Application of Technology Acceptance Model in

Dhaka Metropolitan for Smartwatch Adoption

Prepared By
Tamzid Mohammed Jayed (Roll: 2254)

S.M. Ashik Hossain (Roll: 2255)

Adeet Ishraq (Roll: 2280)

Prepared For
Prof. Dr. B M Mainul Hossain

Professor

Institute of Information Technology (IIT)

University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: 18th February 2023

Department of Organization Strategy & Leadership

University of Dhaka
Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 5

The First User Studies ................................................................................................................. 5

Smartwatch User Studies ............................................................................................................ 6

Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10

Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 10

Sample....................................................................................................................................... 11

Measures ................................................................................................................................... 11

Results ........................................................................................................................................... 12

Demographic Data .................................................................................................................... 12

Choice of Statistical Analysis for Path Model .......................................................................... 13

Assessment of Construct Validity............................................................................................. 14

Assessment of the Measurement Model ................................................................................... 15

Assessment of the Structural Model ......................................................................................... 16

Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 18

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 19

Reference ...................................................................................................................................... 20
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to understand smartwatch adoption situation in Dhaka Metropolitan Area
of Bangladesh. The study has been conducted based on an analytical framework, using the
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The 4 components of the TAM have been used, which
are, Perceived Affective Quality (PAQ), Mobility (MB), Availability (AV) and Trust (TR). In
terms of data analysis, SmartPLS 4 and IBM SPSS 26 software have been used. The findings of
this study indicate that PAQ, AV, and TR are positively related to Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU),
while AV and TR are positively related to Perceived Usefulness (PU). On the other hand, AV and
TR are positively related to PU. But the results also show that MB did not have a significant
positive effect on either PEOU or PU. This suggests that the mobility of the smartwatch did not
have an effect on the degree to which people in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area adopted the
technology. In addition, the aggregate elements of PU, PEOU, and ATT did, in fact, have a
significant and positive relationship with IU.

1|Page
Introduction
When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technology is one of the most progressive
and renowned ones. (Charlton & Poslad, 2016). Increasing exertion has fostered the researchers to
test the opportunities as well as some challenges asserted by such kinds of technologies. (Pitt et
al., 2017), the dynamics that have been exhibited in different sectors like education, health and
fitness, standard of living and quality of life. (Demir et. al, 2016).

Wearable smartwatches that are worn by the human on hands can monitor different activities of
the human body and provide inevitable responses barring the general movements of an individual
(Haghi et. al, 2017). Most of the popular wearable technologies are smartwatches, fitness trackers
etc. The use of wearable technologies is increasing day by day and it is predicted to rise by 55%
in the coming years (Rogers and Park, 2016). These wearable devices give us an extensive level
of services in the field of fitness, medical support, entertainment and many more that are the main
causes of its rising popularity. The sales of the wearable devices (e.g., smartwatch) are assumed to
be 120 million in 2022 (Piwek et. al, 2016).

The diffusion of technology or innovation (e.g., big data, robotics, artificial intelligence and design
thinking etc.) has proposed breakthrough solutions to different kinds of challenges and needs all
over the world (Ahmad et. al, 2020). In terms of theory, this study has applied the Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) to look into the factors deeply that are influencing
customers' intention to use the digital watches or smartwatches. Previously, the TAM was
conducted to understand the acceptance of technologies only within some particular organizations
(Natarajan et. al, 2018). But because of the great performance of the TAM and its simplicity, it has
been recognized as one of the used and acceptable models for understanding the behavior of the
customers in terms of continuation and adoption of the usage of different sets of technologies
(Okumus and Bilgihan, 2014).

Smartwatches, also called mini computers, have a number of functions rather than just showing
the times and these are the latest of the developments when it comes to the information technology
progression and evaluation. According to some researchers, smartwatches might reduce the
attention of customers provided to the other technologies, for example, wearable technologies, as

2|Page
crucial data is shown on the user interface. But smartwatches might enhance the attention of the
customers as they are the center that provides the access in which they can use the messaging,
visualizations, emails and so on. Additionally, the visibility and functioning of a normal watch
may also be positioned as a splendid good (Carlson, 2015). Rather than avoiding a new technology
or new set of technologies, fashion and technology can be merged to become a pivotal part of a
customer (Debnath et. al, 2018).

The demand for smartwatches and different wearable devices is increasing day by day in the
market. IDC (2015) reported that the global market for these wearable devices will reach almost
111 million units in 2016 which will show a growth of 44% when compared to 2015. Most of them
will be devices which are wrist-worn such as smart wristbands and smartwatches. Google has also
reported that people are now searching regarding the smartwatches more often than the previous
times which also helps practitioners and professionals to have some research on this technology.
The growth of smartwatches will be immense in the future (Lamkin, 2015).

The objective of this study is to understand what urges the acceptance of smartwatches in Dhaka
Metropolitan Area. Smartwatches are very popular nowadays and people consume these greatly in
Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka. However, the studies regarding this particular topic from the
viewpoint of the customers are very few. At the same time, wearable technologies like the
manufacturer of the smartwatches are presently trying to redefine themselves in the market and
have an intention to capture the market by understanding the tastes of the customers. To realize
the need of the consumer and feel their pain is the only way to grow the business in the market in
the coming days. So, by having a great understanding of this important and popular technology
and its acceptance to the general people in the city of Dhaka, this paper comes up with identifying
certain significant insights as well as factors for the businessmen so that these professionals can
present their products in need of their targeted customers.

Basically, the aim of this study is to fill the gap which has been found in the literature and that has
been identified as the critical factors related to driving the customers to get and use smartwatches
in the Dhaka city area in terms of contexts like people, culture etc. We have asked the following
research questions:

3|Page
Research question (RQ): What are the different kinds of factors that influence the adoption of
smartwatches in Dhaka Metropolitan Area?

