Antecedents of ITIL Usage

Impacting Malaysian IT
Employees’ Work
Outcomes – A Conceptual
Paper
HP Fung
ITIL v3 Expert, ITIL v2 Mgr, CISSP, PMP

hpfung2001@yahoo.com
Presented during Asia e University’s PhD Colloquium
(www.aeu.edu.my)

6-Mar-2011
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2539564
 Overview
1. Research Problem
2. Research Objectives & Questions
3. Literature Review
4. Conceptual Framework
5. Hypotheses
6. Research Methodology
7. Contribution to Knowledge
8. Q&A

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Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2539564

 1. Research Problem

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework of best
practices in IT service mgmt which includes comprehensive, non-proprietary
& publicly available IT guidelines (Pink Elephant, 2002)
ITIL v2 ITIL v3

Service Support – Service Desk,

Incident Mgmt, Problem Mgmt,
Configuration Mgmt, Change Mgmt &
Release Mgmt

Service Delivery – Service Level Mgmt,
Financial Mgmt for IT Services, Capacity
Mgmt, IT Service Continuity Mgmt &
Availability Mgmt

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 1. Research Problem

Although ITIL is gaining acceptance in many companies’ IT depts for service quality
improvement (Wagner, 2006) & the fulfillment of Malaysia aspiration as one of the major IT &
Business Process Outsourcing Service Providers in the world (Shankar, 2006), but there is
still no academic empirical view on how ITIL usage impacts IT employee’s work outcomes like
job performance & satisfaction in Malaysia & in other countries

UK Office of Govt Commerce claims ITIL will improve customer satisfaction & service quality
but that was not proven but rather inferred (Potgieter, Botha & Lew, 2005)

There were studies shown customer & IT end user’s satisfaction & operational performance
improve when activities in ITIL framework increases (Potgieter, Botha & Lew, 2005;
AvantiKumar, 2009) but there is still lack of understanding to explain antecedents that will
improve IT employee’s job performance & satisfaction as they are directly impacted or are
direct users of ITIL in their work before their service quality will impact IT end users or
customers

CSF for every success should include People (IT Employees, IT End Users, Customers),
Process (e.g. ITIL, COBIT, ISO/IEC 20k, ITUP, HP ITSM) & Technology (tools like IT Hardware &
Software) in which People is the most important as IT service quality is the deliverable from IT
employees that IT end users/customers will receive & perceive. It is IT employees that
mobilize those technologies & processes & turn them into service deliverables

Many studies conducted to evaluate how users will adopt IT related system using technology
acceptance or usage theories/models (Vijayasarahty, 2004; Lai & Honglei, 2005; Ikart, 2005;
AlAwadhi, 2008; Manzari, 2008, Siracuse & Sowell, 2008), but there is lack of research on
using these theories/models to evaluate how users will approach, adopt & use ITIL which is
process related

Problem statement is lack of research on how ITIL usage will affect IT employee’s work
outcomes like job performance & satisfaction and whether the use of any IT tool centric
technology acceptance or usage theory/model can explain ITIL usage among IT employees in
Malaysia
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 1. Research Problem
IT Employees
Job Performance
& Satisfaction

Proposed
Research
(see green
boxes)

IT Operational
ITIL Adoption Research Customer &
Performance
Gap & Service Quality IT End User
Design Implement Use (as perceived by Customer &
IT End User)
Satisfaction

Potgieter, Botha & Lew (2005)

AvantiKumar (2009)
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2. Research Objectives & Questions
1. Explore what are the ITIL Usage antecedents that have impact on IT employee’s work
outcomes
a. Will Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage influence respective ITIL Performance
Expectancy & ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy directly e.g. will the extent of ITIL
consultation, training & automation influence perceived usefulness of ITIL &
perceived ease of ITIL usage?
b. Will ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy influence Performance Expectancy directly e.g.
will perceived ease of ITIL usage influence ITIL usage perceived usefulness?
c. Will respective ITIL Performance Expectancy & ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy
influence Attitude towards Using ITIL?
d. Will Attitude towards Using ITIL influence Job Performance & Satisfaction?
e. Will ITIL Performance Expectancy mediate the relationship btw Facilitating
Conditions on ITIL Usage, and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with Attitude towards
Using ITIL?
f. Will ITIL Performance Expectancy mediate the relationship btw Facilitating
Conditions on ITIL Usage, and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with ITIL Usage
Intention?
g. Will ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy mediate the relationship btw Facilitating
Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Performance Expectancy?
h. Will ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy mediate the relationship btw Facilitating
Conditions on ITIL Usage and Attitude towards using ITIL?

