A person-centered approach to individual people analytics adoption

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to add to the currently limited research on individual level people analytics (PA) adoption by focusing on a vital resource in the implementation of PA, namely the technology used for PA. We draw on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to examine antecedents of the use of technology for PA.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses latent profile analysis to examine how different antecedents of PA (technology) adoption jointly act among 279 users of a specific PA technology.FindingsThis study identifies four user profiles, that we labeled the skeptic diplomats, the optimistic strugglers, the optimists, and the enthusiasts. These profiles relate to differences in user satisfaction and the frequency and versatility of PA technology use. This study demonstrates that performance benefits, social influence, required effort, and facilitating conditions jointly affect the use of PA technology, but that the latter two might be the most influential factors.Practical implicationsThis study offers recommendations to practitioners and organizations on which actions by managers and the organization can be taken to support the use of PA technology.Originality/valueCompared to previous research, we take a different approach by applying latent profile analysis to examine the combined effect of antecedents on user behavior and user satisfaction. In addition to a different analytical approach, we also extend existing research on individual PA adoption by focusing on actual behaviors and behavioral intention.