Sub-RQ: To what extent can Perceived Affective Quality (PAQ) be an exact determinant of
smartwatch adoption for the people of Dhaka Metropolitan Area?

Wearable technologies like the manufacturer of the smartwatches are presently trying to redefine
themselves in the market and have an intention to capture the market by understanding the tastes
of the customers. For this technological sector, this is one of the steps for the growth of this industry
in the coming days or so. Moreover, for the manufacturers, it is very important to understand and
know the market in Dhaka Metropolitan Area because people are moving now and then. At the
same time, different people have the preference of buying smartwatches from different shopping
malls of the different parts of Dhaka city. That is why, examining the primary factors related to
the adaptation of wearable technologies specially smartwatch is an important part for the
producers. From the research perspective, acceptance of a specific technology in a specific place
is a great subject to study for the researchers in recent times and across all disciplines.

The technologies always have a significant influence on daily life, education and businesses.
Several studies have focused on the acceptance of the mobile phone technology (Dutot, 2015), and
in addition to the prosperity of the latter wireless communication different technology, have led
the rise of new behaviors (Kim & Shin, 2015), particularly e-communication and e-commerce, for
consumers as well as the enterprises (Comin & Hobijn, 2008). The next section explains about
different adoption models, the context of smartwatch technology and acceptance of smartwatch in
Dhaka city, thenceforth a small description of the model of the research. After that, the qualitative
analysis and its outcomes have been shown, leading to a review of the important roles of perceived
affective quality (PAQ), availability (AV), mobility (MB), and trust. Lastly, it shows the
implications for the managers as well as the academics in more detail, and what will be future
research in this topic.

4|Page
Literature Review
The First User Studies

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was constructed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1975) and Ajzen et
al. (1980), which discusses acquisition of individual behaviors. Through the amalgamation of
consumer behavior and social psychology areas, the theory was created. To be more precise, TRA
tries to foretell consumer behavior and intentions through the provision of a framework to find out
how and where to direct consumers’ endeavors at behavior variations (Mathieson et al. 1991).
Hartwick et al. (1994) applied the theory to discuss computer-assisted data acceptance system in a
setting which was company-centric. Researchers accepted the separation among a behavioral
target and an objective resolution and described this with theoretical shortcomings. Hence, the
main framework was added by another element: perceived behavior control. Correspondingly,
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) was established by Ajzen (1991).

TPB implies that the decision to undertake a certain action is the outcome of the person’s intent in
relation to the acceptance of this particular way of acting. The aim element asserts to the notion
that people regard the outcomes of these people’s acts prior to getting involved (or not) in a
particular type of behavior. This element depends on three conceptual determinant factors: (1)
outlook in regards to a behavior, described to the degree to which an individual relates a
positive/negative assessment or examination of the particular acting model studies (Ajzen, 1991);
(2) the subjective standard, referred through the effect of others’ way of acting, that relates to a
direct impact on each person (Harding et al. 2007), and (3) perceived behavior control,
demonstrates irregularities among behavior and intentions, like when individuals regard
impediments on planned mental construct demonstration (Stone et al. 2009). Preliminary research
on this theory was centered on generalizability and replication in regards to different behaviors to
analyze effectiveness and consistency of this theoretical model (Shadish et al. 2002). It was
ascertained in regards to technology acquirement by Fygenson et al. (2006), who added discerned
feasibility of usage (PEU), belief and perceived functionality.

Where TPB and TRA centered on human manners, Davis (1989) theorized a surrogate to the
conceptual frameworks: The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Created based on the studies
of communal psychology, it amalgamates different conceptual point of views in regards to a

5|Page
technological stance. It is used and approved in regards to a broad range of information systems
and new technologies, such as computing of mobile cloud (Park et al. 2014), acceptance of
commerce based on electronics (Pavlou, 2003), smartphones (Joo et al. 2014), mobile-based
technologies (Sanakulov & Karjaluoto, 2015) and m-gaming (Liu & Li, 2011).

By making use of TAM and taking it by means of a fundamental model for the service-taker
acceptance of smartwatches, our research forecasts that the following elements will possess
significant correlations while used in the context of the smartwatch discipline: attitude towards
smartwatch (ATT), PU, PEOU, and intention to use the technology (IU). As stated, the initial four
hypotheses are provided here-

H1. PEOU relates affirmatively to PU.

H2. PEOU relates affirmatively to ATT Smartwatch.

H3. PU relates affirmatively to ATT Smartwatch.

H4. ATT Smartwatch relates affirmatively to IU Technology.

A generic appraisal of TAM is its ‘requirement for marginal elements to raise its prophetical
strength’ (Venkatesh et al. 2016). The majority of the elements that were followingly merged on
were concentrated on new automation and firms, and information systems- but no application of
an applied science in daily life. A next appraisal is the inadequacy of acceptance of distinct
variations (Agarwal et al. 1999), which stresses the concept that the TAM did not initially take
control variable, such as experience, age or gender, and many of them affected attitude in regards
to technology (Straub, 2009), and hence the thought of it. Both of the evaluations stress the
importance of the TAM to be applied in different technologies and contexts, to enable the
framework to ensure its aptness for changing technology.

Smartwatch User Studies

Smartwatch is a technological device worn on wrists, which can assist people in knowing their
blood pressure, heart beat, sleep time, walking distance, running distance and so on. Usually
connected with the user’s mobile phone, a smartwatch enables user to see all the notifications on

6|Page
the mobile device through the smartwatch’s display. Bachmann et al. (2015) advocate the
application of smartwatches and smart mobiles to analyze physiological and smartphone data in
order to make the user informed in various ways. Jovanov (2015) carried out a longitudinal health
research over a time period of 4 months and discovered that smartwatches have profound
possibilities to keep track of particular health condition, physiological state and evaluations of
overall health condition. Magsamen-Conrad et al. (2015) discovered that smartwatch can be used
as a sound digitization healthcare podium, and can aid in tacking problems of loneliness and social
isolation.

