An Empirical Study of the Factors Influencing the Task Performances of SaaS Users

Abstract

IT convergence services, as the main stream of the digital age, are currently on their way to include the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS), where IT products and services are integrated as one. In particular, the recently introduced web-service-based SaaS is expected to be a more developed SaaS model. This new model provides greater influence on clients’ job performances than its previous models, such as application service providers and the web-native phase. However, the effects of technology maturity on task performance have been overlooked in adoption and performance studies. Accordingly, this study introduces SaaS technology maturity as the exogenous technological characteristic influencing job performance. This study also examines the relationships among various SaaS-related performances according to the different levels of SaaS maturity. Results suggest that applying innovative technologies (such as SaaS), particularly when the technology reaches a certain level of maturity, is more helpful for managers in improving task-technology fit and job performance. This study makes an academic contribution by establishing and validating a performance model empirically with SaaS technology maturity perspectives.