Wearable Technology Acceptance in Health Care Based on National Culture Differences: Cross-Country Analysis Between Chinese and Swiss Consumers

Abstract

Background: The advancement of wearable devices and growing demand of consumers to monitor their own health have influenced the medical industry. Health care providers, insurers, and global technology companies intend to develop more wearable devices incorporating medical technology and to target consumers worldwide. However, acceptance of these devices varies considerably among consumers of different cultural backgrounds. Consumer willingness to use health care wearables is influenced by multiple factors that are of varying importance in various cultures. However, there is insufficient knowledge of the extent to which social and cultural factors affect wearable technology acceptance in health care.

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine the influential factors on the intention to adopt health care wearables, and the differences in the underlying motives and usage barriers between Chinese and Swiss consumers.

Methods: A new model for acceptance of health care wearables was conceptualized by incorporating predictors of different theories such as technology acceptance, health behavior, and privacy calculus based on an existing framework. To verify the model, a web-based survey in both the Chinese and German languages was conducted in China and Switzerland, resulting in 201 valid Chinese and 110 valid Swiss respondents. A multigroup partial least squares path analysis was applied to the survey data.

Results: Performance expectancy (β=.361, P<.001), social influence (β=.475, P<.001), and hedonic motivation (β=.111, P=.01) all positively affected the behavioral intention of consumers to adopt wearables, whereas effort expectancy, functional congruence, health consciousness, and perceived privacy risk did not demonstrate a significant impact on behavioral intention. The group-specific path coefficients indicated health consciousness (β=.150, P=.01) as a factor positively affecting only the behavior intention of the Chinese respondents, whereas the factors affecting only the behavioral intention of the Swiss respondents proved to be effort expectancy (β=.165, P=.02) and hedonic motivation (β=.212, P=.02). Performance expectancy asserted more of an influence on the behavioral intention of the Swiss (β=.426, P<.001) than the Chinese (β=.271, P<.001) respondents, whereas social influence had a greater influence on the behavioral intention of the Chinese (β=.321, P<.001) than the Swiss (β=.217, P=.004) respondents. Overall, the Chinese consumers displayed considerably higher behavioral intention (P<.001) than the Swiss. These discrepancies are explained by differences in national culture.

Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to investigate consumers' intention to adopt wearables from a cross-cultural perspective. This provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for future research, as well as practical implications for global vendors and insurers developing and promoting health care wearables with appropriate features in different countries. The testimonials and support by physicians, evidence of measurement accuracy, and easy handling of health care wearables would be useful in promoting the acceptance of wearables in Switzerland. The opinions of in-group members, involvement of employers, and multifunctional apps providing credible health care advice and solutions in cooperation with health care institutions would increase acceptance among the Chinese.

Keywords: Chinese; Swiss; cross culture; digital health; health care wearables; health technology acceptance; moderator; national culture; smartwatch; wearables; wearables acceptance.