Technology Readiness Index

What it measures

The TRI is the dominant measure of technology readiness in services marketing research. Validated with mail and online surveys of 1,200 college students and young professionals, and a national telephone survey of 1,000. Reliability: Optimism 0.81, Innovativeness 0.80, Discomfort 0.75, Insecurity 0.74. Subscale scores vary predictably across technology ownership groups (current owners vs intending buyers vs non-users). Widely used as a moderator of technology adoption, e-service quality perceptions, and online consumer behaviour. Note: the TRI is copyrighted by Rockbridge Associates and Parasuraman — its use requires written permission.

Response format

5-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree); four subscale scores. Higher Optimism and Innovativeness = greater technology readiness. Higher Discomfort and Insecurity = lower technology readiness.

Scale items

Optimism (OPT) — positive views of technology and its benefits for control, convenience, and freedom (Likert 1–5)

• OPT1. Technology gives people more control over their daily lives.
• OPT2. Products and services that use the newest technologies are much more convenient to use.
• OPT3. You like the idea of doing business via computers because you are not limited to regular business hours.
• OPT4. You prefer to use the most advanced technology available.
• OPT5. You like computer programs that allow you to tailor things to fit your own needs.
• OPT6. Technology makes you more efficient in your occupation.
• OPT7. You find new technologies to be mentally stimulating.
• OPT8. Technology gives you more freedom of mobility.
• OPT9. Learning about technology can be as rewarding as the technology itself.
• OPT10. You feel confident that machines will follow through with what you instructed them to do.

Innovativeness (INN) — tendency to be a technology pioneer and thought leader (Likert 1–5). INN2 requires reverse scoring.

• INN1. Other people come to you for advice on new technologies.
• INN2. It seems your friends are learning more about the newest technologies than you are. (R)
• INN3. In general, you are among the first in your circle of friends to acquire new technology when it appears.
• INN4. You can usually figure out new high-tech products and services without help from others.
• INN5. You keep up with the latest technological developments in your areas of interest.
• INN6. You enjoy the challenge of figuring out high-tech gadgets.
• INN7. You find you have fewer problems than other people in making technology work for you.

Discomfort (DIS) — perceived lack of control and feelings of being overwhelmed by technology (Likert 1–5). Higher = more discomfort = lower technology readiness.

• DIS1. Technical support lines are not helpful because they don't explain things in terms you understand.
• DIS2. Sometimes, you think that technology systems are not designed for use by ordinary people.
• DIS3. There is no such thing as a manual for a high-tech product or service that's written in plain language.
• DIS4. When you get technical support from a provider of a high-tech product or service, you sometimes feel as if you are being taken advantage of by someone who knows more than you do.
• DIS5. If you buy a high-tech product or service, you prefer to have the basic model over one with a lot of extra features.
• DIS6. It is embarrassing when you have trouble with a high-tech gadget while people are watching.
• DIS7. There should be caution in replacing important people-tasks with technology because new technology can break down or get disconnected.
• DIS8. Many new technologies have health or safety risks that are not discovered until after people have used them.
• DIS9. New technology makes it too easy for governments and companies to spy on people.
• DIS10. Technology always seems to fail at the worst possible time.

Insecurity (INS) — distrust of technology especially for financial and personal data transactions (Likert 1–5). Higher = more insecurity = lower technology readiness.

• INS1. You do not consider it safe giving out a credit card number over a computer.
• INS2. You do not consider it safe to do any kind of financial business online.
• INS3. You worry that information you send over the Internet will be seen by other people.
• INS4. You do not feel confident doing business with a place that can only be reached online.
• INS5. Any business transaction you do electronically should be confirmed later with something in writing.
• INS6. Whenever something gets automated, you need to check carefully that the machine or computer is not making mistakes.
• INS7. The human touch is very important when doing business with a company.
• INS8. When you call a business, you prefer to talk to a person rather than a machine.
• INS9. If you provide information to a machine or over the Internet, you can never be sure it really gets to the right place.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

⚠️ Licensing note: Although items from this scale have appeared in published journal articles, the TRI is a proprietary instrument copyrighted by Parasuraman and Rockbridge Associates. TRI 2.0 (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015) is the current version and is available for purchase or licence via Rockbridge Associates (technoreadymarketing.com). Researchers should verify current licensing requirements before use in any research context. COPYRIGHT: The TRI is copyrighted by Rockbridge Associates and Parasuraman. Written permission required before use. Contact: technoreadymarketing.com. All 36 items use 5-point agree-disagree scales (no reverse coding specified in the original documentation). Optimism and Innovativeness are positive enablers; Discomfort and Insecurity are negative inhibitors -- they should not be averaged into a single score without theoretical justification. Item INN-2 requires reverse scoring ('It seems your friends are learning more about the newest technologies than you are').

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Parasuraman, A. (2000). Technology Readiness Index (TRI): A multiple-item scale to measure readiness to embrace new technologies. Journal of Service Research, 2(4), 307–320.

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