What Drives Construction Workers Acceptance of Wearable Technologies in The Workplace

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Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Automation in Construction
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon

What drives construction workers' acceptance of wearable technologies in MARK


the workplace?: Indoor localization and wearable health devices for
occupational safety and health
Byungjoo Choia, Sungjoo Hwangb, SangHyun Leec,⁎
a
Tishman Construction Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward St., Suite 1316 G.G. Brown
Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
b
Department of Architectural and Urban Systems Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-Gil, Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea
c
Tishman Construction Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward St., Suite 2340 G.G. Brown
Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The use of wearable sensing devices (e.g., GPS and physiological sensors) can open a new door toward occu-
Construction worker pational safety and health management in physically demanding and hazardous construction (e.g., tracking
Intention to use worker's locations in dangerous working area and monitoring of worker's physiological status). These potential
Occupational safety and health benefits cannot be achieved, however, if construction workers do not recognize the value of wearable devices as
Technology acceptance model
well as the details of their usage. This study thus investigates determinants for workers' adoption of wearable
Wearable technology
technology in the occupational work context. Specifically, the scope of this study is to test hypotheses regarding
workers' intention to adopt two representative wearable devices for occupational safety and health, a smart vest
with an embedded indoor GPS for location tracking, and a wristband-type wearable activity tracker (i.e.,
wristband) with physiological sensors. The research results indicate that perceived usefulness (PU), social in-
fluence (SI), and perceived privacy risk (PR) are associated with workers' intention to adopt (IA) both smart vest
and wristband. Also, workers' experiences using wearable devices positively moderates the association between
PU and IA of smart vest and negatively moderates the association between SI and IA of smart vest. In the work
context, foremen are more likely to be influenced by PU than workers with regard to using a wristband. By
considering the different functions, benefits, and challenges of each device, and by taking into account in-
dividual and job characteristics, the results of this study provide crucial insight into the process of motivating
workers to adopt each device in their work, which can promote the continued and appropriate use of wearable
technology in occupational safety and health management.

1. Introduction Unit (IMU) into sensor systems by widening the range of wearable
technology applications [5–7].
In recent years, wearable technology, which is clothing or acces- Such potentials of wearable technology can open a new door toward
sories that incorporate computers, software, electronics, and sensors, occupational safety and health management in real working conditions
and that can be easily worn on the human body (e.g., smart glass, smart by virtue of recent technological advancement in terms of sensing
watch, or smart cloth: [1–3]), has received a great deal of attention capability, wearability, and low cost. One promising domain is con-
from many industries. The major application of wearable technology struction, one of the most dangerous and physically demanding occu-
has been in the healthcare industry because wearable health devices pations with its high number of injuries and illnesses, early retirement,
with embedded biosensor systems enable the continuous monitoring of and an aging workforce with high work-related musculoskeletal dis-
a user's physiological status (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, and skin order and chronic diseases [8–13]. The use of wearable technology with
temperature) and the feedback provision on a real-time basis [4]. Re- sensors (e.g., physiological sensors such as a heart rate sensor, motion
cent wearable devices are also capable of tracking a user's location as sensors such as IMU, and location tracking sensors such as GPS) in
well as representing his/her movements by incorporating a Global construction can provide ample opportunities for effective worksite
Positioning System (GPS), accelerometer, or an Inertial Measurement safety and health management through continuous monitoring and


Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: bjoochoi@umich.edu (B. Choi), hwangsj@ewha.ac.kr (S. Hwang), shdpm@umich.edu (S. Lee).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2017.08.005
Received 24 July 2016; Received in revised form 13 May 2017; Accepted 8 August 2017
Available online 30 August 2017
0926-5805/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

