Viot, Catherine

The main drivers of the adoption of connected objects: Differentiating according to product category - 2021.


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Smart connected products (SCPs), which can gather, analyze, and generate data, are now part of our daily environment and are widely courted by innovative firms. Despite the accelerating development of SCPs, which have become an attractive opportunity for many companies, the key drivers of their adoption by consumers are little known. The main objective of this research is to give a better understanding of the consumer intention to adopt two main types of SCP: “wearables” (e.g., connected watches) and mobility equipment (e.g., SCPs connected to an insurance company). The theory of planned behavior offers a relevant framework to analyze the adoption of SCPs, but adding new variables, such as gadget love, is necessary to fully explain the intention to adopt these multi-faceted products. Thanks to an empirical study conducted on a sample of 362 adults, followed by structural equation modeling, this research shows that the main drivers of intention to adopt SCPs vary according to the product category, which is identified as a strong moderator.