A survey of Users view about the factors affecting the intention of using databases with emphasis on flow theory

Goal:The current research studies the factors affecting the intention to use databases by academic users, emphasizing the flow theory.
A research conceptual model was developed in order to create the concepts and hypotheses and the relationships between them. Different variables were considered in the research conceptual model including the skill, challenge, interaction, and control as the endogenous variables while the intention to use, exploratory usage, and the impaired perception of time were regarded as exogenous variables. The flow experience was also taken as the intermediary variable. The questionnaires, as the data-collecting tools, were designed by the researcher through studying texts and creating a conceptual framework taken from the flow experience in psychology. The statistical population was the postgraduate students (Master's Degree and PhD) in Yazd University (5,113 people) in the Iranian calendar year 1392 (ended March 20, 2014). The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Lisrel software were used for hypothesis test and data analysis respectively. Validity of the questionnary was done by confirmatory factor analysis.
Finding: Analyzing the structural model suggested that skill, challenge, and interaction had positive relationships with the flow experience with ratios of 0.63, 0.33, 0.41 respectively. The flow experience had a strong positive impact on the intention to use, the exploratory usage and the time distortion. No positive relationship was recognized between the control and the flow experience.
The results showed that the flow Theory is useful in an environment where the user has interaction with the database, except for the control structure. Since the experience flow is affected by user interaction, skill, sense and perception of databases it brings users satisfaction. This will lead to re- using, searching and navigating in on-line environment. The research findings consider a crucial factor as the variable which depends on the experience flow. Such a factor has a serious and effective influence on the behavior of database users, so that the user decides to use and search the database without a sense of time.