early identification of safety and health risks as well as timely feedback safety protection but also for his/her health management in physically
regarding identified risks (e.g., worker's locations in dangerous working demanding and hazardous construction. A good example of wearable
area, risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and near-miss device usage from a health perspective is a wristband-type wearable
inferred from IMU signals, worker's high physical demands and fatigue activity tracker that can monitor a worker's physical status, as shown in
inferred from high heart rates and skin temperature: [14–17]). Parti- Fig. 2. Specifically, monitoring a worker's heart rate during physical
cularly, because construction workers should wear personal protective work can help to identify excessive workloads beyond a worker's phy-
equipment (PPE: such as a hard hat, a safety glass, and a safety vest), sical capabilities (e.g., the percentage of heart rate reserve: [26–28]),
the attachment of sensors not only to the body (e.g., the wristband) but contributing to preventing potential health issues from high physical
also to the PPE (e.g., a smart glass and a smart vest) would not interfere demands (e.g., excessive fatigue). It can also help to detect an abnormal
workers ongoing work, which could maximize the usability of wearable HR indicating the risk of cardiovascular disease or heat-related injuries
devices at the workplace. (e.g., heart attack, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion: [29,30]). However,
Despite these potentials, it is difficult to fully benefit from wearable it remains unclear whether workers would be comfortable with using
technology without a construction worker's recognition of the value of devices under the risk of sharing their locational or physiological in-
wearable devices as well as his/her adoption and use. According to the formation with others (e.g., construction managers or vendors).
survey on technology usage in construction conducted by the Navigant With this background, the scope of this study is to identify de-
Construction Forum™ [18], only 9.6% of construction practitioners use terminants for workers' adoption intention with regard to two re-
wearable devices while 97.6% and 85.6% of them use smartphones and presentative wearable devices; a smart vest that has been used for
laptops respectively. More importantly, the issues that hinder wearable workers' safety and a wristband that can be used in the future for
device usage in construction still exist: for example, the use of personal workers' health. According to the different functions, benefits, and
information (e.g., worker's location or physiological status) may pose a challenges of the two devices, the discussion also includes the com-
risk to personal privacy [2,19,20]. These concerns may adversely affect parison of workers' adoption intention toward these devices.
a worker's perception toward the expected value for wearable device
usage even though a worker recognizes potential benefits of wearable 3. Theoretical framework and research hypotheses
technology. In this regard, many previous research efforts have tried to
investigate user's acceptance of wearable technology in his/her daily 3.1. Theoretical models for technology acceptance
life [1,21,22]. However, they lack a consideration of the context of
occupational work and workers. This study thus investigates workers' The theoretical foundation to investigate a user's technology ac-
perception toward wearable technology at the construction workplace, ceptance is the technology acceptance model (TAM), introduced by
in order to establish a firm foundation to promote wide and appropriate Davis [23]. TAM was originally developed based on the theory of rea-
use of them. Based on a technology acceptance model (TAM: [23]), this soned action in social psychology [31], and has been widely adopted as
study develops models to examine which factors contribute to con- a basis of theoretical models for the user's acceptance of diverse tech-
struction workers' intention to adoption of wearable devices, with im- nologies, such as information systems, mobile computing, wearable
plications for better use of wearable technology in occupational safety devices, healthcare systems [32–35].
and health management. In TAM, the main constructs that determine an individual's beha-
vioral intention to adopt technology are perceived usefulness (PU) and
2. Research scope perceived ease of use (PE). PU is defined as “a prospective user's sub-
jective probability that using a specific application system will increase
Due to increasing large-scale construction projects, construction his or her job performance within an organizational context [23,36],”
workers or crews have frequently faced the possibility of isolated work while PE refers to “the degree to which a prospective user expects the
conditions in the context of large construction sites. To protect the target system to be free of effort [23,36].” Considering the expected
safety and health of workers involved in lone working, many worker benefit of each wearable device on which this study is focused, PU of a
monitoring solutions have been developed in order to assess workers' smart vest is based upon worker's safety improvement while PU of a
safety and health risks without close or direct supervision [24,25]. In wristband can be worker's health promotion. These benefits are closely
this regard, indoor GPS has been widely researched and commercia- related to one of the important sub-dimensions in PU, which is quality
lized with a wearable technology [6]. As shown in Fig. 1, a construction of work [23] under hazardous and physically demanding construction
worker can wear a smart vest with an embedded indoor GPS instead of work conditions. PE is also an important factor in construction because
a normal safety vest. This device keeps tracking a worker's real-time the use of wearable devices should not inconvenience workers as they
location at the workplace, and continuously sends the location in- perform regular tasks. According to Davis [23], the crucial aspects of PE
formation to a manager. The manager can pre-define danger zones on include whether a technology is controllable and understandable (e.g.,
the job-site map so that workers who enter these zones can be auto- using a wristband for monitoring physiological status), or cumbersome
matically notified through a wireless alerting system embedded in a (e.g., wearing a smart vest). In this regard, the roles of PU and PE in
smart vest. Such potential advancements in workers' safety have en- explaining users' adoption intention for diverse technologies have been
couraged many construction companies to adopt this technology. consistently validated by previous studies that adopted the TAM
The wearable technology can be adopted not only for worker's [23,32–35]. However, the roles of PU and PE in adoptions of different

Fig. 1. The use of a smart vest with an indoor GPS in con-


struction [6].

