Intention to use internet banking among Iranian customers : a structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

The fast growth of information technology (IT) has meant that many tasks can be performed simultaneously and in relative short periods. IT technologies have seen unprecedented advances since the advent of the Internet. From the consumers’ perspective, the use of the Internet has facilitated the expedient performance of many daily tasks to the extent that it has started to define the very meaning of daily routines. Such tasks include E-Banking, E-Business, Social Networking, E-Shopping, and so forth. Despite its numerous influences, for the sake of a focused discussion and given its increasing prominence, this thesis concentrates on Internet banking. The statistical population of this study consists of Iranian customers engaged in Internet banking in Mashhad, Iran. The researcher distributed 310 self-administrated questionnaires among the sample population who participated voluntarily. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) and Structural Equation Model were employed to analyse the data and test the research hypotheses. The statistical findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between perceived ease of use and intention to use the internet banking, allowing the researcher to accept H1. Likewise, there is a significant correlation between perceived usefulness and intention to use the internet banking leading to acceptance of H2. The third hypothesis (H3) was not supported by the research results, since surprisingly, no significant relationship was found between website quality/design and intention to use the internet banking. Finally, the fourth hypothesis (H4) was accepted since there is a significant correlation between social influence and intention to use the internet banking.