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2. Research Objectives & Questions
1. Explore what are the ITIL Usage antecedents that have impact on IT employee’s work
outcomes (cont’d)
i. Will ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy mediate the relationship btw Facilitating
Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Usage Intention?
j. Will Attitude towards Using ITIL mediate the relationship btw ITIL Performance
Expectancy, and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with ITIL Usage Intention?
k. Will Attitude towards Using ITIL mediate the relationship btw ITIL Performance
Expectancy, and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with Job Performance &
Satisfaction?
l. Will ITIL Usage Intention mediate the relationship btw Attitude towards Using ITIL,
ITIL Performance Expectancy, ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy, and Social Influence on
ITIL Usage with ITIL Usage Behavior?
m. Will ITIL Usage Behavior influence Job Performance & Satisfaction?
n. Will ITIL Usage Behavior mediate the relationship btw ITIL Usage Intention, and
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage with both Job Performance & Satisfaction?
o. Which is the most significant predictor for work outcomes?
2. Evaluate whether the use of technology adoption or usage theory/model which is
predominantly IT tools centric can explain ITIL usage that leads to IT employee’s work
outcomes
a. Can predominantly IT tools centric technology adoption or usage theory/model
applicable to ITIL service mgmt processes?

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3. Literature Review
ITIL v2, ITIL v3, COBIT, ISO/IEC 20000, ITUP, HP ITSM, MOF, Why & Benefits of ITIL in Malaysia

itSMF (2007), IT Governance Institute (2007), ISO/IEC 20000 (2005), Ho (2007), AvantiKumar (2009), Shankar
(2006)

There are various IT Service Mgmt processes available in the market, some are proprietary but the most
common & popular one is ITIL.

Technology Adoption or Usage Theories & Models (Theory of Reasoned Action / TRA, Theory of
Planned Behavior / TPB, Technology Acceptance Model / TAM, Unified Theory of Acceptance &
Use of Technology / UTAUT)

Fishbein & Ajzen (1975), Ajzen (1991), Davis (1989), Davis & Venkatesh (1996), Venkatesh & Davis (2000),
Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

Technology adoption/usage theories/models evolved from TRA to UTAUT mainly on ICT technology e.g.
computer, PDA, mobile devices, VOIP, network, wireless LAN, Internet & Web App, Airline Internet
Reservation & CRM System, E-Learning System, MIS, EIS & ERP systems but to date no research apply any
above theories/models on ITIL processes.

ITIL Usage Antecedents (Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating
Conditions, Attitude towards Using ITIL, Usage Intention, Usage Behavior)

Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003), Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw (1989), Parker (1990), Law (1992),
Ferguson (1994), Moran (2006)

UTAUT is the latest & most complete theory & its constructs had been reviewed for appropriateness to be
included in new proposed framework. But some research shows Attitude still influencing Intention.

Work Outcomes (Job Performance, Job Satisfaction)

Ferguson (1994), Pentland (1989), Cook, Hunsaker & Coffey (1997), Dailey (1993), Porter, Lawler & Hackman
(1975), Porter & Steers (1973), Parker & Case (1993), Thompson (1997), Kallman & Smith (1998), Vroom
(1964), Heskett etc. (1997), Morris (1995)

Above 2 work outcomes & their impact & importance to IT dept had been reviewed. We can’t have happy
customers served by unhappy employees. Job itself, future opportunity, work environment & co-worker
relationship are some elements contributing to Job Satisfaction – unclear behavioral change due to ITIL
Usage will impact Job Performance & Satisfaction
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 3. Literature Review
1. TRA 5. TAM2

