The UTAUT Model in the Digital Era: the Emerging role of Paradoxes, Emotions, and Sensemaking

Contemporary digital technologies offer transformative advancements in efficiency and performance, making their adoption crucial for competitive organizations. The realization of these benefits critically depends on employees’ integration and acceptance of such technologies into their daily work practices. However, acceptance is becoming increasingly influenced by the unique demands of the digital transformation that is currently underway. Consequently, to effectively explain and facilitate digital transformation in industrial settings, it is essential to examine the underlying reasons and to update current perspectives on technology acceptance. Leveraging the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this paper conducts a systematic literature review to (1) assess the relative importance of its core constructs and moderators in explaining employee acceptance of digital technologies and (2) examine how the model could be adapted to the demands of today’s evolving digital landscape. By analyzing 81 studies, the review identifies 32 key antecedents of acceptance, revealing the increasing complexity of today’s hyperconnected and cognitively advanced technologies. The findings highlight the need to reconceptualize the UTAUT model by incorporating formative thematic categories, paradoxical elements, and employee emotions to better understand acceptance. Finally, the paper theorizes the dynamic factors influencing acceptance and technology implementation through a sensemaking-sensegiving lens.