A Bibliometric Comparision of the Usage of Two Theories of IS/IT Acceptance (TAM and UTAUT)

This paper aims to compare similarities in the usage of two frequently used theories of IS/IT acceptance, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The bibliometric and citation analysis presented in this paper identifies landmarks associated with articles, authors and most frequently used keywords from citation data pertaining to the studies that have utilised TAM and UTAUT. The findings indicate that although there are similarities between TAM and UTAUT publications, increasingly it appears that researchers are shifting focus from TAM to UTAUT without making a substantial distinction between the two. This calls for a careful consideration of submisisons utilising either TAM or UTAUT. As it has been argued in the case of TAM, the over-utilisation of UTAUT would take away researchers’ attention from other important issues and will reduce the chances of publishing other fruitful research in available outlets.