A unified perspective on the factors influencing consumer acceptance of internet of things technology

Abstract

Purpose – With recent advances in internet technologies, internet of things (IoT) technology is having an increasing impact on our daily lives, and beginning to offer interesting and advantageous new services. The current research aims to develop and test an integrative model of factors determining consumers' acceptance of IoT technology. Design/methodology/approach – Based on technology acceptance model (TAM), the authors proposed an IoT acceptance model that consists of three technology factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and trust); one social context factor (social influence); and two individual user characteristics (perceived enjoyment and perceived behavioral control). Data from 368 Chinese consumers were used to test the research model through the use of structural equation modeling. Findings – The results showed particularly strong support for the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, perceived enjoyment, and perceived behavioral control. However, trust played an insignificant role in predicting the intention. In addition, perceived ease of use and trust were found to affect perceived usefulness. Compared with the individual TAM model, the integrated model provides more explanation on user behavioral intention toward IoT usage. Originality/value – The integrated model explores the driving factors of individuals' willingness to use IoT technology from the perspectives of the technology itself, social context and individual user characteristic. It links the constructs of social influence, enjoyment, and perceived behavioral control to the TAM and successfully extends TAM in the IoT technology context.