15-05-2012, 10:56 AM
Consumer Acceptance of RFID Technology: An Exploratory Study
Consumer_Acceptance_of_RFID_Technology_An_Exploratory_Study-Ure.pdf (Size: 1.73 MB / Downloads: 50)
INTRODUCTION
RADIO frequency identification (RFID) technology is gaining
attention both from academicians and from practitioners.
RFID has the potential to serve as a fundamental technology
for ubiquitous services where both objects and people can be
identified automatically via attached RFID tags [35]. However,
with the promise of RFID technology come issues that need
to be addressed for its widespread acceptance by consumers.
For example, the use of RFID technology by retailers and government
agencies raises questions about potential violation of
personal information privacy [35], and potential security threats
to personal information [40]. Motivated by such issues, this
study proposes and validates a theoretical model of consumer
acceptance of RFID technology.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A review of the relevant literature suggests that the TAM [10]
[11] and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) [5] are the two
widely used theoretical frameworks that are relevant to why
users accept or reject information technology [30]. Numerous
studies have validated the effectiveness of TAM in predicting
the user’s intention to use IT [2], [28], [51]. IS researchers have
extensively investigated TAM and extended it with constructs
such as impulsiveness and social norms [51], perceived user resources
[31], compatibility [7], perceived credibility [45], perceived
financial cost [29], perceived financial resource [46],
computer self-efficacy [3], and importance of service in an
online shopping environment [49]. Some studies employed
TAM to explain individual differences in accepting information
technology [32] and in understanding the cultural differences
of technology acceptance [43], [33].
RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES
This study proposes and validates the research model presented
in Fig. 1 based on the IS acceptance literature, especially
by Davis [10] and Davis et al. [11]. The research model is
based on TAM, but substitutes perceived usefulness and perceived
ease of use with perceived convenience of using RFID
technology to contextualize TAMto RFID technology. The contextualized
TAM is then extended by adding perceived cultural
influence, perceived privacy, perceived regulations’ influence,
and perceived security to the model. Table I summarizes the
research constructs.
Perceived Culture’s Influence
While culture is not easy to define, many researchers have
attempted to do so. For instance, Hofstede [21, p. 5] defined
culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes
the members of one human group from another”.
According to Kluckhohn [27, p. 86], culture is the “ways of
thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted by symbols,
constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups,
including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of
culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected)
ideas and especially their attached values”. Integrating
the aforementioned definitions, culture is defined as the beliefs,
value systems, norms, or behaviors of a given organization,
or society.