What will be the possible barriers to consumers’ adoption of smart home services?

• Published in: Telecommunications policy 2020-03, Vol.44 (2), p.101867, Article 101867
• Main Authors: Hong, Areum, Nam, Changi, Kim, Seongcheol
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adoption of innovations; Barriers; Consumers; Housing market; Internet; Internet of Things; Optimism; Perceived risk; Privacy; Resistance; Respondents; Risk; Risk perception; Services; Smart buildings; Smart home; Smart houses; Technology; Telecommunications policy; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 0308-5961; 1879-3258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2019.101867

Recently, smart home services have come to the forefront as part of the growing market for the “Internet of Things.” Since these smart home services were introduced, they have been expected to grow rapidly. However, contrary to optimistic expectations for future market growth, the smart home market has appeared to hit a roadblock and remains at an early market stage. This study attempts to identify the possible barriers that consumers perceive when they are introduced to smart home services. Based on the resistance theory and perceived risk model, we investigate the relationship between perceived risk and resistance to smart home services, using technological uncertainty and service intangibility as the antecedents of perceived risk. Dividing perceived risk into four dimensions—performance risk, financial risk, privacy risk, and psychological risk—the empirical results show that these four risk types are affected by technology uncertainty and service intangibility, and the perceived risks, except for financial risk, have positive effects on the resistance to smart home services. When the survey respondents are divided into two types, postponers and rejecters, the result of postponers is similar with that of total sample, except that privacy risk is unimportant to postponers, and the result of rejecter cannot satisfy the recommended model fit. •The smart home market still remains at an early market stage.•The possible barriers that consumers perceive to smart home services were analyzed.•The resistance theory and perceived risk model were used.•We found that 4 types of perceived risk have positive effects on the resistance to smart home.