Different kinds of studies stress the usefulness of smartwatches in different ways. Bargas-Avila et
al. (2012) state that orthodox useableness of the smartwatches is focused excessively on enhancing
task efficiency, whereas the focus should be more on the perceived use of the device, appearance,
fun and the experiences people have in while using the device.

Van Berkel et al. (2016) assess smartwatch and conclave tenure. These circadian applicator-
appliance interchange studies enhance the study of the ways applicators apply such devices, and
identified more findings of applicator action patterns. Like, an assessment in regards to particular
feature of a smartwatch is used more by a user can be a reflection of situation choices. More
research findings emphasize the value of connection aesthetics such as important component of
smartwatches, stressing the fact that a shopper-focused aesthetics is an essential issue against an
industrial aesthetics (Billinghurst et al. 2015). Rawassizadeh et al. (2015) advocate the possibility
of smartwatches in the ability to assimilate data regarding human way of actions. They also
emphasize the need for multidimensional reflection methods to attain such outcomes. Hermsen et
al. Kerkhof (2016) assert that the application of smartwatches provides findings on human actions,
and can also be used to attain tacit trends of human behavior which remained invisible in the past.

(De Sousa et al. 2016) assert that the possibilities of smartwatches in big fields, such as learning
has been analyzed. Lytras et al. (2015) analyzed the prospect of smartwatch applicability in the
classroom. Such research has identified that an end user-based design and a comprehension of the
features which prompt customers to acknowledge such technology are very important.

7|Page
In contemporary years, research have started to identify wearable technology, particularly
smartwatches, in regards to global enlargement and the market’s appearance. Such that, Kim and
Shin (2015) researched on the acceptance of smartwatches underneath an enlarged TAM. The
authors assessed the major spiritual variables, like subcultural appeal and cost, MB, affective
quality, AV and relative quality, which they stated were linked with ready-to-wear technology,
and governed if or not these variables had the ability to portray purchaser acknowledgement of
smartwatches if ascertained through the model in use.

The importance of affective quality was acknowledged by Zhang and Lee (2015): ‘purchasers are
not always reasonable humans- emotion regularly works as an overlooked element in customer
acknowledgement of technology.’ As so, distinct behavior and point of views are affected by affect
(mental constructs and emotions). At present, user familiarity has turned into a key feature of novel
interfaces and devices and describes the reason of technology’s indulgent features (e.g., affective
quality) have attained great reputation (Kim & Shin, 2015). This learning acknowledges the
eagerness to recurrently assess the impact of emotional quality on technology acceptance, after the
augmentation of the studied framework developed by Zhang et al. (2006), who explained the effect
of PAQ on intellectual assimilation. They delineated it as two frameworks with four kinds of
elements: pleasant, aroused, unpleasant and sleepy (Russel et al. 1980).

The judgement to understand PAQ in the place of emotional quality is constructed on this
research’s attention on customer mental constructs of digital watch technology and the insertion
of probable purchasers who would not currently possess a gadget. PAQ can be defined as a
person’s discernment and point of view of an item before any other perceptive evaluation and
assessment of its repercussions or their probable meetings with it (Zhang et al. 2004). In the
framework of technology reception, it is purchasers’ initial response to Electronic Technology
which had an effect on their following responses (Sanchez-Franco, 2010, p.39). As soon as a
person considers a technology to be fascinating and motivating, he or she will also have an
increased mental construct of that technology’s comfort of application. Hence, PAQ is perceived
to affirmatively affect PEOU (Zhang et al., 2006). As a result, the resulting hypotheses are put
forward-

H5a. PAQ will have an affirmative effect on the PU of smartwatches.

8|Page
H5b. PAQ will have an affirmative effect on the PEOU of smartwatches.

The solidity of ready-to-wear technology is its capability to provide complete mobility (MB) to its
users. Mobility perspective denotes to three dimensions: immediacy, convenience and expediency
(Seppälä & Alamäki, 2003). The perspective enables purchasers to get details without the hurdles
of space and time (Shin, 2012). It removes the hurdles of remaining in a designated space and
asserts to the extent to which purchasers feel that they can move spontaneously with their gadgets
in varied places and in journey time period (Kim & Shin, 2015). MB is related to AV; however,
the subsequent perspective relates to time restrictions. AV is explained as the extent to which
purchasers perceive their gadgets to provide them with the latest links to data and amenities (Kim
& Shin, 2015). MB and AV have stood as the major elements for the acceptance of contemporary
technologies, such as radiocommunication internet (Shin, 2007). This education makes use of both
the elements in the study framework as they also act as the major assets of ready-to-wear
technology in this sense as they provide customers the potentiality to measure themselves anyplace
at any moment. Ready-to-wear technology is compact and modified to customers’ non-temporary
find for independence and availability to their gadgets. Hence, we can propose the resulting
hypotheses’-

H6a. MB will have an affirmative effect on the PU of smartwatches.

H6b. MB will have an affirmative effect on the PEOU of smartwatches.

H7a. AV will have an affirmative effect on the PU of smartwatches.

H7b. AV will have an affirmative effect on the PEOU of smartwatches.