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B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Fig. 2. The use of a wristband with physiological sensors in


construction.

wearable technologies are unlikely to be consistent due to their dis- which is “the possibility that one will experience health threat [1,22].”
tinctive functions and benefits (e.g., a smart vest and a wristband), In the context of construction work with many potential health threats,
which needs to be further tested in this research. if a worker thinks the construction work (e.g., physically demanding
On the other hand, the theoretical extensions have been made based tasks) and the working environment (e.g., hot weather) are harmful for
on the original TAM, such as TAM2 [37], unified theory of acceptance his/her health, he/she would tend to believe the device would be more
and use of technology (UTAUT: [38]), or UTAUT2 [39]. These models beneficial.
consider social influences as a critical determinant in explaining a user's It is noteworthy that many previous studies have also considered
IA. Social influence (SI) is defined as “the degree to which an individual other factors on wearable technology acceptance such as cost [22,32],
perceives that important others believe he/she should use the new data accessibility [32], appearance [21], and technological complexity
system [38].” SI is particularly important in construction, an industry [34]. From a perspective of construction project management, we ex-
where workers generally perform tasks with their crew members by cluded these factors because they are more associated with wearable
highly interacting and communicating with each other [40]. Although technology itself rather than occupational work and workers. Also,
the role of SI in technology acceptance has also been widely validated considering that recent wearable devices become inexpensive (e.g., less
[1,34,35], it needs to be further tested for construction workers because than $100 of a wristband) and the use of such devices in construction
of the unique nature of construction organization (i.e., transient nature has a potential to reduce project cost related to workers' safety and
of the workforce in temporary organizations in the construction pro- health, cost would not be a significant factor.
ject) [41], which may alter the role of SI in construction workers'
wearable technology acceptance. 3.3. Moderating effects: individual and job contexts

3.2. Consideration of wearable device features: technological context As described above, a construction worker's intention to adopt (IA)
for both a smart vest and a wristband would be differently affected by
In the use of wearable devices, privacy is a critical issue because previously identified determinants (i.e., PU, PE, SI, and PR for a smart
“people tend to be sensitive toward sharing relevant information about vest, and PU, PE, SI, PR, HM, and PV for a wristband). However, each
them especially if giving such information will bring potential harm to individual may have different perceptions on wearable technology,
them in a social sense [21].” Because collected data from wearable which is highly associated with different levels of intention to use de-
devices (e.g., personal health information and personal location in- vices. Specifically, an individual who has a lot of wearable device ex-
formation) are wirelessly transferred to the receiver (e.g., smartphone) perience (WEX) is likely to have greater familiarity with and better
or the base station, data security and encryption have been the most knowledge of the devices, by making WEX interact with the direct re-
critical issues in wearable technology development [20,21,42]. The lations between IA and its determinants [39,47].
potential threat to the individual's privacy can make users reluctant to Within the context of construction, the relations between IA and its
use wearable devices. Specifically, construction workers could be un- determinants can be also moderated by job-related factors, such as job
comfortable when their location information at the workplace is shared title (e.g., foremen and workers). In construction work, foremen (FRM)
with management during not only working time but also resting per- are in charge of critical roles by supervising workers' performance of
iods. The use of a wearable health device also involves a risk of in- tasks [48]. Due to FRM's higher responsibility in occupational safety
appropriate protection of personal health information by vendors. Ac- and health, for example, it is likely for FRM to have greater tendency to
cording to the privacy concern, previous studies for wearable focus on the benefits of wearable devices in terms of safety and health.
technology adoption have incorporated perceived privacy risk (PR) into As a result, the authors expect that the relations between IA and its
their theoretical models as an essential construct [1,43]. determinants are moderated by WEX and FRM.
In addition, many studies in consumer behavior and information
technology research found that hedonic motivation (HM) can be served 3.4. Research hypotheses and model
as a key indicator in user's adoption of technology [1,39,44,45]. HM is
defined as “the fun or pleasure derived from using a technology [39],” Based on the theoretical models on technology acceptance with a
and has included as an important factor for well-known theoretical consideration of the context of wearable devices (i.e., a smart vest and a
models such as UTAUT2 [39]. Specifically, the research area in wear- wristband) as well as construction work, Fig. 3 shows the theoretical
able devices for a user's physiological monitoring and healthcare has model for construction workers' acceptance of wearable devices in-
paid much attention to HM for the purpose of promoting intrinsic cluding a smart vest and a wristband. Specifically, our key hypotheses
motivations toward user's continuous use of devices, by providing ga- include (see Fig. 3):
mified healthcare services [1,46]. Given the functions of two target
wearable devices in this study, HM may have an explanatory power to (1) there will be positive associations between perceived usefulness
predict a user's acceptance of a wristband, while insignificant for a (PU) and intention to adopt both a smart vest (SIA) and a wristband
smart vest acceptance because of its limited functions (e.g., a smart vest (WIA) (hypotheses Hs1 and Hw1);
only for user's location tracking and alarming). (2) there will be positive associations between perceived ease of use
One another specific consideration for a wristband from an occu- (PE) and intention to adopt both a smart vest (SIA) and a wristband
pational health perspective is a user's perceived vulnerability (PV), (WIA) (hypotheses Hs2 and Hw2).

