From Technology Acceptance to Value Realisation: Extending UTAUT for Digital Facility Management Implementation.

Abstract

Digital facility management (FM) systems are increasingly promoted as enablers of operational efficiency, sustainability, and smart building performance. Despite substantial investment in digital FM platforms, many organisations struggle to achieve sustained use and measurable operational value. Existing research has primarily focused on technology acceptance, offering limited insight into how adoption translates into effective implementation and value realisation. This study investigates the determinants of digital facility management adoption and extends acceptance theory towards a value-oriented perspective. This study contributes to the facilities management literature by extending UTAUT beyond technology acceptance to incorporate implementation readiness and value realisation. It proposes an integrated conceptual framework that positions digital facility management as a value-driven organisational capability, offering both theoretical advancement and practical guidance for FM professionals and policymakers. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design was employed. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with facility managers to explore perceptions of digital FM adoption and implementation challenges. These insights informed a large-scale quantitative survey of 407 facility management professionals in the United Arab Emirates. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, relative importance index, principal component analysis, and ordinal regression, guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The findings confirm that performance expectancy and effort expectancy are the primary drivers of digital FM adoption intention. However, successful adoption outcomes are strongly influenced by implementation readiness factors, particularly technical infrastructure, compliance and regulatory alignment, resource availability, and organisational governance. Managerial level significantly moderates adoption perceptions, with senior managers emphasising strategic value and compliance, while frontline managers prioritise usability and workflow integration. For facility management practitioners, the results indicate that digital FM success depends not only on user acceptance but also on organisational readiness and governance capability. Digital FM initiatives should therefore be supported by readiness assessments, role-specific implementation strategies, and compliance-aware system design to bridge the gap between adoption and operational value.