Wearable Devices: how to manage consumer anxiety that coexists with positive perceptions

The wearable technology products that are being introduced in the market are centered on ideas of producers and suppliers, which makes it difficult to tell whether they meet the needs of the consumers. Existing studies on wearable technology acceptance has also focused on technology acceptance based on the TAM model, which is why it is high time that we consider reasons why consumers are not accepting wearable technology. For this new technology to diffuse, we not only need innovators, early adopters, and improvement of technology to spread it to the majority but also a clear awareness of consumer resistance to new technology. This study is to determine the degree of innovation resistance which has an effect on wearable technology acceptance and clarify the precedence factors of innovation resistance. Rogers argued that innovation resistance is inevitable since acceptance and diffusion take place only when innovation resistance is overcome. Through identifying what factors affect innovation resistance to wearable technology, this study can offer academic and operational implications on the acceptance and diffusion of future wearable technology. The aim of this study was to deduce an implication on the diffusion of wearable technology through the relationship between innovation resistance and consumer acceptance. While the acceptance of new technology has generally been studied using the TAM model, by studying the impact of perceived ease of use and usefulness on acceptance, this study aimed to offer a strategic implication that can minimize the innovation resistance which hinders acceptance. While consumers accept technology with positive sides of technology in consideration, resistance to technology delays the acceptance, and thus applying technology readiness and consumers’ psychological factors to the innovation resistance-acceptance model would offer meaningful insight.