33
B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Fig. 3. Research model integrating models for a smart vest and a wristband.

(3) social influence (SI) will positively affect an individual's intention room of each site during a break time to avoid interrupting the con-
to adopt both a smart vest (SIA) and a wristband (WIA) (hypotheses struction task. Before one week prior to the survey, a safety manager of
Hs3 and Hw3); a general contractor advertised the purpose and process of the survey to
(4) perceived privacy risk (PR) is negatively associated with intention the foremen in a weekly meeting, and the foremen advertised the
to adopt both a smart vest (SIA) and a wristband (WIA) (hypotheses survey to their crew members. Then, the workers at the sites voluntarily
Hs4 and Hw4); came to the conference room to participate in the survey. A majority of
(5) hedonic motivation (HM) is positively associated with intention to workers who attended on the survey date in each site participated in the
adopt a wristband (WIA) (hypothesis Hw5); survey with advertisement and encouragement from the research team
(6) perceived vulnerability (PV) positively affects intention to adopt a and managers in the sites. 10–15 workers fill out the questionnaire each
wristband (WIA) (hypothesis Hw6) time. Before starting the survey, the authors introduced the purpose and
(7) wearable device experience (WEX) and foremen (FRM) will mod- process of the survey and provided detailed explanations about each
erate the effect of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use technology (i.e., smart vest and wristband) using Figs. 1 and 2 as well as
(PE), social influence (SI), perceived privacy risk (PR), hedonic video clips representing the use of each technology. Based on the un-
motivation (HM), and perceived vulnerability (PV) on intention to derstanding and impression of each technology, the participants are
adopt both a smart vest (SIA) and a wristband (WIA) (hypotheses asked to answer the questionnaire. Considering that people decide to
H7a–H12a and H7b–H12b). adopt a new technology without user experience, this approach is in
line with real decision making. In this regard, many studies on TAM
have been conducted on potential users who do not have actual ex-
4. Methods perience of use (e.g., [37,49]). The questionnaires were completed
anonymously, and the completed ones were collected immediately
4.1. Procedure and participants using either a lock box or envelop to guarantee the confidentiality of
the response. The survey questionnaire does not include any questions
A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to measure about personal identification to ensure the confidentiality and anon-
variables in this study. The data was collected from three construction ymity of the response. The survey took approximately 20–30 min in
sites in Gary, Indiana (Site A), Ann Arbor, Michigan (Site B), and total to complete.
Dayton, Ohio (Site C), U.S. The presence of a union may make this Total sample size was 120; there were 31 from Site A, 34 from Site
technology adoption more complicated. The authors choose projects in B, and 55 from Site C. All participants were field workers (73%) or
the three states where there is a strong union presence. Though Indiana foremen (27%) at the sites. The average age of the participants is
and Michigan are a right-to-work (RTW) states, they still have a strong 38.53 years (SD = 10.65). Of the participants, 32% are younger than
union presence because they only recently became RTW. Site A is a 30 years old, 31% are between 31 and 40 years old, 18% are between
medium sized hospital renovation project, and the survey was con- 41 and 50 years old, 20% are older than 50 years old. The average years
ducted during March 2016. Site B is a large size research facility retrofit of work experience of the participants is 15.62 years (SD = 10.74).
project and the data were collected during April 2016. Site C is a large Approximately 23% of participants have < 5 years working experience,
size public library renovation project, and the survey was conducted 30% have between 6 and 15 years working experience, 27% have
during May 2016. The questionnaires were filled out in the conference

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B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Table 1 5. Result and discussion


