Adoption of digital devices for children education: Korean case

• Published in: Telematics and informatics Vol. 38; pp. 247 - 256
• Main Authors: Park, Byungho, Chang, Hyeseung, Park, Sungjun (Steven)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Children; Children education; Extended technology acceptance model (TAM); High-tech product; Information technology; New product adoption; New technology; Parents; Product development; Risk perception; Structural equation model; Technology Acceptance Model; Technology adoption; Technology utilization; Extended technology acceptance model (TAM); Children education; High-tech product; New product adoption; Structural equation model
• ISSN: 0736-5853; 1879-324X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2018.11.002

•Research Motivation: The number of new tech products that target children is also increasing globally (Forbes, July 29, 2016). Starting from 2019, all Korean students receive software coding education from elementary schools. The adoption of digital technologies in the Korean education system is driven by its advanced infrastructure in information and communication technology (ICT). Therefore, understanding how children adopt and use technologies as their learning tools has become essential not only to parents but also to marketers.•Gaps in the Literature: When children adopt a new technology product, parents are often the buyers, while the children are the actual users. To date, within the technology adoption literature, little is known about where buyers and users are different entities, and even less is known within the context of family.•Research Objective: By filling this gap, the purpose of this research is to examine the parents’ perceived notion of their child’s propensity to accept a new product.•Main Findings: By extending the technology acceptance model (TAM), we considered two additional factors: perceived playfulness and risk. Results show that unlike in traditional TAM research, when buyers are not the users of the new product, the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use differently influence attitude formation. We also found that perceived playfulness can offset perceived risk, which is highly associated with using a new product.•Contributions: This study offers a novel approach to new product adoption literature by examining a case in which purchasers are not adopters. Moreover, our findings also provide implications for managers. When managers consider the introduction of a new product in a market in which buyers and end-users are not necessarily the same, promoting a new product’s perceived usefulness rather than perceived ease of use seems to be an effective marketing strategy. Moreover, promoting perceived playfulness can attenuate the negative effects of a new product’s perceived risk. Korea is at the forefront in information and communication technology (ICT). The adoption of digital learning device such as e-books amongst Korean students is accelerated by its nation-wide high mobile connectivity. When children adopt such new technology, parents are often the buyers, while the children are the actual users. To date, within the technology adoption literature, little is known about where buyers and users are different entities, and even less is known within the context of family. By filling this gap, the purpose of this research is to examine the parents’ perceived notion of their child’s propensity to accept a new product. By extending the technology acceptance model (TAM), we considered two additional factors: perceived playfulness and risk. Results show that unlike in traditional TAM research, when buyers are not the users of the new product, the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use differently influence attitude formation. We also found that perceived playfulness can offset perceived risk, which is highly associated with using a new product. Findings not only add to our understanding of technology and product acceptance but also provide insight to business practitioners for launching and marketing their new products, especially when it is a technology-based one.