For the assimilation of details about people, trust is an important pre-requisite in the field of
Information Technology (Liu et al. 2005). Belief is a mainstay of particular services, such as e-
commerce and mobile payment services (Aljifri et al. 2010). Credence has been explained in
various manners, counting from an empathy or compassion point of view (Flavian et al. 2002),
and from an interactive point of view (Md Nor et al. 2011). This learning’s meaning of trust is
focused on the ‘inclination to rely’ on the associate principle, which here is the smartwatch
company (Flavian et al., 2006). The relationship among trust and PU was demarcated beforehand

9|Page
as means of affirmative (Gefen et al. 2003), alike to the relationship among PEOU and trust (Dutot
et al. 2008). Hence, the resulting hypotheses can be conferred-

H8a. Trust will have an affirmative effect on the PU of smartwatches.

H8b. Trust will have an affirmative effect on the PEOU of smartwatches.

Overall, the resulting conceptual framework and hypotheses can be put forward in Figure 1:

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Methodology
Data Collection

The collection of data for this study was done through the method of an online survey with the
help of Google Forms, which enabled an easier administering of the survey questionnaire to a large
number of people and ensure a high response rate to the survey. There were no specific criteria for
selecting the respondents as people who had never used a smartwatch were also asked to take the
survey based on their own perception of the object. In the questionnaire, pictures were provided to
enable better understanding of what a smartwatch is, if the respondent had never seen one before.
The method of using online survey as a proper research tool has been supported by previous
literature (Vehovar & Manfreda, 2017). The benefits of this method are its speed, low cost, and

10 | P a g e
ease of use while collecting survey data (Baron et al., 2002). All obtained information was useable,
with no responses missing.

Sample

The sample size for this research has been taken as 100 due to the limitation of the SmartPLS 4
software for student license, which has been used for analysis purposes in this paper. The type of
sampling that has been used in this research is convenience sampling which is a method of non-
probability sampling were respondents as sample are collected from a conveniently accessible
portion of the population. All the samples have been collected within the Dhaka metropolitan area
according to convenience.

Measures

The survey that has been used for this research has implemented a questionnaire composed of
elements evaluated in prior research (Baumard et al., 2007). According to the literature review, the
chosen measures' reliability and validity has been well validated, and their relevance to the model
design of the research has been formerly acknowledged. The measure for PAQ (4 items) has been
based on the research paper by Zhang & Li published in 2005, while the measure for the MB has
been calculated using the 3 items from the research papers by Huang, Lin, & Chuang published in
2007 and Kim & Shin in 2015 (Zhang & Li, 2005; Huang, Lin & Chuang, 2007; Kim & Shin,
2015). The measurement of AV has been based on the research paper by Shin published in 2012
and Kim & Shin in 2015 (4 items), and the component named trust (TR) has been measured with
the help of Liu et al. (2005) and Dutot (2015) (4 items) (Shin, 2012; Kim & Shin, 2015; Liu et al.,
2005; Dutot, 2015). The components for measurement of PU (4 items), PEOU (4 items), ATT (4
items), and IU (3 items) were all derived from the original Technology Acceptance Model given
by Davis in 1989 and converted to the smartwatch technological field for this particular study
(Davis, 1989). The questions were measured with the help of using a 5-point Likert scale where,
1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) points were used throughout the questionnaire (Weijters
et al., 2010). For questions regarding constructs, closed-ended questions were used to reduce
measurement error (Vehovar & Manfreda, 2017). Along with these, the demographic data of
gender, education level as well as age were collected from the respondents of the questionnaire.

11 | P a g e
Results
Demographic Data
Age of Respondents

The mean age of the respondents in the sample that was considered for this research was 24.99
years or approximately 25 years of age with the respondents ranging from a minimum age of 16
years to a maximum age of 45 years. The standard deviation of the age of the respondents was
4.308 years. The results of age of respondents as generated using IBM SPSS 26 has been shown
in Table 1.

Table 1
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Age 100 16 45 24.99 4.308
Valid N (listwise) 100

Gender of Respondents

The distribution of the gender of the respondents in the sample that was considered for this research
consists of a majority of male respondents and a minority of female respondents. In the sample,
male respondents consisted of 82% and the female respondents consisted of 18%. The results have
been exhibited in Table 2.

Table 2
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Female 18 18.0 18.0 18.0
Male 82 82.0 82.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Educational Level of Respondents

The educational level of the respondents in the sample considered for this research was divided
into five categories, which were Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Certificate,

12 | P a g e
Undergraduate, Graduate and Postgraduate. Among all the categories, the highest number of
respondents were in the category of Undergraduate with total of 39%, followed by Graduate with
a total of 25%. On the other hand, the category with the lowest number of respondents was
Secondary School Certificate with a total of only 4%. The summary of the results of the
educational level of respondents is provided in Table 3.

Table 3
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Graduate 25 25.0 25.0 25.0
Higher Secondary Certificate 18 18.0 18.0 43.0
Postgraduate 14 14.0 14.0 57.0
Secondary School Certificate 4 4.0 4.0 61.0
Undergraduate 39 39.0 39.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Choice of Statistical Analysis for Path Model

The partial least squares (PLS) method and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess
the model of the research. The approach of analysis used for this research was the one followed by
Anderson and Gerbing in 1988 (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). The construct validity of the model
was analyzed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), after which the structural model of the
research was run to test the hypotheses set for this research. As stated in Table 4, all the values are
well above the threshold of 0.70 and this shows that the structural model has construct validity.

