Social Influence as Determinant of Awareness and Use of Electronic Databases by Academic Staff in University

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the affect of the social influence construct on awareness and use of electronic databases by academic staff in Umaru Musa Yar'adua University, Katsina. Quantitative method and survey research design were adopted for this study. The study was guided by the Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance and Usage (UTAUT). The study targeted 110 respondents selected through simple random sampling from a population of 523 academic staff at seven Faculties and the University Library. The data was collected using closed-ended questionnaire with Likert scaling technique. The data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The findings revealed that awareness and use of electronic databases is significantly associated with social influence construct. Additionally, influence of colleagues, librarians, behavioural intention and surfing through the internet were found to have significant impact on the awareness and use of the electronic databases. Furthermore, social media, e-mail and mimetic were found to be less influencing. These findings have significant implications for practitioners and library management. This study recommended that the university library management and the e-librarians should embrace many strategies to increase awareness and use of electronic databases. These strategies include leveraging on social media platforms and e-mail to reach out to the members of the university community.