Demographics of participants.
Study 1 examined the effects of perceived privacy risk (SPR), per-
Characteristics Number Percent
ceived usefulness (SPU), perceived ease of use (SPE), and social influ-
Age ence (SSI) on workers' intention to adopt a smart vest (SIA) and whether
≤ 30 y 38 31.7 wearable device experience or foreman moderated the impact of SPR,
31–40 y 37 30.8
SPU, SPE, and SSI. Study 2 examined the effect of perceived privacy risk
41–50 y 21 17.5
≥ 50 y 24 20.0 (WPR), perceived usefulness (WPU), perceived ease of use (WPE), social
Work experience influence (WSI), hedonic motivation (WHM), and perceived vulner-
≤5 y 28 23.3 ability (WPV) as well as the moderating effect of wearable device ex-
6–15 y 36 30.0 perience or foreman on workers' intention to adopt wristbands (WIA). A
16–25 y 32 26.7
two-phased approach was used in each study: first, the adequacy of the
≥ 26 y 24 20.0
Wearable device experience measurement items for each study is assessed by testing reliability as
With experience 18 15.0 well as convergent and discriminant validity; and second, hierarchical
No experience 102 85.0 regression analysis was conducted to identify the direct effects of in-
Job title
dependent variables and interaction effects of wearable device experi-
Foreman 32 26.7
Worker 88 73.3 ence and foreman.

between 15 and 25 years working experience, and rest 20% have > 5.1. Study 1—smart vest
25 years working experience. Also, 15% of participants have used a
wearable device (e.g., smart watch) before. Table 1 represents the de- The Cronbach's α test was conducted to assess the reliability of each
mographic details of the participants. construct in the smart vest study. As shown in Table 4, the value of
Cronbach's α was between 0.83 and 0.97 which is above the acceptable
threshold of 0.70 [51]. In addition, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
4.2. Measurement was performed by use of LISREL 8.8 to test convergent and discriminant
validity of the constructs. A CFA model with five latent constructs (i.e.,
The survey questionnaire consists of three sections. In the first SPR, SPU, SPE, SSI, and SIA) and 15 measures was built. In this study,
section, the participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement five different goodness of indices are used for assessing the CFA model:
with 15 different statements on a five point Likert scale (i.e., 1 re- χ2 / degree of freedom (df), the root means error approximation
presenting “strongly disagree” and 5 representing “strongly agree”) (RMSEA), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), non-normed
about the smart vest. Table 2 represents the measurement items for the fit index (NNFI), and comparative fit index (CFI). The criteria for a good
smart vest study. fit are as follows: χ2 / df < 3.00 [52], RMSEA < 0.07, CFI < 0.95,
The second section contains measurement items about the wrist- NNFI < 0.95, SRMR < 0.07 [53]. The model fits the data satisfacto-
band and each measurement item also applies a five point Likert scale. rily. The goodness-of-fit indices for the model are as follows: χ2 /
The measurement items for the wristband are listed in Table 3. At the df = 1.43 (χ2 = 62.88, df = 44), RMSEA = 0.062, CFI = 0.99,
top of the both sections, the authors provided detailed explanations NNFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.034. Convergent validity was evaluated by
about each technology (i.e., smart vest and wristband) with examples of examining the average variance extracted (AVE) and composite relia-
the usage in order to remind participants of each technology before bility (CR). To ensure adequate convergent validity, the value of AVE
answering the questions. All the measurements in the first and second should be > 0.50 [54] and a value of 0.70 or greater was recommend
sections were adopted from those used in the previous studies and the for CR [51]. As shown in Table 4, the AVE for all constructs ranges from
reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity of them was 0.63 to 0.87 and the CR ranges from 0.84 to 0.95. Moreover, the factor
checked before testing research hypotheses. The wordings were ad- loadings for all constructs were > 0.50 exceeding the acceptable level
justed to make them relevant to the context of each technology (i.e., suggested by Hair et al. [54]. Construct validity, therefore, is achieved
smart vest and wristband). In the third section, the participants were in this study. According to Bagozzi and Yi [53], the discriminant va-
asked to provide their demographic information including age, job lidity is established if the correlations among the latent variables are
experience, job title, and wearable device experience. significantly < 1.00. The authors constructed 95% confidence intervals

Table 2
Measurement items used in smart vest study.

Construct Itema Measurement items Sources

Perceived privacy risk (SPR) SPR1 It would be safe to disclose my work location. [43]
SPR2 I am comfortable in letting management know about my location.
SPR3 I am comfortable in letting co-workers know about my location.
Perceived usefulness (SPU) SPU1 Using this vest in my job will help improve my safety. [23,37]
SPU2 I think this vest will be helpful for my job.
SPU3 Using this vest would enable me to work safely.
Perceived ease of use (SPE) SPE1 This vest would be easy to carry. [23]
SPE2 Wearing this vest would not interfere with my work.
SPE3 I expect to feel comfortable doing my work when wearing this vest.
Social influence (SSI) SSI1 People who are important to me would think that I should use this vest. [37,50]
SSI2 People who influence my behavior would think that I should use this vest.
SSI3 My co-workers would think using this vest is a good idea.
Intention to adopt (SIA) SIA1 I intend to use this vest when I′m on the jobsite. [50]
SIA2 I plan to use this vest in the future.
SIA3 All things considered, I will use this vest.

a
Note: Character ‘S’ at the beginning of the name of variable refers to smart vest.

