Affect and Acceptance: Examining the Effects of Positive Mood

While the technology acceptance model (TAM) is generally robust it does not always adequately explain user behavior. Recent studies argue that including individual characteristics in TAM can improve our understanding of those conditions under which TAM is not adequate for explaining acceptance behavior. Using this argument, we examine the effects of positive mood, one individual characteristic that significantly affects an individual’s cognition and behavior, on acceptance of a DSS that supports uncertain tasks. Our results show that positive mood has a significant influence on DSS acceptance and that its influence on users’ behavior is not due to a halo effect.