The interplay between literacy and digital technology: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach

Introduction. Information literacy and digital literacy skills have become increasingly important capabilities in the digital world, as such it is of the utmost importance to assess how individual’s literacy skills impact people’s intention to use digital technology.
Method. In this paper, based on the current literature, we design our research and through an empirical study conducted in Finland and Italy, we examine how these skills impact the decision of university students to use digital technology.
Analysis. Data was analysed through a novel method (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis).
Results. The fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis results show that students in these two countries differ from one another and factors influencing the intention to use digital technology vary among students. For Finnish students’ digital literacy and for Italian students’ information literacy were important factors.
Conclusions. The results of this paper contribute to the information and digital literacy research and provide unique insights and practical implications.