Pleasure in the use of new technologies: the case of e-book readers

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the adoption process of e-book readers and examine how the perception concerning the advantages of this technology and its incompatibility with consumer values determine the pleasure felt and its effective use. The authors also propose that consumer involvement with information and communication technologies (ICTs) moderates these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis is used to test the proposed model with survey data from a sample of e-book reader owners.

Findings

Appraisal of the device’s reading features and the possibility for free downloading increases the pleasure found with its use and the extent to which it is actually used, whereas attachment to paper books decreases the emotional feeling, with some of these effects being moderated by the individual’s involvement with new ICTs. Pleasure mediates the influence of perceived advantages and attachment to the older technology on the use of the e-book reader device.

Practical implications

Two challenges to practitioners are suggested: to overcome the rejection of users who are less eager to experience pleasure and to use the e-reader, and to find the product’s objective or sensory characteristics that provide pleasure and promote long-lasting use.

Originality/value

The study extends previous studies on e-book readers by emphasizing the need to go beyond adoption intention. It analyzes effective use as a crucial measure of the true adoption of this technology and incorporates the perspective offered by the appraisal theory of emotion, which explains the key role of pleasure in this process.

Citation

Antón, C., Camarero, C. and Rodríguez, J. (2017), "Pleasure in the use of new technologies: the case of e-book readers", Online Information Review, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 219-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-10-2015-0331