Elsevier

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 21, Issue 6, November 2005, Pages 873-891
Computers in Human Behavior

Toward an understanding of the behavioral intention to use mobile banking

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2004.03.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Although millions of dollars have been spent on building mobile banking systems, reports on mobile banking show that potential users may not be using the systems, despite their availability. Thus, research is needed to identify the factors determining users' acceptance of mobile banking. While there has been considerable research on the technology acceptance model (TAM) that predicts whether individuals will accept and voluntarily use information systems, limitations of the TAM include the omission of an important trust-based construct in the context of electronic/mobile commerce, and the assumption that there are no barriers preventing an individual from using an IS if he or she chooses to do so. Based on literature relating to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the TAM, this study extends the applicability of the TAM in a mobile banking context, by adding one trust-based construct (“perceived credibility”) and two resource-based constructs (“perceived self-efficacy” and “perceived financial cost”) to the model, while paying careful attention to the placing of these constructs in the TAM's existing nomological structure. Data collected from 180 users in Taiwan were tested against the extended TAM, using the structural equation modeling approach. The results strongly support the extended TAM in predicting users' intentions to adopt mobile banking. Several implications for IT/IS acceptance research and mobile banking management practices are discussed.

Introduction

Traditional, branch-based retail banking remains the most widespread method of conducting banking transactions in Taiwan and other countries. However, mobile and wireless technology is rapidly changing the way personal financial services are designed and delivered. For several years, commercial banks in Taiwan have tried to introduce mobile banking systems to improve their operations and reduce costs. Despite all the efforts aimed at developing better and easier mobile banking systems, these systems can easily remain unnoticed by customers, or are seriously under-used despite their availability. In 2003 in Taiwan, according to statistics from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS) in the Taiwanese government, there were 24.5 million subscriptions to mobile phones, which translates into 106.5 subscriptions for every 100 people. However, less than 1% of banking transactions in Taiwan were conducted through mobile handsets. Mobile banking services are still in their infancy, leaving a great deal of room for development. There is a need, therefore, to understand users' acceptance of mobile banking and to identify the factors affecting their intentions to use mobile banking. This information can assist developers in the building of mobile banking systems that consumers want to use, or help them discover why potential users avoid using the existing system.

The technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989) has received significant attention in IT/IS acceptance literature. According to the TAM, system usage behavior is determined by the intention to use a particular system, which in turn, is determined by the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system. While the TAM has many strengths, including its specific focus on IS use, its basis in social psychology theory, the validity and reliability of its instruments and its parsimony, one of its limitations is the assumption that its use is volitional; in other words, there are no barriers to prevent an individual from using an IS if he or she chose to do so (Mathieson, Peacock, & Chin, 2001). There may be situations in which an individual wants to use an IT, but is prevented by lack of time, money or expertise (Mathieson, 1991; Mathieson et al., 2001; Taylor and Todd, 1995a, Taylor and Todd, 1995b; Chau & Hu, 2001). Since mobile commerce technology is relatively new, many people may choose not to use the wireless/mobile banking service due to cost considerations or because they lack the required knowledge, skills, or ability to use the new IT. Consequently, in this research, two new constructs, “perceived self-efficacy” and “perceived financial cost”, adapted from perceived behavioral control in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) have been introduced to the original TAM. While they are not present in the original TAM, these additional constructs will enable enhanced understanding of an individual's behavior in the acceptance of mobile banking in the context of wireless commerce.

In addition, recent research reveals that the perceived trust or credibility of users, in relation to Web systems, has a striking influence on their willingness to engage in online shopping, banking and the exchange of money and sensitive personal information (Friedman, Kahn, & Howe, 2000; Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub, 2003; Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1999; Wang, Wang, Lin, & Tang, 2003). Most users who refuse to provide sensitive information to mobile banking systems, for the purpose of banking transactions, report it is because they do not trust those collecting the data. The lack of perceived credibility is manifested in people's concerns that the mobile banking system (and/or the hackers or system intruders) will transfer their personal information or money to third parties, without their knowledge or permission. Hence, the TAM can miss important sources of variances in the mobile banking context. The construct of “perceived credibility”, proposed by Wang et al. (2003), has also, therefore, been included in the extended TAM to explore users' acceptance of mobile banking.

The primary objective of this research is to extend the TAM, while retaining its parsimony and IS focus in the context of mobile banking. Based on the literature regarding the TPB and the TAM, this study extends the TAM's applicability to the context of mobile banking, by adding one trust-based construct (“perceived credibility”) and two resource-based constructs (“perceived self-efficacy” and “perceived financial cost”) to the model, with careful attention to the placing of these constructs within the TAM's existing nomological structure. An important goal of this work is to develop a model that can provide useful information to mobile banking practitioners, while at the same time maintaining the TAM's theoretical and psychometric rigor. By explaining users' intentions from a user's perspective, the findings of this research can not only help mobile banking authorities develop a more user-accepted mobile banking system, but can also provide insight into the best way to promote new IT systems to potential users.

Section snippets

Theoretical background

Of particular interest to the current study is wireless IT/IS acceptance, a fundamental managerial challenge in the implementation of mobile banking. Thus, a review of prior studies suggested the theoretical foundations of the formulations used in our hypotheses. To this end, this study examines two prevalent theories (i.e., TAM and TPB) for investigating individual IT/IS acceptance in a mobile banking context.

Research model and hypotheses

The research model tested in this study is shown in Fig. 1. In the extended model, like many other studies of the TAM (e.g., Chau, 1996; Hong et al., 2001; Lu & Gustafson, 1994), the “attitudes” construct has been removed for simplification. The proposed constructs and hypotheses are supported by prior studies in information systems literature.

Measuring the constructs

To ensure content validity of the scales used, the items selected must represent the concept around which generalizations are to be made. Items selected for the constructs were, therefore, largely adapted from prior studies in order to ensure content validity. The TAM's instruments are psychometrically sound. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness instruments show good convergent and discriminant properties (Adams et al., 1992; Chin & Gopal, 1995; Davis, 1989) are internally reliable (

Measurement model

A confirmatory factor analysis, using LISREL 8.3, was conducted to test the measurement model. Seven common model-fit measures were used to assess the model's overall goodness-of-fit: the ratio of χ2 to degrees-of-freedom (df); goodness-of-fit index (GFI); adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI); normalized fit index (NFI); non-normalized fit index (NNFI); comparative fit index (CFI); and root mean square residual (RMSR). As shown in Table 1, all the model-fit indices exceeded their respective

Discussion

Considerable research has been carried out on the TAM, which predicts whether individuals will accept and voluntarily use information systems. The TAM's primary exogenous variables are usefulness and ease of use. However, although an individual may believe that a system is useful and easy to use, he or she may think they lack the resources (e.g., money and expertise) required to use it. Recent research also reveals that a user's concerns surrounding the security and privacy protection of an

Conclusions

This study is a pioneering effort in applying the TAM to the newly emerging context of mobile banking, which has recently become available. Limitations of the TAM include the omission of a trust-based construct in the context of electronic/mobile commerce and the assumption that there are no barriers preventing an individual from using an IS if he or she chooses to do so. Based on the literature regarding the TAM and TPB, this study successfully extends TAM's applicability to the context of

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