Consumer adoption of technological innovations: Effects of psychological and functional barriers in a lack of content versus a presence of content situation

Purpose – This study seeks to investigate barriers in the consumer adoption process of technological innovations under different contingencies. The paper aims to focus on barriers impeding adoption of technologies characterized by high incompatibility and high uncertainty – i.e. a “lack of content” (LoC) situation – versus technologies characterized by low incompatibility and low uncertainty – i.e. a “presence of content” (PoC) situation.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature study, the paper develops hypotheses that distinguish the diverging effects of both psychological and functional barriers on consumer adoption in different situations (LoC versus PoC). Data were collected by means of a survey, resulting in an effective sample of 229 respondents.Findings – In the case of LoC, the value, risk (financial and performance) and image barrier are negatively related to adoption intention, where the latter barrier is significantly stronger for the LoC situation than for the PoC situation. For PoC...

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