Measuring User Coping Strategies of Adaptation to Information Technologies

Our aim in this article is to increase our understanding of how users cope with disruptive information technology (IT) that is in the process of being implemented. For that purpose, we rely on the coping model of user adaptation (CMUA) (Beaudry and Pinsonneault 2005), a model that explains user strategies that result from appraisals of the IT event. These strategies are a response to threats and opportunities embedded in the IT event. Secondarily, they are impacted by the level of control users have over the situation. The first purpose of this study, therefore, is to develop and test measures for a deeper understanding of user adaptation to IT following the CMUA. The second purpose of this study is to understand the role of espoused cultural values (Srite and Karahanna 2006) in the strategies users adopt in order to cope with disruptive IT events. The approach adopted is a 2x2 laboratory experiment based on a scenario.