THE ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF E-BOOKS: A GROUP STUDY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The academic institutions in Africa have begun to offer e-books. The study described a survey conducted on the members of faculty at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, to investigate the factors affecting user preferences and patterns of the use of e-books.  The study examined the ways in which users are interacting with e-books, compared e-book and print book usage and investigated the constraints of the acceptance and the use of e-books. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data on the e-book adopters, to provide general contextual e-book data on use and behaviour of researchers, lecturers and librarians using a theoretical framework based on a modification of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). All the members of a project group that comprised of faculty members of the university were invited to participate in the survey. The findings suggested new factors influencing user preferences of e-books and revealed the reasons why e-books may not replace print books any time soon in Nigeria.  The study found that the factors such as faculty member’s position, e-book availability, attitude, behavioural intention, relative advantages and peer pressure, influenced the acceptance and use of e-books by the members of faculty in Nigeria. The study recommended policy interventions, innovative practices of e-book adoption and use and extension of theory on e-books’ adoption.

Keywords: E-books, acceptance and use of technology, academics, Nigeria, models of technology adoption.

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