Assessing the effect of innovation diffusion and technology readiness theories on attitude, behavioral intention and implementation of smart learning

Purpose This study assesses the impact of innovation diffusion theory (IDT), technology readiness index (TRI) and technology acceptance model (TAM) on the actual use of smart learning. This impact also accounts for the country-digital culture by moderating the effects of resistance to change (RTC) and mediating the role of attitude. Design/methodology/approach The authors gather data from 301 respondents from various academic institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by operationalizing established theoretical constructs. The authors adopt a covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Findings The results reveal that IDT and TRI significantly and positively affect attitudes toward implementing smart learning. Besides, the attitude fully mediates the relationship between IDT, TRI constructs and behavioral intention (BI). Moreover, this study proves that RTC plays a major role in converging BI to place smart learning into actual use. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of the authors' work is that this work employs cross-sectional data from UAE only, and the data were gathered during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Practical implications The stakeholders and administrators in government can benefit from the study findings to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of smart learning, which will contribute to achieving stakeholders and administrators' strategic objectives. Originality/value The originality of this work stems from the incorporation of IDT, TRI and TAM constructs in the case of smart learning in UAE in post-COVID-19 scenarios.