Diffusion of Innovation Theory As a Predictor of Internet Adoption: Analysis of Attributes Influencing Faculty Decision

Internet adoption can be considered the late 20th century¿s most important event. In academic environments today, Internet applications have been widely implemented in universities and colleges, with professors now integrating Internet technology into classroom activities. Therefore, this study applied diffusion of innovations theory to identify the differences in demographic characteristics of Internet adopters and non-adopters among faculty members at Imam University in Saudi Arabia, to examine whether faculty members' perceptions of the Internet affected adoption, to determine if the university administration¿s decisions impacted faulty members' decisions to adopt the Internet, identified factors motivating faculty members to adopt the Internet, to identify obstacles influencing faculty members' decisions to use the Internet, and determined whether innovation characteristics as perceived by faculty members predicted Internet adoption. Using Rogers¿ diffusion of innovation theory, the influence of eight attributes were examined regarding Internet adoption among Imam University faculty members.