Table 4

Confirmatory Factor Analysis

ATT AV IU MB PAQ PEOU PU TR
ATT1 0.885
ATT2 0.907
ATT3 0.922
ATT4 0.887
AV1 0.892
AV2 0.89

13 | P a g e
 AV3 0.877
AV4 0.943
IU1 0.968
IU2 0.974
IU3 0.947
MB1 0.841
MB2 0.922
MB3 0.928
PAQ1 0.933
PAQ2 0.942
PAQ3 0.876
PAQ4 0.813
PEOU1 0.921
PEOU2 0.917
PEOU3 0.845
PEOU4 0.909
PU1 0.912
PU2 0.918
PU3 0.962
PU4 0.871
TR1 0.926
TR2 0.911
TR3 0.888
TR4 0.866

Assessment of Construct Validity

The data was analyzed using SmartPLS 4 in order to check the reliability and validity of the
constructs in the model. In order to test the construct validity, the Cronbach’s Alpha values have
been reported to show that there is indeed valid construct in the model. All the values of the
Cronbach’s Alpha were above the threshold of 0.70, which indicates that the validity of the
constructs is acceptable and thus there is construct validity of the model. Moreover, in terms of
composite reliability the alpha (ρ) values were reported, which also were above the threshold of
0.70 which indicated that the composite reliability of the model was also acceptable and thus
composite reliability of the model was established. Finally, the Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
value was reported for the model as analyzed through the method of ascertaining validity. All the
values that were reported exceed the threshold of 0.50 which indicated that the construct reliability
was present for the model and thus further indicated that the items of the constructs in the model

14 | P a g e
measured what they intended to measure, thus ascertaining the accuracy and essentially the
construct validity of the model.

Table 5

Construct Reliability and Validity

Cronbach's Composite Reliability Composite Reliability Average Variance
Alpha (rho_a) (rho_c) Extracted (AVE)
ATT 0.922 0.926 0.945 0.811
AV 0.923 0.93 0.945 0.812
IU 0.961 0.961 0.975 0.928
MB 0.88 0.902 0.926 0.806
PAQ 0.711 0.908 0.838 0.632
PEOU 0.92 0.923 0.944 0.808
PU 0.936 0.939 0.954 0.84
TR 0.92 0.927 0.943 0.806

Assessment of the Measurement Model

The method of analysis used in the SmartPLS 4 software concurrently evaluates the measurement
model that has been used on the basis of two aspects, the theoretical propositions as well as the
properties of the model. As a result of this, the unidimensionality and reliability of the measures
must be verified at first. This is due to the fact that in order for the values to be considered unique,
the variables must exhibit unidimensionality for the observable variables measuring a reflective
construct (Gefen et al., 2000). The unidimensionality of the measures was confirmed by retaining
variables whose loadings were above 0.5, as shown in Table 5.

A value of alpha (ρ) exceeding the threshold of 0.7 and AVE value exceeding the threshold of 0.5,
respectively indicate the reliability and the convergent validity of the constructs as satisfactory
(Gefen et al., 2000). In this study, the AVEs and alpha (ρ) exceeded the thresholds, which indicates
that the reliability and convergent validity are acceptable for this model.

The heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) was used to prove the discriminant validity of the research
model. In order to be acceptable according to the outcome of this test of HTMT, the value must be
below 0.85 according to the most conservative measures (Hair et al., 2011). In Table 6, all the

15 | P a g e
HTMT values are seen to be below the value of 0.85, which shows that the discriminant validity
of the model is present and thus established.

Table 6

Discriminant Validity - Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) Ratio

ATT AV IU MB PAQ PEOU PU TR
ATT
AV 0.739
IU 0.849 0.753
MB 0.794 0.82 0.808
PAQ 0.866 0.863 0.819 0.862
PEOU 0.829 0.841 0.741 0.781 0.872
PU 0.872 0.852 0.832 0.777 0.821 0.807
TR 0.653 0.746 0.617 0.712 0.752 0.793 0.743

Assessment of the Structural Model

In order to verify the specific hypothesis, we evaluated the path coefficients (beta values) and
analyzed their direction, strength, and level of significance. The Figure 2 shows the overall
structural model and the respective values of this research study. The model that has been proposed
and the constructs used in the model, PAQ, MB, AV, TR, PU, PEOU and ATT, all explain the
change in IU at a significant level, which means it is statistically significant and the explained
change has a value of 80.5% due a R-Squared value of 0.805. This provides adequate support for
the model that was proposed and its constructs.

16 | P a g e
 Figure 2: Structural Model

Moreover, out of the 12 hypotheses that were proposed, 8 have been accepted and 4 have been
rejected. The result of the hypothesis testing has been summarized in the Table 7.

Table 7

Summary of Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesized
Hypothesis Relationship Path Coefficients T-Statistic P-Value Result
H1 PEOU -> PU 0.177 1.38 0.084 Rejected
H2 PEOU -> ATT 0.347* 3.137 0.001 Accepted
H3 PU -> ATT 0.554* 5.729 0.000 Accepted
H4 ATT -> IU 0.897* 39.552 0.000 Accepted
H5a PAQ -> PU 0.116 0.994 0.160 Rejected
H5b PAQ -> PEOU 0.221* 2.685 0.004 Accepted
H6a MB -> PU 0.127 1.167 0.122 Rejected
H6b MB -> PEOU 0.091 0.891 0.186 Rejected
H7a AV -> PU 0.364* 2.812 0.002 Accepted
H7b AV -> PEOU 0.347* 2.606 0.005 Accepted
H8a TR -> PU 0.158* 2.292 0.011 Accepted
H8b TR -> PEOU 0.296* 2.983 0.001 Accepted
*p<0.05

17 | P a g e
Discussion
The objective of this research was to evaluate the factors that influence people's intentions towards
the usage of smartwatches in the Dhaka metropolitan area. We established an analytical framework
that aggregates TAM aspects (PEOU, PU, and ATT) and factors in order to conduct an analysis of
this adoption. The purpose of this study was to better understand how this adoption came to be
(PAQ, MB, AV, and TR). The results provide preliminary support for an answer to both the
primary research question and the sub-research question. The desire to use smartwatches is
affected by a variety of circumstances, each of which in its own way plays a role.

