Do Consumers Care About Aesthetics and Compatibility? The Intention to Use Wearable Devices in Health Care

Abstract

This study examined the influencing factors on consumers' intention to use wearable devices in health care (WDH). Although the importance of the WDH market is increasing, existing empirical study results on WDH have been selectively investigated based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). To address this issue, we endeavored to contribute by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT) on top of TAM to explain the psychological mechanism underlying consumer behaviors, especially when adopting advanced wearable devices in the health care domain. We surveyed 303 people in Pangyo IT Valley, South Korea, and attempted a path analysis using PLS-SEM estimation. The findings suggest that individual innovativeness (IIN) directly affects consumers' intention to use (IU) WDH, while self-efficacy (SE), aesthetics (AES), and compatibility (COM) have indirectly influenced their usage intentions. Detailed results are described in the article.