2. TPB

6. UTAUT

3. TAM

4. Revised TAM

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 3. Literature Review
1. ITIL Performance Expectancy – degree an IT employee believes that using ITIL service mgmt
process(es) which had adopted by his IT org will help him obtain gains in his IT job
performance (adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003)
2. ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy – degree of ease in using ITIL service mgmt process(es) by an
IT employee (adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003)
3. Social Influence on ITIL Usage – degree an IT employee perceives the importance others
believe him should use the ITIL service mgmt process(es) (adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris,
Davis & Davis, 2003)
4. Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage – degree an IT employee believes his IT org & technical
infrastructure exists to support his usage of ITIL service mgmt process(es) (adapted fr
Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003)
5. Attitude towards Using ITIL – IT employee’s positive or negative feelings about the usage of
ITIL service mgmt process(es) that the IT org had adopted (adapted fr Davis, Bagozzi &
Warshaw, 1989)
6. ITIL Usage Intention – measure an IT employee’s intention to use the ITIL service mgmt
process(es) adopted by his IT org (adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003)
7. ITIL Usage Behavior – Outcome reaction in terms of contributor, collaborator &
communicator behaviors & service quality of an IT employee after using ITIL service mgmt
process(es) (adapted fr Law, 1992; Parker, 1990 and Jiang, Klein, Tesch & Chen, 2003)
8. Job Performance – degree that work tasks are completed efficiently & effectively i.e. how
quickly a given task is done & how well a given task is done (adapted fr Pentland, 1989)
9. Job Satisfaction – function of IT employee’s perceptions of events at work (adapted fr Dailey,
1993)
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 4. Conceptual Framework
H11 (FC & EE)-PE[M]-A Work Outcomes
H12 (FC & EE)-PE[M]-I Attitudes H7 +

ITIL H4 + toward
Job
H1 +
Performance Using ITIL (A)
H5 + H8 +
Performance
Expectancy (PE) H16 (PE & EE)-A[M]-I
(JP)
H17 (PE & EE)-A[M]-JP
H6 + H9 +
H13 FC-EE[M]-PE H18 (PE & EE)-A[M]-JS
H3 + H14 FC-EE[M]-A
H15 FC-EE[M]-I H20 (I & FC)-B[M]-JP

ITIL Usage Job

ITIL Usage ITIL Usage
Effort H10 + Satisfaction
Intention (I) Behavior (B)
Expectancy (EE) (JS)
H19 (A, PE, EE & SI)-I[M]-B H21 (I & FC)-B[M]-JS
H2 +

Social
Influence on
ITIL Usage (SI)

Facilitating
Conditions on
ITIL Usage (FC)
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 4. Conceptual Framework

Proposed Framework to Measure IT

Employee’s Work Outcomes as a result
of using ITIL

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 4. Conceptual Framework - Epistemology
6. UTAUT

Proposed Framework

Extend UTAUT “Use Behavior” to include Work Outcomes i.e. “Job Performance & Satisfaction” as
dependent variables in proposed framework

Inline with earlier TAM, Revised TAM & TAM2 to test how “ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy”
influencing “ITIL Performance Expectancy” & how “Attitude” influencing “Intention” in proposed
framework

Evaluate how “Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage” in influencing both “ITIL Performance &
Effort Expectancies” in proposed framework

Replace the testing on the use of new technology/tools in UTAUT with the use of ITIL which is
process driven in proposed framework

Excluded the UTAUT moderating effects in proposed framework

Included “Attitude towards Using ITIL” as predictor for work outcomes (Ferguson, 1994)

Inline with earlier TAM to test how “Attitude towards Using ITIL” mediates the relationship btw
“ITIL Performance & ITIL Usage Effort Expectancies” with “ITIL Usage Intention”
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 4. Conceptual Framework - Epistemology
Venkatesh, Morris,
6. UTAUT
Davis & Davis (2003)

Epistemological
Proposed Framework

Davis
3. TAM
(1989)

Ferguson
(1994)

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 5. Hypotheses

H1 – Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage will positively predict ITIL
Performance Expectancy

H2 – Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage will positively predict ITIL Usage
Effort Expectancy

H3 – ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy will positively predict ITIL Performance
Expectancy

H4 – ITIL Performance Expectancy will positively predict Attitude towards
Using ITIL

H5 – ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy will positively predict Attitude towards
Using ITIL

H6 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will positively predict ITIL Usage Intention

H7 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will positively predict Job Performance

H8 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will positively predict Job Satisfaction

H9 – ITIL Usage Behavior will positively predict Job Performance

H10 – ITIL Usage Behavior will positively predict Job Satisfaction

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 5. Hypotheses

H11 – ITIL Performance Expectancy will mediate the relationship btw
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Usage Effort
Expectancy with Attitude towards Using ITIL