In this research study, it was seen that PAQ, AV and TR were positively related to PEOU and on
the other side, AV and TR were positively related to PU. But, the results also indicated that MB
did not have a significant positive effect on either PEOU or PU, which means that in the context
of the people of Dhaka Metropolitan, the mobility of the smartwatch did not have an effect on the
adoption of the technology. Moreover, the PU, PEOU and ATT aggregate elements do have a
significant and positive relationship with IU and this confirms the fact that the adapted TAM model
considered for this research is a relevant theory in the context of Dhaka metropolitan for the
intention of the use of smartwatches, essentially the adoption of smartwatches.

In the case of the sub-research question posed for this research, the crucial role of PAQ as a
determinant of smartwatch adoption was acknowledged. In the hypothesis testing it was
consequently seen that the PAQ has a significant and positive relationship with PEOU but did not
have a significant relationship with PU in the context of Dhaka metropolitan. This partially
answers the sub-research question since not both the hypotheses could be accepted in the results
of our study. Also, this partially supports the findings of previous researches of Dutot et al. (2019),
Dehghani et al. (2018), Hong et al. (2017), and Zhang and Li (2004). The relevance of PAQ
highlights the significance of its insertion in strategies related to communication with the objective
of affecting potential smartwatch users who might adopt it in the future.

Academics and practitioners of the relevant field will also find important implications related to
the field of information systems in the outcomes of this research as stated. For academics, the
research investigates smartwatch adoption from a sociocultural perspective particularly in the

18 | P a g e
context of a country like Bangladesh which is gradually ushering into the modern digital era
throughout the metropolitans as well as rural areas. The significance of PAQ as a key determinant,
albeit not fully supported by this research, which calls for further research on this construct, have
also been identified in this research. Moreover, it also approves the roles of AV and TR as
important constructs but to a lesser extent. Finally, the research shows that in the context of Dhaka
metropolitan, mobility or MB did not have any impact on the intention to use of smartwatches and
its adoption as a whole.

Conclusion
The research focuses on smartwatch adoption in Dhaka Metropolitan Area, using the Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) as the standard measuring method. Utilizing PAQ, MB, AV and TR,
TAM explains the acceptance scenario of smartwatch on the effects of these four elements on
PEOU, PU, ATT and IU. The results are varied, as different factors are related differently towards
smartwatch acceptance in the Dhaka area. PAQ, AV and TR relate affirmatively towards PEOU
and PU, and in turn are positive contributors of smartwatch acceptance in the Dhaka Area.
However, MB is not significantly related to both PEOU and PU, suggesting that in the context of
Dhaka, it is a less significant factor towards smartwatch adoption. The quality of smartwatches is
an important factor in determining people’s intention to use the devices. This suggests that quality
smartwatches having different features are what people look for while making their purchase
decisions. Future researches on this topic should focus on the precise attributes of smartwatches
must have in order for people to buy them, in the context of Dhaka Metropolitan Area.

19 | P a g e
Reference
1. Agarwal, R., & Prasad, J. (1999). Are individual differences germane to the acceptance of
new information technologies? Decision Sciences, 30(2), 361–391.
2. Ahmad, A. et al. (2020) “Understanding factors influencing elderly diabetic patients’
continuance intention to use digital health wearables: Extending the technology acceptance
model (TAM),” Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(3),
p. 81. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc6030081.
3. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
4. Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior
(1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
5. Aljifri, H. A., Pons, A., & Collins, D. (2003). Global e-commerce: A framework for
understanding and overcoming the trust barrier. Information Management and Computer
Security, 11(3), 130–138.
6. Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A
review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological bulletin, 103(3), 411.
7. Bachmann, A., Klebsattel, C., Schankin, A., Riedel, T., Beigl, M., Reichert, M., ... &
Ebner-Priemer, U. (2015, September). Leveraging smartwatches for unobtrusive mobile
ambulatory mood assessment. In Adjunct Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint
Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing and Proceedings of the 2015 ACM
International Symposium on Wearable Computers (pp. 1057-1062).
8. Bargas-Avila, Javier; Hornbæk, Kasper (2012). Foci and blind spots in user experience
research. interactions, 19(6), 24–.
9. Baron, J. S., Healey, N., & Ilieva, J. (2002). Online surveys in marketing research: Pros
and cons. International Journal of Market Research, 44(3), 361-376.
10. Baumard, P., Donada, C., Ibert, J., & Xuereb, J. M. (2007). La collecte de données et la
gestion de leurs sources (No. hal-00324538).
11. Billinghurst, M., & Busse, D. (2015, January). Rapid prototyping for wearables: Concept
design and development for head-and wrist-mounted wearables (smart watches and Google

20 | P a g e
 glass). In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and
Embodied Interaction (pp. 505-508).
12. Carlson, J. (2015) Apple Watch becomes a study on attention, The Seattle Times. The
Seattle Times Company. Available at: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/apple-
watch-becomes-a-study-on-attention/ (Accessed: January 23, 2023).
13. Charlton, P. and Poslad, S. (2016) “A Sharable Wearable Maker Community IOT
Application,” 2016 12th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE)
[Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/ie.2016.12.
14. Comin, D.A. and Hobijn, B. (2008) “An exploration of technology diffusion,” SSRN
Electronic Journal [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1116606.
15. Davis, F. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of
information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.
16. Davis, F.D. (1989) “Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of
Information Technology,” MIS Quarterly, 13(3), p. 319. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.2307/249008.
17. de Sousa Monteiro, Bruno; Gomes, Alex Sandro; Mendes Neto, Francisco Milton
(2014). Youubi: Open software for ubiquitous learning. Computers in Human Behavior,(),
S0747563214005226–.
18. Debnath, A. et al. (2018) “An explication of acceptability of wearable devices in context
of Bangladesh: A user study,” 2018 IEEE 6th International Conference on Future Internet
of Things and Cloud (FiCloud) [Preprint]. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1109/ficloud.2018.00027.
19. Dehghani, M., Kim, K. J., & Dangelico, R. M. (2018). Will smartwatches last? Factors
contributing to intention to keep using smart wearable technology. Telematics and
Informatics, 35(2), 480-490.
20. Demir, E.B. et al. (2016) “A Challenge for Higher Education: Wearable Technology for
Fashion Design Departments,” World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues,
8(1), pp. 65–73. Available at: https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v8i1.503.
21. Dutot, V. (2015). Factors influencing near field communication (NFC) adoption: An
extended TAM approach. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 26(1),
45–57.

