Task-Technology Fit and Process Virtualization Theory: An Integrated Model and Empirical Test

Abstract

Task-technology fit and process virtualization theory are two theories developed by IS scholars to advance our understanding of the role and impact of information systems in business and society. Task-technology fit seeks to explain the use and associated outcomes of technologies designed to complete tasks. Process virtualization theory seeks to explain whether processes are suitable for migration into virtual environments such as those enabled by information technology. We integrate these two theories and test the integrated model by assessing the fit of electronic channels to the process of purchasing vehicles in the wholesale automotive market. The research makes three contributions. First, the integrated model addresses a gap in the task-technology fit literature by replacing the generic “task / technology characteristics” antecedents of task-technology fit with the constructs from process virtualization theory. This improves the prescriptive power of task-technology fit without sacrificing its generalizability. Second, the paper represents the first empirical test of the propositions of process virtualization theory, thereby helping determine how the theory operates in practice. Third, integrating the two theories deepens the IS discipline’s theoretical foundation by combining their strengths to improve our understanding of IS phenomena.

Keywords: task-technology fit, process virtualization theory, Information Systems theory, survey data, archival data, partial least squares, structural equation modeling, automotive