User Acceptance of Baking Automation: An Extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to Manufacturin

The impact of automation in the baking industry has incorrectly been myopically studied with respect to the correlation of the cost of equipment to perceived change in productivity. The specific problem is that the relationship between baking automation attempts and the acceptance of the automation attempts by employees is currently not well understood. Despite significant research into the acceptance and use of new technologies in various industries, there is a lack of understanding surrounding the impact of automation on bakery employees and their beliefs and perceptions that may contribute to acceptance or rejection of the automation. The researcher chose the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to exam the utility of the UTAUT to frame bakery employees' responses to baking automation and how their beliefs and perceptions contribute to acceptance or rejection, which may inform the theory while also identifying possible negative impacts so as to potentially reduce issues related to underutilization of the equipment, thereby increasing the success of automation endeavors. Without knowledge of the utility of the UTAUT and how it applies in the baking industry and with baking employees, bakeries may not achieve the positive impacts hoped for when investing in equipment and processes that purport to improve productivity and control costs by enhancing operational efficiencies. The purpose of the qualitative multiple case study design was to explore the experiences of employees (hourly and salaried) within multiple bakeries across the United States who were in some phase of automation implementation, with a focus on understanding the utility of the UTAUT to frame bakery employees' responses to baking automation and how perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, social influence, and facilitating conditions encountered during the automation attempt influenced acceptance or rejection of the automation. Participants were employees from commercial bakeries in different phases of automation from conception to post-installation of the automated equipment. Four bakeries were included in the study with forty participants, of which fifteen participants selected using purposeful sampling were observed and interviewed. The constructs of the UTAUT were found to be applicable to the manufacturing sector, though not in the same order of dominance as the seminal research stated. Social influence was the most influential construct in the current research. The information discovered by the researcher also provide a basis for managers and supervisors to plan training and introduction of new equipment to maximize acceptance by employees. It is recommended that further research be conducted on larger groups in manufacturing and differing industries so researchers may improve the external validity of the UTAUT.