21 | P a g e
22. Dutot, V., Bhatiasevi, V., & Bellallahom, N. (2019). Applying the technology acceptance
model in a three-countries study of smartwatch adoption. The Journal of High Technology
Management Research, 30(1), 1-14.
23. Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: an introduction
to theory and research (1st ed.). Reading (MA): Addison-Wesley etc.
24. Flavian, C., Guinaliu, M., & Torres, E. (2006). How bricks-and-mortar attributes affect
online banking adoption. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 24(6), 406–423.
25. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with
unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), 39-
50.
26. Gefen, D. (2002). Reflections on the dimensions of trust and trustworthiness among online
consumers. Database for Advances in Information Systems, 33(3), 38–53.
27. Gefen, D., Karahanna, E., & Straub, D. (2003). Inexperience and experience with online
stores: The importance of tam and trust. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management,
50(3), 307–321.
28. Gefen, D., Straub, D., & Boudreau, M. C. (2000). Structural equation modeling and
regression: Guidelines for research practice. Communications of the association for
information systems, 4(1), 7.
29. Haghi, M., Thurow, K. and Stoll, R. (2017) “Wearable devices in medical internet of
Things: Scientific Research and commercially available devices,” Healthcare Informatics
Research, 23(1), p. 4. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2017.23.1.4.
30. Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal
of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152.
31. Harding, T., Mayhew, M., Finelli, C., & Carpenter, D. (2007). The theory of planned
behavior as a model of academic dishonesty in engineering and humanities undergraduates.
Ethics and Behavior, 17(3), 255–279
32. Hartwick, J., & Barki, H. (1994). Explaining the role of user participation in information
system use. Management Science, 40(4), 440–465.
33. Hermsen, Sander; Frost, Jeana; Renes, Reint Jan; Kerkhof, Peter (2016). Using feedback
through digital technology to disrupt and change habitual behavior: A critical review of
current literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 57(), 61–74.

22 | P a g e
34. Hong, J. C., Lin, P. H., & Hsieh, P. C. (2017). The effect of consumer innovativeness on
perceived value and continuance intention to use smartwatch. Computers in Human
Behavior, 67, 264-272.
35. Huang, J. H., Lin, Y. R., & Chuang, S. T. (2007). Elucidating user behavior of mobile
learning: A perspective of the extended technology acceptance model. The electronic
library.
36. IDC. (2015). IDC forecasts worldwide shipments of wearables to surpass 200 million in
2019, driven by strong smartwatch growth and the emergence of smarter watches, IDC
Forecasts Worldwide Shipments of Wearables to Surpass 200 Million in 2019, Driven by
Strong Smartwatch Growth and the Emergence of Smarter Watches | Business Wire.
Available at: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160317005136/en/IDC-
Forecasts-Worldwide-Shipments-Wearables-Surpass-200 (Accessed: January 23, 2023).
37. Joo, J., & Sang, Y. (2013). Exploring Koreans' smartphone usage: An integrated model of
the technology acceptance model and uses and gratifications theory. Computers in Human
Behavior, 29(6), 2512–2518.
38. Jovanov, E. (2015, August). Preliminary analysis of the use of smartwatches for
longitudinal health monitoring. In 2015 37th annual international conference of the IEEE
engineering in medicine and biology society (EMBC) (pp. 865-868). IEEE.
39. Kim, K., & Shin, J. (2015). An acceptance model for smart watches implications for the
adoption of future wearable technology. Internet Research, 25(4), 527–541.
40. Kim, K., & Sundar, S. (2014). Does screen size matter for smartphones? Utilitarian and
hedonic effects of screen size on smartphone adoption. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and
Social Networking, 17(7), 466–473.
41. Kim, K.J. and Shin, D.-H. (2015) “An acceptance model for smart watches,” Internet
Research, 25(4), pp. 527–541. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-05-2014-0126.
42. Lamkin, P. (2015) Just how big can wearable tech get?, Forbes. Forbes Magazine.
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2015/03/31/just-how-big-can-
wearable-tech-get/ (Accessed: January 23, 2023).
43. Liu, C., Marchewka, J. T., Lu, J., & Yu, C. S. (2005). Beyond concern—A privacy-trust-
behavioral intention model of electronic commerce. Information and Management, 42(2),
289–304.

