QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF TAM
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responsible for major decisions, including decisions about large-scale technology
implementations. Additionally, CES directors and administrators greatly benefit from
understanding the TAM and how it applies to CRM implementation in their Extension services
and among their faculty and staff. As indicated in the review of literature, one of the key reasons
for failure in CRM adoption, as it relates to technology acceptance, deals directly with employee
attitude and perceptions toward TAM variables such as ease of use and usefulness. CES directors
and administrators are positioned as critical leaders for CES organizations in every U.S. state and
territory, and their awareness of technology acceptance and adoption is critical for understanding
how CRM technology can be successfully applied in the CES.
However, not all CES directors and administrators may be well versed in CRM
technologies to fully engage in this study. This is another reason outlined in the literature review
for why CRM technology implementation can fail. For that reason, this study invites CES
directors and administrators to appoint another individual who has been tasked with CRM
implementation or evaluation at their institution. In most cases, this individual is likely a senior
administrator with a similar level of administrative responsibility as the CES director or
administrator, or an individual who has led CRM implementation in another organization within
the university setting. In some cases, this may be an information technology (IT) professional
who has been tasked with the implementation and administration of CRM technologies.
Purposive sampling is used, and participants are recruited from a sample of individuals from the
112 land-grant universities in the United States who work professionally for the CES. CES
directors and administrators are contacted and invited to participate in the survey, with the option
to refer participation to another individual within their respective institutions who can best
answer questions about CRM implementation, evaluation, discontinuance, or other plans for
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