Early versus potential adopters : Exploring the antecedents of use intention in the context of retail service innovations

Purpose – The success of retail service innovations is contingent upon a thorough understanding of the antecedent factors that drive adoption intention. Using the example of a novel kiosk technology, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of kiosk use intention and to find out how perceptions of antecedent factors vary among potential and early adopters. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the “Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology” and the technology readiness (TR) concept, the proposed framework identifies several factors underlying adoption intention. The framework is tested on potential and early adopters of a kiosk system recently launched by Taiwan's largest convenience retailer. Findings – Results show that while performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence impact overall use intention, the perceptions of these antecedents vary significantly between potential versus early users. Further, individual TR does not intervene with technology perceptions. Practical implications – Retail practitioners can use the findings to more effectively target these two important adopter segments and to prioritize their technology investments. Originality/value – Most of extant technology adoption researches assume that factors driving adoption behaviour remain constant as diffusion progresses. This work joins a limited number of studies, which propose a dynamic nature of antecedent factors. The paper shows how perceptions of antecedent factors differ among potential and early users of a novel kiosk system. Overall, this paper emphasizes the need for a more segmented‐oriented approach in the promoting of innovative retail technologies.