Scale library · Technology & information systems

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) scale: Davis (1989)

TAM was proposed by Davis (1989) to explain why users accept or reject a technology. Its two core beliefs are perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use; ease of use affects usefulness, and both lead to intention to use. It is the base model of a great many theses on e-wallets, digital banking, online learning and e-commerce.

Cite the original, not the blog.

Model or scale: TAM
Constructs: 3
Items: 14

Original English items

Items marked (R) are reverse-coded: recode them before computing reliability or scale scores. Replace bracketed placeholders such as [system] with the name of the system, brand or organization you study.

Perceived Usefulness (PU, 6 items)

Code	Item wording	Reverse-coded
PU1	Using [system] in my job would enable me to accomplish tasks more quickly.	No
PU2	Using [system] would improve my job performance.	No
PU3	Using [system] in my job would increase my productivity.	No
PU4	Using [system] would enhance my effectiveness on the job.	No
PU5	Using [system] would make it easier to do my job.	No
PU6	I would find [system] useful in my job.	No

Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU, 6 items)

Code	Item wording	Reverse-coded
PEOU1	Learning to operate [system] would be easy for me.	No
PEOU2	I would find it easy to get [system] to do what I want it to do.	No
PEOU3	My interaction with [system] would be clear and understandable.	No
PEOU4	I would find [system] to be flexible to interact with.	No
PEOU5	It would be easy for me to become skillful at using [system].	No
PEOU6	I would find [system] easy to use.	No

Behavioral Intention to Use (BI, 2 items)

Code	Item wording	Reverse-coded
BI1	Assuming I have access to the system, I intend to use it.	No
BI2	Given that I have access to the system, I predict that I would use it.	No

Response scale

7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree … 7 = Strongly agree). Davis's (1989) original used a 7-point likelihood scale from 'extremely unlikely' to 'extremely likely'; most later studies switched to a 5- or 7-point agreement scale.

Licence and permission

The items are published in an academic article and widely used in research. Cite the original article; no permission is needed for non-commercial academic use.

Sources (APA 7)

Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008
Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. (1989). User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35(8), 982–1003. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.35.8.982
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Kock, N., & Hadaya, P. (2018). Minimum sample size estimation in PLS-SEM: The inverse square root and gamma-exponential methods. Information Systems Journal, 28(1), 227–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12131
Nguyen, T. M. P. (2023). Factors affecting the adoption of online database systems for learning among students at economics universities in Vietnam. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 13(5), 820–835. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13050062
Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540

Vietnamese translation

A Vietnamese translation of every item, with sample-size advice and studies that used the scale, is on the Vietnamese page for this scale.

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