance(Davis, 1993). This is a very important factor in
the acceptance of the technology. Indeed, it is easier for an individual to adopt a technology when its
use is unproblematic and easy to use. This is why according to the TAM,

• Hypothesis H1: PEOU has a positive effect on PU.

• Hypothesis H2: PEOU has a positive effect on ATT.

37
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