Expectable use: An important facet of IT usage

In this article, we add to the growing body of recent theoretical literature on usage, which remains fragmented. We propose a new concept emerging from our work – expectable use – as a dispositional facet of IT usage that may evolve over time, depending on training and context. This facet of usage represents the user’s disposition, or inclination, to use any IT (digital devices, software, etc.) pro-actively and in a self-determined fashion; it includes affective, cognitive and behavioral elements that result from both individual and group factors. With a classic grounded theory stance, we use mixed data and techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, to conceptualize, define, and model this new variable; we develop a quantitative index to assess it at a given moment in time. As a result of our work, we also propose that expectable use should significantly explain effective use and utilization.