Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2015
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Apparel, Events and Hospitality Management
First Advisor
Robert Bosselman
Abstract
An evolving area of technology application in restaurants includes the use of computer-based training (CBT). Restaurant organizations have the ability to train staff on any topic through electronic formats delivered on-demand through computers connected to the Internet. This study used a mixed methods approach to better understand factors that influence a quick service restaurant (QSR) owner’s intent to use an available platform for training supervisory and non-supervisory employees.
Three focus groups consisting of four QSR owners each (n=12) took place over a two-month time period in June of 2010. Open-ended questions were asked during each focus group seeking information about owners’ perceptions of an existing training platform and factors that influence the decision to use the platform for training employees. Using the constant comparative method of analysis, trust was determined to be a common theme owners identified as important.
An online survey using constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) was developed with questions addressing perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and intent to use along with questions designed to assess owners’ trust in system, content, and employee behavior. Questions incorporated a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Completely Disagree to 7 = Completely Agree.
Invitations were emailed to owners representing approximately 400 restaurants of a QSR chain in a southwestern U.S. market in June of 2015. Thirty-one of the invitations were opened and 21 surveys were completed. Three of twenty-one (14.3%) either disagreed or neither agreed nor disagreed (rating 4 or less on the 7-point scale) with the statement I will use or continue to use the training platform for training managers and supervisory staff in my restaurant(s) and five of twenty-one (23.8%) disagreed or neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement I will use or continue to use the training platform for training non-supervisory staff in my restaurant(s).
Owners who do not intend or are not sure of their intent to continue using the system were more likely to distrust that employees accurately report training hours or pay attention to the content provided in the training modules than owners who indicated the intent to use the system.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-4406
Copyright Owner
Richard E. Hall II
Copyright Date
2015
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
123 pages
Recommended Citation
Hall, Richard E. II, "Impediments of implementing computer-based training for employees: perceptions of restaurant owners in a quick service restaurant (QSR) chain using a mixed methods approach" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 14820.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/14820
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Human and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons