Modelling the significance of value-belief-norm framework to predict mass adoption potentials of internet of things-enabled wearable fitness devices

Qing Yang; Abdullah Al Mamun; Mohammad Nurul Hassan Reza; Farzana Naznen

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30179

Modelling the significance of value-belief-norm framework to predict mass adoption potentials of internet of things-enabled wearable fitness devices

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 28;10(9):e30179. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30179. eCollection 2024 May 15.

Authors

Qing Yang¹, Abdullah Al Mamun¹, Mohammad Nurul Hassan Reza¹, Farzana Naznen²

Affiliations

¹ UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
² UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Malaysia. No. 1, Jalan Menara Gading, UCSI Heights (Taman Connaught), Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Self-health monitoring technologies have become increasingly popular in averting unanticipated health complications. However, the adoption rate of such technologies in developing countries is surprisingly low. Furthermore, empirical studies on the application of the value-belief-norm (VBN) model to elucidate intention to use IoT-enabled wearable fitness devices (IoT-enabled WFDs) are scarce. This study aimed to expand the VBN model by integrating health values, health consciousness, health knowledge-seeking, and social norms as influencing constructs. The proposed holistic framework was empirically tested to examine these constructs on users' decision-making process of adopting IoT-enabled WFDs. A web-based survey involving 866 adults in China aged 18-30 years was conducted. The gathered data were analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The results revealed the significant influence of health consciousness and health knowledge-seeking on personal health beliefs, as well as the favourable impact of personal health beliefs on personal norms and awareness of consequences. The results further demonstrated the substantial influence of awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibilities on personal norms. Besides that, personal norms and societal norms were found to have strong influence on the intention to adopt IoT-enabled WFDs, which was revealed to have significant influence on the actual usage. This study's findings offer novel theoretical insights on the behavioural characteristics of adopting IoT-enabled WFDs and serve as a practical guideline for industry experts and marketers to establish appropriate marketing strategies to support the IoT-enabled wearable sector. The findings also benefit policymakers in their efforts of developing strategies that emphasise the unique benefits of self-healthcare monitoring to encourage active lifestyle and decrease obesity and overweight-related health risks.

Keywords: IoT-enabled devices; Social norms; Value-belief-norm model; Wearable fitness devices; Young adults.