Prior research suggests the need to incorporate the information technology (IT) artifact within extant theories of IT usage, yet little progress has been made to that end. This study addresses this gap by incorporating the nature and purpose of the IT artifact in terms of four characteristics: utilitarian value, hedonic value, communication value, and technical complexity. The moderating effects of these characteristics on individual-level IT usage were tested using a meta-analysis method. Our

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... indings demonstrate how incorporating such variables can provide a richer and more nuanced understanding of IT usage than that offered by generic models of IT usage.