One of the most welcome recent
developments in Information Systems scholarship has been the growing
interest in individuals' continuing use of information technology
well after initial adoption, know in the literature as IT usage, IT
continuance, and post-adoptive IT usage. In this essay, we
explore the theoretical underpinnings of IS research on continuing
IS use. Although the IS literature on continuing IT use
emphasizes the role of habitual behavior that does not require
conscious behavioral intention, it does so in a way that largely
remains faithful to the theoretical tradition of planned behavior
and reasoned action. However, a close reading of reference
literatures on automatic behavior (behavior that is not consciously
controlled) and the influences of emotion on behavior suggests that
planned behavior and reasoned action may not provide the best
theoretical foundation for the study of continuing IG use. As
a result, we call for empirical research that directly compares and
contrasts the consensus theory of continuing IT use with rival
theories that place much greater emphasis on unplanned and
unreasoned action.
Keywords: Continuing IT use, IT continuance, post-adoptive IT
usage, automatic behavior, environmental triggers, habit, emotion,
cognition, reasoned action, planned behavior
*Cite as: Ortiz de Guinea,
A.