H12 – ITIL Performance Expectancy will mediate the relationship btw
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Usage Effort
Expectancy with ITIL Usage Intention

H13- ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy will mediate the relationship btw
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Performance
Expectancy

H14 – ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy will mediate the relationship btw
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage and Attitude towards Using
ITIL

H15 – ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy will mediate the relationship btw
Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage and ITIL Usage Intention

H16 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will mediate the relationship btw
ITIL Performance Expectancy and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with
ITIL Usage Intention
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 5. Hypotheses

H17 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will mediate the relationship btw
ITIL Performance Expectancy and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with
Job Performance

H18 – Attitude towards Using ITIL will mediate the relationship btw
ITIL Performance Expectancy and ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy with
Job Satisfaction

H19 – ITIL Usage Intention will mediate the relationship btw Attitude
towards Using ITIL, ITIL Performance Expectancy, ITIL Usage Effort
Expectancy and Social Influence on ITIL Usage with ITIL Usage
Behavior

H20 – ITIL Usage Behavior will mediate the relationship btw ITIL
Usage Intention and Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage with Job
Performance

H21 - ITIL Usage Behavior will mediate the relationship btw ITIL
Usage Intention and Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage with Job
Satisfaction

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6. Research Methodology
Approach – Quantitative Research with Survey Method based on deductive research questions

Sampling & Data Collection

Randomly select 2,000 IT employee target respondents from those companies that had implemented ITIL via
SPSS from itSMF Malaysia Chapter

Total 2,000 emails will send out with structured questionnaire within each mail

3-waves mailing is used & survey complete in 4 weeks

Expecting 200-300 samples

Questionnaire

Total 83 questions (69 research + 14 Demographic) all with 5-point Likert scale

ITIL Performance Expectancy (4 questions) – adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

ITIL Usage Effort Expectancy (4 questions) – adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

Social Influence on ITIL Usage (4 questions) – adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

Facilitating Conditions on ITIL Usage (6 questions) - adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

Attitude toward Using ITIL (11 questions) – adapted fr Ferguson (1994)

ITIL Usage Intention (6 questions) - adapted fr Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003)

ITIL Usage Behavior (22 questions) – adapted fr Parker (1990), Jiang, Klein & Carr (2002), Jiang, Klein, Tesch &
Chen (2003)

Job Performance (2 questions) – adapted fr Ferguson (1994)

Job Satisfaction (10 questions) – adapted fr Weiss, Davis, England & Lofquist (1967), Hackman & Oldham (1975,
1980)

Data Analysis

SPSS v17 Normality Test, Descriptive statistics, Reliability Test, Validity Test, Factor Analysis, Multiple
Regression Analysis, AMOS v18 Structural Equation Modeling & Path Analysis, Hypotheses Test & Cross
tabulations of research outcomes with demographic factors
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 7. Contribution to Knowledge
1. Theoretical Contribution:
a. Develop a framework to explain what are the antecedents in influencing ITIL usage among IT
employees in Malaysia

b. Extend the UTAUT theory by linking ITIL Usage Behavior with work outcomes like Job Performance
& Satisfaction

c. Discover whether UTAUT which is very much technology/tools centric can be adapted & applied on
ITIL processes

2. Practical Contribution:
a. Tested hypotheses in the framework enable IT mgmt to focus more on soft factors that will have
impact on their IT employees during ITIL implementation e.g. their perception on ITIL usefulness,
ease of ITIL use, communication, training, superior & peer pressure in which all these can impact
their job performance & satisfaction

b. If some antecedents tested have influence on IT employee’s ITIL usage behavior, job performance &
satisfaction – this can help IT mgmt to use ITIL as a means to motivate their IT employees & retain
the right IT talents especially those that have been trained, implemented & using ITIL as they can
help in further ITIL processes rollout

c. Enable IT mgmt to gauge the ROI in terms of human aspects i.e. IT employee’s job performance &
satisfaction beside demanding more tangible returns like cost reduction, more revenues, shorter
time to market, regulatory compliance etc.

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 8. Questions & Answers?

References will be provided upon request has been approved

Email: hpfung2001@yahoo.com

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 Backup Slides

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Theoretical Model of Microcomputer Effects on the Work
of Professional Accountants (Ferguson, 1994)

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 Original Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989)

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 Sample Questionnaire Items - ITIL Usage Behavior

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