23 | P a g e
44. Liu, Y., & Li, H. (2011). Exploring the impact of use context on mobile hedonic services
adoption: An empirical study on mobile gaming in China. Computers in Human Behavior,
27(2), 890–898.
45. Lytras, Miltiadis D.; Mathkour, Hassan I.; Abdalla, Hassan; Al-Halabi, Wadee; Yanez-
Marquez, Cornelio; Siqueira, Sean Wolfgand Matsui (2015). An emerging – Social and
emerging computing enabled philosophical paradigm for collaborative learning systems:
Toward high effective next generation learning systems for the knowledge society.
Computers in Human Behavior, 51(), 557–561.
46. Magsamen-Conrad, K., Upadhyaya, S., Youngnyo Joa, C., & Dowd, J. (2015). Bridging
the Divide: Using UTAUT to predict multigenerational tablet adoption practices.
Computers in Human Behavior, 50, 186–196
47. Mathieson, K. (1991). Predicting user intentions: comparing the technology acceptance
model with the theory of planned behavior. Information Systems Research, 2(3), 173–191.
48. Md Nor, K., Barbuta-Misu, N., & Stroe, R. (2011). A model for analysing the determinant
factors of adoption e-banking services by Romanian customers. Academic Computation
and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research, 45(4), 1–18.
49. Natarajan, T., Balasubramanian, S.A. and Kasilingam, D.L. (2018) “The moderating role
of device type and age of users on the intention to use mobile shopping applications,”
Technology in Society, 53, pp. 79–90. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2018.01.003.
50. Niels van Berkel;Chu Luo;Theodoros Anagnostopoulos;Denzil Ferreira;Jorge
Goncalves;Simo Hosio;Vassilis Kostakos; (2016). A Systematic Assessment of Smartphone
Usage Gaps. Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems, (), –.
51. Okumus, B. and Bilgihan, A. (2014) “Proposing a model to test smartphone users' intention
to use smart applications when ordering food in restaurants,” Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Technology, 5(1), pp. 31–49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/jhtt-01-2013-
0003.
52. Park, E., & Kim, K. J. (2014). An integrated adoption model of mobile cloud services:
Exploration of key determinants and extension of technology acceptance model.
Telematics and Informatics, 31(3), 376–385.

24 | P a g e
53. Pavlou, P. A. (2003). Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: Integrating trust and
risk with the technology acceptance model. International Journal of Electronic Commerce,
7(3), 101–134.
54. Pavlou, P. A., & Fygenson, M. (2006). Understanding and predicting electronic commerce
adoption: An extension of the theory of planned behavior. MIS Quarterly, 30(1), 115–143.
55. Pitt, L. et al. (2017) “Understanding the opportunities and challenges of wearable
technology,” Creating Marketing Magic and Innovative Future Marketing Trends, pp.
139–141. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45596-9_29.
56. Piwek, L. et al. (2016) “The Rise of Consumer Health Wearables: Promises and barriers,”
PLOS Medicine, 13(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001953.
57. Rawassizadeh, Reza; Momeni, Elaheh; Dobbins, Chelsea; Mirza-Babaei, Pejman;
Rahnamoun, Ramin (2015). Lesson Learned from Collecting Quantified Self Information
via Mobile and Wearable Devices. Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks, 4(4), 315–
335.
58. Reid, M., & Yair, L. (2008). Integrating trust and computer self-efficacy with TAM: An
empirical assessment of customers' acceptance of banking information systems (BIS) in
Jamaica. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, 12(3), 1–18.
59. Review, W. P. (2023). Dhaka Population 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from
https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/dhaka-population
60. Rogers, K.E. and Park, J. (2016) “DIY consumers and wearable electronics: What factors
affect technology adoption?” Available at: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa_proceedings-
180814-1345.
61. Russell, J. A., & Pratt, G. (1980). A description of the affective quality attributed to
environments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(2), 311–322.
62. Sanakulov, N., & Karjaluoto, H. (2015). Consumer adoption of mobile technologies: A
literature review. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 13(3), 244–275.
63. Sanchez-Franco, M. J. (2010). WebCT– The quasimoderating effect of perceived affective
quality on an extending technology acceptance mode. Computers and Education, 54(1),
37–46.
64. Seppälä, P., & Alamäki, H. (2003). Mobile learning in teacher training. Journal of
Computer Assisted Learning, 19(3), 330–335.

25 | P a g e
65. Shadish, W., Cook, T., & Campbell, D. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental
designs for generalized causal inference (1st ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
66. Sheppard, B., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-
analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research.
Journal of Consumer Research, 15(3), 325–343.
67. Shin, D. (2007). User acceptance of mobile internet: Implication for convergence
technologies. Interacting with Computers, 19(4), 472–483.
68. Shin, D. (2012). What makes consumers use VoIP over mobile phones? Free riding or
consumerization of new service. Telecommunications Policy, 36(4), 311–323.
69. Srivastava, S., Chandra, S., & Theng, Y. (2010). Evaluating the role of trust in consumer
adoption of mobile payment systems: An empirical analysis. Communications of the
Association for Information Systems, 27, 561–588.
70. Stone, T., Jawahar, I., & Kisamore, J. (2009). Using the theory of planned behavior and
cheating justifications to predict academic misconduct. Career Development International,
14(3), 221–241.
71. Straub, E. (2009). Understanding technology adoption: Theory and future directions for
informal learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 625–649.
72. Tarhini, A., El-Masri, M., Ali, M., & Serrano, A. (2016). Extending the UTAUT model to
understand the customers' acceptance and use of internet banking in Lebanon: A structural
equation modeling approach. Information Technology & People, 29(4), 830–849.
73. Vehovar, V., & Manfreda, K. L. (2017). Overview: online surveys. The SAGE handbook
of online research methods, 143-161.
74. Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance
model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204.
75. Weijters, B., Cabooter, E., & Schillewaert, N. (2010). The effect of rating scale format on
response styles: The number of response categories and response category
labels. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(3), 236-247.
76. Zhang, P., & Li, N. (2004). Love at first sight or sustained effect? The role of perceived
affective quality on Users' cognitive reactions to information technology. ICIS
Proceedings, Paper, 22.

26 | P a g e
77. Zhang, P., & Li, N. (2005). The importance of affective quality. Communications of the
ACM, 48(9), 105–108.
78. Zhang, P., Li, N., & Sun, H. (2006). Affective quality and cognitive absorption: Extending
technology acceptance research. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International
Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 8.

27 | P a g e