Leveraging the technology acceptance model for mobile commerce adoption under distinct stages of adoption: A case of micro businesses

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of trust and perceived enjoyment in the technology acceptance model by distinguishing distinct stages of adoption among street vendors (initial and advanced adoption stage).

Design/methodology/approach

Face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire were conducted with 430 street vendors in Bangkok; 415 usable surveys were analyzed. By applying K-means cluster analysis, two segments were found with 200 initial and 215 advanced adopters. A multi-group analysis was employed to investigate differences of relationships between the two groups.

Findings

The findings reveal significant similarities and dissimilarities between the two groups of vendors. Both initial and advanced adopters emphasize trust of service providers. The first group relies more on perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment in motivating m-commerce adoption but depends less on perceived usefulness. On the contrary, for the latter group, the influence of perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment significantly decreases, but the effect of perceived usefulness significantly increases.

Practical implications

This study sheds light on the managerial implications related to how service providers can tailor their marketing strategies to target vendors in disparate diffusion stages, and it encourages building trust between partners over time.

Originality/value

Due to the lack of theoretical and managerial understanding of factors that drive m-commerce adoption for micro businesses, this study identifies distinct adoption stages and offers valuable insights into the similarities and differences among initial and advanced adopters.

Citation

Pipitwanichakarn, T. and Wongtada, N. (2021), "Leveraging the technology acceptance model for mobile commerce adoption under distinct stages of adoption: A case of micro businesses", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 1415-1436. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2018-0448