Consumer acceptance of sports wearable technology: the role of technology readiness
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
ISSN: 1464-6668
Article publication date: 17 August 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ acceptance and use of sports and fitness wearable devices based on technology readiness (TR). In addition, the technology readiness and acceptance model (TRAM) will be used to investigate consumers’ intention to use sports wearable devices (for simplicity, sports wearable devices will be simplified to the term “sports wearables”).
Design/methodology/approach
Convenience sampling was conducted from Korean consumers (n=247). Data were analyzed by partial least squares–structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3.0.
Findings
The results found that positive TR has a positive influence on perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU), and negative TR had a negative influence on PEOU and PU. PEOU had a positive influence on perceived usefulness (PU). Both PEOU and PU led to intention to use sports wearable devices. Also, the multi-group analysis found a positive correlation between TR and PEOU for especially male users.
Originality/value
The findings of this study provide a better understanding of consumers’ behavioral intent to use sports wearables. Particularly, it also provides evidence that the TRAM is an appropriate framework for predicting users’ intention to use sports wearables. This study also stresses the important role of TR in consumers’ psychological processes leading up to the actual use of novel sports wearables.
Keywords
Citation
Kim, T. and Chiu, W. (2019), "Consumer acceptance of sports wearable technology: the role of technology readiness", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-06-2017-0050
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited