An alternative model of self-service retail technology adoption

Purpose – This study aims to extend and revise the basic technology acceptance model (TAM) by analyzing the impact of trust and subjective norm (SN) on consumers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward adopting self-service technologies (SSTs) in offline retail environments. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected through field and online surveys, resulting in 651 usable responses. Hypotheses involving all variables of extended TAM, and their mutual relationships, are examined in this study of offline consumer adoption behavior. Findings – The findings reveal that trust significantly affects both consumers’ attitudes and their behavioral intentions, while SN also affects intention to adopt. It is recommended that future researchers use a more comprehensive version of TAM and consider trust and SN when analyzing offline consumer adoption behavior. Research limitations/implications – All the SSTs included in this paper belong to the retail industry, which limit the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Many other limitations are also discussed. Practical implications – The practicality of our findings guides managers and designers of technological interfaces. Furthermore, the practical implications are discussed and directions for future research are also provided. Social implications – This study recommends the usage of numerous SSTs in organized retail stores. The society will also benefit from the effective implementation of such SSTs. Originality/value – Trust and SNs have been incorporated as two additional variables to analyze offline adoption behavior of retail customers. This has not been done before, as most studies have focused on adoption behavior of customers in online environments.