The influence of goal clarity, curiosity, and enjoyment on intention to code
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of goal clarity, curiosity, and enjoyment dimensions of flow theory on the intention to write programming code. This research refines and extends previous information systems (IS) research in two significant ways: first, this research is focused specifically on systems development behaviour; second; this is the first research that isolates specific flow theory constructs associated with systems development behaviour. We used SmartPLS to test our model, as partial least squares is the appropriate statistical methodology for theory building and model testing. Findings are based on survey data from computer IS classes at two different universities. Goal clarity and curiosity independently and significantly contributed to enjoyment when programming, which significantly and positively influenced a future intention to code. Recommendations for practitioners and faculty include testing for curiosity characteristics, providing clear goals, and providing stimuli to pique curiosity.
Behav. Inf. Technol.