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B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Table 3
Measurement items used in wristband study.

Construct Itema Measurement items Sources

Perceived privacy risk (WPR) WPR1 I am comfortable in letting management know about my physiological conditions. [43]
WPR2 I am comfortable in letting co-workers know about my physiological conditions.
Perceived usefulness (WPU) WPU1 I find the wristband useful in my job. [23,37]
WPU2 Using this wristband would improve the quality of my daily life.
Perceived ease of use (WPE) WPE1 It would be easy for me to read data on this wristband. [23]
WPE2 Learning how to use this wristband is easy for me.
Social influence (WSI) WSI1 My co-workers would think using this wristband is a good idea. [37,50]
WSI2 People who are important to me would think that I should use this wristband.
Hedonic motivation (WHM) WHM1 Using this wristband would provide more fun for daily work. [37]
WHM2 Using this wristband would be entertaining.
Perceived vulnerability (WPV) WPV1 I am at risk of suffering health problems on the work site. [22]
WPV2 It is likely that I will suffer health problems during my work.
Intention to adopt (WIA) WIA1 I intend to use this wristband in the future. [50]
WIA2 I plan to use this wristband in the future.
WIA3 All things considered, I will use this wristband.

a
Note: Character ‘W’ at the beginning of the name of variable refers to wristband.

Table 4 = 1.365, p > 0.230)] on SIA, the regression analysis also does not
Reliability and convergent validity of smarty vest study. include the site and trade information of the participants.
To examine the direct effect of independent variables and the in-
Construct Alpha AVE CR
teraction effects of the moderators (i.e., wearable devices experience
Perceived privacy risk (SPR) 0.88 0.72 0.89 and foreman), a hierarchical multiple regression was performed. First,
Perceived usefulness (SPU) 0.92 0.79 0.92 SPR, SPU, SPE, SSI, and WEX were entered as independent variables to
Perceived ease of use (SPE) 0.84 0.63 0.84 the regression equation to predict SIA at Step 1 to identify the direct
Social influence (SSI) 0.88 0.69 0.87
Intention to adopt (SIA) 0.95 0.87 0.95
effects of them. Then, interaction terms between WEX and independent
variables (i.e., SPR, SPU, SPE, and SSI) were entered added to the re-
AVE (average variance extracted), CR (composite reliability). gression equation at Step 2 in order to examine the interaction effect of
WEX and other variables. To minimize the multicollinearity issue, in-
for each correlation coefficient and checked whether the confidence teraction terms are calculated using the centered values [55]. Since the
intervals include 1.00. Because all the confidence intervals do not in- interaction terms of WEX and SPR as well as WEX and SPE are not
clude 1.00, the discriminant validity is achieved for all constructs in this significant predictors of SIA, they are excluded in the regression ana-
study. lysis. Table 6 represents the result of hierarchical multiple regression
Table 5 represents the descriptive statistics and correlation coeffi- analysis. As shown in Table 6, the combination of SPR, SPU, SPE, SSI,
cients among the variables in the research model as well as demo- and WEX account for a significant proportion of variance in SIA. Spe-
graphic variables. Table 5 shows that four independent variables (i.e., cifically, SPR (β = 0.16, t = 2.68, p = 0.009), SPU (β = 0.32,
SPR, SPU, SPE, and SSI) are strongly correlated with dependent variable t = 3.92, p = 0.000), SPE (β = 0.18, t = 2.63, p = 0.000), and SSI
(i.e., SIA) with correlation coefficient range from 0.65 to 0.82. Because (β = 0.35, t = 4.22, p = 0.010) have significant effects on SIA. How-
the measurements for SPR were intended to investigate worker's tol- ever, direct effect of WEX on SIA is not statistically significant
erance toward privacy risks, a positive correlation between SPR and SIA (β = 0.00, t = 0.02, p = 0.981). The addition of an interaction term at
implies that workers who are less concerned about his/her privacy step 2 also accounts for significant increase in variance in SIA. Speci-
shows a higher level of SIA. The results also indicate that workers who fically, negative regression coefficient of interaction between WEX and
show higher levels of SPU, SPE, and SSI show higher SIA. There are no SPU (β = − 0.18, t = −2.58, p = 0.011) indicates that relationship
significant correlation coefficients between SIA and all demographic between perceived usefulness and intention to adopt smart vest is di-
variables, and thus they were not included in the regression analysis. In minished for workers who have previous experience using wearable
addition, since the analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows no significant devices. This effect is illustrated in Fig. 4. On the other hand, positive
effect of site [(F(2, 115) = 2.097, p = 0.12)] and trade [(F(7, 87) regression coefficient of interaction between WEX and SSI (β = 0.23,
t = 3.07, p = 0.003) implies that social influence has greater

Table 5
Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix of smart vest study.

