The effects of technology readiness, risks, and benefits on smart home technology adoption: extending the Theory of Planned Behavior model

Abstract

Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study investigated generational differences in the roles of technology readiness (TR), risks, and benefits on the behavioral intention of smart home technology. Data were gathered from a probability sample of 501 respondents by conducting a telephone survey in 2020. Findings showed that smart home technologies were not widely adopted in Hong Kong at the time of the survey. People who reported higher intention to adopt were all driven by components in the TPB model, TR (optimism and innovativeness), tangible benefits (such as saving energy, money, and time), and trendiness; however, this intention was inhibited by psychological risks. Furthermore, the interaction effect identified in the study provides a more nuanced view about the ways in which attitude toward IoT can interact with tangible benefits to regulate the behavioral intention of smart home products. This study suggests that designers and marketers of smart home products should recognize the role played by both intrinsic (e.g., optimism and innovativeness towards technology) and extrinsic factors (e.g., perceived risks and benefits) in significantly influencing the intention to adopt.

Keywords:

• Benefits
• IoT adoption
• risks, technology readiness
• Theory of Planned Behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Data recorded as of September 2020. The statistics for the mobile phone subscribers in Hong Kong was 22,393,559 units in a city with population of 7.49 million. Source: Office of the Communications Authority in Hong Kong.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Louis Leung

Louis Leung is an Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University and is the founder of the Department of Applied Data Science. Previously he was a Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong before retirement. His most recent works in social network usage and its impact to the society and human behaviors are widely cited in communication and media studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication from The University of Texas at Austin.

Marsena Cheung

Marsena Cheung is a research assistant at the Department of Applied Data Science, Hong Kong Shue Yan University since 2021. Her research focuses on bridging her clinical work with young people in their adaptation of technology and social media to her research interests in positive technology. She holds a MSSc degree in Counselling.