Police officers' adoption of information technology - NSL Lab Website

191 Pages·2007·1.33 MB·English

POLICE OFFICERS’ ADOPTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF

THE TURKISH POLNET SYSTEM

Ramazan Yalcinkaya, B.A, M.S.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF P HILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

August 2007

APPROVED:

Brian C. O’Connor, Major Professor and
Director of the Interdisciplinary
Information Science Doctoral Program
Eric Fritsch, Committee Member
Jiangping Chen, Committee Member
Herman L. Totten, Dean of the School of
Library and Information Science
Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B.
Toulouse School of Graduate Studies
Yalcinkaya, Ramazan, Police officers’ adoption of information technology: A case
study of the Turkish POLNET system. Doctor of Philosophy (Information Science).
August, 2007, 182 pp., 13 tables, references, 64 titles.
One of the important branches of government and vital to the community, police
agencies are organizations that have high usage rates of information technology
systems since they are in the intelligence sector and thus have information incentives.
Not only can information technologies develop intra- and inter-relationships of law
enforcement agencies, but they also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
police officers and agencies without adding additional costs. Thus, identifying the
factors that influence the police officers’ adoption of information technology can help
predict and determine how information technology will contribute to the social
organization of policing in terms of effectiveness and efficiency gains.
A research framework was developed by integrating three different models,
theory of planned behavior (TPB), technology acceptance theory (TAM), and diffusion
of innovation theory (DOI) while adding two other factors, facility and voluntariness, to
better determine the factors affecting the implementation and adoption of the POLNET
software system used by the Turkish National Police (TNP). The integrated model used
in this study covers not only basic technology acceptance factors, but also the factors
related to policing. It also attempts to account for the factors of cultural differences by
considering the important aspects of Turkish culture. A cross sectional survey was
conducted among TNP officers using the POLNET system. The LISREL 8.5 analysis for
®
the hypothesized model resulted in a good model fit; 13 of the 15 hypotheses were
supported.
Copyright 2007

by

Ramazan Yalcinkaya
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Turkish National Police (TNP) for
providing me the opportunity to attend this graduate program in the USA. I also would
like to express the most heartfelt thanks to my family, particularly my wife Nilgun, and
my daughters, Selin and Nilsu, for their support and patience during my extensive
studies.
In addition, thanks goes to Dr. O’Connor, the chair of my committee, Dr. Chen
for whom I worked for as a teaching assistant, and Dr. Fritsch who was the chair of my
thesis’ committee in criminal justice. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.
O’Connor for his supervision, encouragement, and invaluable discussions. I also thank
to Dr. Chen and Dr. Fritsch for their time and invaluable assistance as a member of my
committee. In fact, I would like to thank all of them for their encouragement, invaluable
assistance and advice, and most importantly, for their understanding during the
completion process of my dissertation.
I also would like to thank my colleagues, Ilker Pekgozlu, Orhan Altuntas and
Oguzhan Basibuyuk for providing me advice and assistance in order to develop a better
understanding in some areas of this dissertation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………….……………………iii
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………….....vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS…...................................................................................viii

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION TO STUDY……………………………………………………………………..1

Introduction
Problem Statement
Research Questions
Purpose of the Study
Conceptual Framework
Significance of the Study
Organization of Following Chapters

2. LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………….13

Introduction
The Importance of Information Technology in Law Enforcement
Knowledge Management in Law Enforcement
Information Technology and Usability
Characteristics of Law Enforcement Information Technology Tasks
User characteristics of police officers
Information Technology Developments in Law Enforcements
Data Integration Programs in Law Enforcement
Case Study: Research Application Tool, POLNET, Turkey
The Effect of Natural Culture
Theoretical Backgrounds of Technology Acceptance
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)
The Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI)
Task-Technology Fit Model (TTF)
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
Usability and Information Technology Acceptance Research
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Conducted in Law Enforcement Settings
Usability and Information Technology Acceptance Research
Conducted in Different Cultures
Research Model
Summary

3. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………………….79

Introduction
Research Design
Operational Definition of Variables and Hypotheses
Participants and Sampling Plan
Instrument Development
Expert Validation
Survey Administration and Data Collection
Data Analysis Method: Structural Equation Model
Data Analysis Tool
LISREL
Measurement Model
Structural Model
Summary

4. FINDINGS and DATA ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………….106

Introduction
Primary Data Analysis
Descriptive Statistics of Respondents
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Validity
Data Analysis
Measurement Model
Structural Model
Evaluation of Hypotheses Testing
Summary

5. CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………....141

Introduction
General Discussion of Findings
Limitations and Delimitations of the Study
Recommendation to the TNP and Policy Implementations
Directions for the Future Research
Conclusion
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APPENDICES
A. SURVEY QUESTIONS……………………………………………………………………….….150
B. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) FOR THE PROTECTION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS IN RESEARCH APPROVAL……………………………………….155
C. CONSENT FORM………………………………………………………………………………...157
D. SURVEY APPROVAL FROM THE TURKISH NATIONAL POLICE (TNP)……..…160
E. CORRELATION MATRIX OF SURVEY ITEMS…………………………………………..163

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………………………….167

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LIST OF TABLES
1. Survey Construct and Measurement Items…………………………………..…………......94
2. Descriptive Statistics of Items……………………….….……………………………………...107
3. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Age……………………………….….........109
4. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Gender………………………….…….......110
5. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Education Level……………………....…111
6. Frequency Distribution of Respondents by Job experience……………………..…...112
7. Reliability Analysis……………………………………………………………………..…………...113
8. Factor Loadings…………………………………………...……………………….……….……….115
9. Confirmatory Factor Analysis- Factor Loadings…………………………………….……..118
10. Model Fit Index……………………………………………..………………………………………..122
11. Comparison of Chi-squared Values……………………………………………….…………...123
12. Goodness of Fit in Structural Model……………………………................................125
13. Path Coefficients………………………………………………….………………………………….127

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Figure 1. An interface of POLNET system ……………………..………………………..….46
2. Figure 2. Graphical view of Theory of Reasoned Action ……………………………..…51
3. Figure 3. Graphical view of Theory of Planned Behavior ……………………….........53
4. Figure 4. Graphical view of Diffusion of Innovation Theory …….………………….…57
5. Figure 5. Adopter Categorization on the Basis of Innovativeness ……………..…...58
6. Figure 6. Graphical view of Task Technology Fit Model……………………………..….60
7. Figure 7. Graphical view of Original TAM…………………………………………………….62
8. Figure 8. Conceptual Diagram of Research Model……………………………………..….75
9. Figure 9. Research Model with Hypothesis………………………………………….……….91
10. Figure 10. Diagram of Confirmatory Factor Analysis……………………………….….121
11. Figure 11. Model Testing Results……………………………………...........................129

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO STUDY
Introduction
Today, the world is experiencing significant technological revaluation at the main
part of which is the information technology. There is a general belief that information
technology eases and contributes to many aspects of our life (Nunn & Quinet, 2002).
New technologies have changed drastically our ways of thinking, our perceptions, our
attitudes, our symbols, and even our community. In particular, information technology
has transformed our big world into a small village by creating communication channels
all around the globe (Chan, 2001). Unlike traditional means of communication/
information sharing, information technology transfers more information more quickly at
a lower cost in addition to adding more flexibility of data management. In this new age
of information, many people and organizations utilize information technologies and
track new developments in this sector. The increasing investment in the information
technology by many organizations as well as its widespread usage even in households
show what an important element in our lifestyle it has become (Flanagin, 2002).
In this information age, whose parameters can be identified by technologies
processing information to increase the efficiency and performance of not only
individuals, but also of large organizations, people are bombarded with the promise of
technological success (Nunn & Quinet, 2002). This idea of technological success stems
from the promises of more power, authority, control, and the remarkable potential of
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