Empirical Examination of Intention to Continue to Use Smart Home Services

Abstract

With the continuous expansion of sub-ecological problems, it is the question of how to effectively reduce environmental pollution and improve energy efficiency that has become a major challenge. At the same time, the energy consumption of family homes accounts for a large proportion, and whether smart homes can become a part of sustainable development is getting more and more attention. Although there are hundreds of smart home products and many investors on the market, consumers are relatively less accepting of this technology. How to make consumers adopt and continue to use has become a key issue in the development of smart homes. From the perspective of consumers, this study aims first to explore the relevant factors that affect the sustainable use of smart homes, and second empirically analyze the hypothetical model by using structural equation modeling. The empirical analysis results are based on the sample data of 488 Chinese respondents with experience in smart home use. The results showed that the service quality and perceived usefulness of smart home services positively impact users’ degree of satisfaction, and a higher degree of satisfaction, in turn, contributes to users’ formation of habits. Users’ desire to continuously use smart home services is influenced by perceived usefulness, degree of satisfaction, and habit; among them, habit is the key factor affecting users’ willingness. These findings expand our understanding of users’ desire to continuously use smart homes and provide theoretical support for the sustainable development of the smart home industry.