Variable Mean Std SIA SPR SPU SPE SSI Age FRM JEX WEX

SIA 2.66 1.33 1.00


SPR 3.71 1.28 0.65⁎⁎ 1.00
SPU 2.88 1.34 0.82⁎⁎ 0.60⁎⁎ 1.00
SPE 3.16 1.29 0.74⁎⁎ 0.60⁎⁎ 0.68⁎⁎ 1.00
SSI 3.01 1.25 0.82⁎⁎ 0.57⁎⁎ 0.81⁎⁎ 0.71⁎⁎ 1.00
AGE 38.53 10.65 0.13 0.13 0.20⁎ 0.08 0.24⁎ 1.00
FRM 0.27 0.45 0.07 0.13 0.15 0.10 0.01 0.07 1.00
JEX 15.62 10.74 − 0.02 0.01 0.02 − 0.02 0.06 0.85⁎⁎ 0.22⁎ 1.00
WEX 0.15 0.35 − 0.02 − 0.01 0.02 0.03 −0.09 − 0.17 − 0.09 −0.18 1.00

Note: N = 120.
FRM (forman), JEX (job experience), WEX (wearable device experience).

p < 0.05.
⁎⁎
p < 0.01.

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B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Table 6 Table 7
Hierarchical regression analyses predicting intention to adopt smart vest. Reliability and convergent validity of wristband study.

Variables SIA Construct Alpha AVE CR

Step 1 Step 2 Perceived privacy risk (WPR) 0.92 0.86 0.92


Perceived usefulness (WPU) 0.89 0.80 0.87
β β Perceived ease of use (WPE) 0.88 0.79 0.86
Social influence (WSI) 0.85 0.75 0.84
⁎⁎
SPR 0.16 0.15⁎⁎ Hedonic motivation (WHM) 0.95 0.91 0.95
SPU 0.32⁎⁎ 0.43⁎⁎ Perceived vulnerability (WPV) 0.85 0.74 0.84
SPE 0.18⁎⁎ 0.15⁎ Intention to adopt (WIA) 0.98 0.94 0.98
SSI 0.35⁎ 0.24⁎
WEX 0.02 0.04 AVE (average variance extracted), CR (composite reliability).
WEX × SPU − 0.18⁎
WEX × SSI 0.23⁎⁎
Adjusted R2 0.77 0.68
with seven latent constructs (i.e., WPR (perceived privacy risk), WPU
ΔR2 0.78 0.02 (perceived usefulness), WPE (perceived ease of use), WSI (social influ-
ΔF 79.63⁎⁎ 4.79⁎⁎ ence), WHM (hedonic motivation), WPV (perceived vulnerability), and
WIA (intention to adopt)) and 15 measures was built in order to test
Note: N = 120. convergent and discriminant validity. The model fits the data sa-

