Functional and Symbolic Values of Cloud Terminals: A Study of User Acceptance and Purchasing Behaviors

The purchasing behavior of cloud terminals is increasingly shaped by the emerging cloud services. Rather than its hardware configuration, performance of cloud intelligent terminals such as the Chromebook is more and more dependent on the cloud service capability. However, it remains unknown what factors will drive user's acceptance and purchase of these cloud terminals. Using the Chromebook and MacBook as two representative products, this study models user's acceptance and purchasing behavior of cloud terminals and examines multiple factors driving the consumer's purchasing decision from the perspective of functional and symbolic values. The results emphasize the importance of symbolic values and cost, and propose that symbolic values of different cloud terminals have different effects on consumers' acceptance and purchase. It has important implications for companies to design and sell cloud terminals based on user's acceptance and purchase intentions.