p < 0.05.
⁎⁎
p < 0.01.
tisfactorily. The goodness-of-fit indices for the model are as follows:
χ2 / df = 1.70 (χ2 = 117.44, df = 69), RMSEA = 0.066, CFI = 0.99,
NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.030. As shown in Table 7, the AVE for all
constructs ranges from 0.74 to 0.94, which are greater than acceptable
threshold of 0.50 [54], and the CR ranges from 0.85 to 0.98, which are
also greater than acceptable threshold of 0.70 [51]. The convergent
validity, therefore, is established in this study. Also, discriminant va-
lidity is achieved because 95% of the confidence intervals for correla-
tion coefficients among the all constructs do not include 1.00.
Table 8 displays the descriptive statistics and correlation matrix
among the variables in this study as well as demographic variables. As
shown in Table 8, there are strong correlations (ranges from 0.45 to
0.76) between our independent variables (i.e., WPR, WPU, WPE, WSI,
WHM, and WPV) and dependent variable (i.e., WIA). It implies that
Fig. 4. Interaction between wearable device experience and perceived usefulness. workers who show higher level of WPR, WPU, WPE, WSI, WHM, or
WPV show higher level of WIA. Here, a high level of WPR indicates
worker's high tolerance toward privacy risks. There are no significant
correlation coefficients between WIA and all demographic variables,
and thus they were not included in the regression analysis. Also, the
result of ANOVA shows no significant effect of trades on WIA [(F(7, 88)
= 1.879, p > 0.082)], and thus trades was not included in the re-
gression analysis. However, the regression analysis included site in-
formation of the participants by using two dummy variables because
the result ANOVA showed a significant effect of site on WIA [(F(2, 117)
= 4.59, p = 0.012)].
A hierarchical regression was performed to examine the direct effect
of independent variables (i.e., WPR, WPU, WPE, WSI, WHM, and WPV)
and interaction effects of wearable device experience and foremen on
the dependent variable (i.e., WIA). WPR, WPU, WPE, WSI, WHM, WPV,
Fig. 5. Interaction between wearable device experience and social influence.
and FRM as well as two dummy variables for site information (i.e., Site
1 and Site 2) were entered in the first step and a significant proportion
association with intention to adopt smart vest for workers who have of variation in prediction of WIA was accounted for at Step 1. As shown
previous experience using wearable devices (Fig. 5). However, the in- in Table 9, WPR (β = 0.22, t = 3.24, p = 0.002), WPU (β = 0.27,
clusion of an interaction term between foremen and independent t = 2.83, p = 0.006), and WSI (β = 0.28, t = 2.64, p = 0.009) are
variables (i.e., SPR, SPU, SPE, and SSI) do not add significantly to the significant predictors in Step 1, but WPE (β = 0.15, t = 1.87,
prediction of SIA. After the regression analysis, the white test was p = 0.064), WHM (β = 0.04, t = 0.55, p = 0.581), and WPV
performed to test the homoscedasticity assumption of the regression (β = 0.04, t = 0.64, p = 0.522) are not significant predictors. Then, to
analysis, and no heteroscedasticity was found. Also, the authors com- test interaction effect between FRM and independent variables, multi-
puted variance inflation factors (VIFs) to examine the multicollinearity plicative terms, based on centered score [55], were entered at Step 2. As
issue in the regression. The value of VIF for all variables range from 1.1 shown in Table 9, the inclusion of the interactions at Step 2 is asso-
to 4.2, which are far below the threshold of 10.0 [56], thus suggesting ciated with a significant increase in the variance explained. Since in-
that multicollinearity was not a major issue in this study. teraction between FRM and WPR, and between FRM and WPE as well as
between FRM and WHM are not significant predictors, they are ex-
5.2. Study 2—wristband cluded in the regression analysis. After all variables are entered into the
regression equation, the significant predictors are WPR (β = 0.19,
To examine the reliability of each construct, the Cronbach's α test t = 2.91, p = 0.004), WSI (β = 0.36, t = 3.79, p = 0.000), Site 2
was conducted. As shown in Table 7, Cronbach's α for all constructs (β = − 0.14, t = −2.61, p = 0.010), FRM × WPU (β = 0.35,
range from 0.85 to 98, which are satisfactory [51]. Also, CFA model t = 3.13, p = 0.002), and FRM × WSI (β = − 0.35, t = −3.17,

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B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

Table 8
Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix of wristband study.

Variables Mean Std WIA WPR WPU WPE WSI WHM WPV AGE FRM JEX WEX

WIA 2.69 1.41 1.00


WPR 2.97 1.40 0.66⁎⁎ 1.00
WPU 3.10 1.43 0.76⁎⁎ 0.58⁎⁎ 1.00
WPE 3.40 1.33 0.68⁎⁎ 0.55⁎⁎ 0.71⁎⁎ 1.00
WSI 3.01 1.21 0.75⁎⁎ 0.64⁎⁎ 0.76⁎⁎ 0.66⁎⁎ 1.00
WHM 2.70 1.38 0.63⁎⁎ 0.47⁎⁎ 0.74⁎⁎ 0.57⁎⁎ 0.63⁎⁎ 1.00
WPV 2.62 1.32 0.45⁎⁎ 0.31⁎⁎ 0.46⁎⁎ 0.47⁎⁎ 0.54⁎⁎ 0.34⁎⁎ 1.00
AGE 38.53 10.65 0.03 0.08 − 0.01 − 0.10 0.13 − 0.08 0.04 1.00
FRM 0.27 0.44 0.17 0.02 0.09 0.17 0.04 0.14 0.03 0.07 1.00
JEX 15.62 10.74 − 0.09 − 0.14 − 0.09 − 0.18 − 0.06 − 0.17 − 0.07 0.85⁎⁎ 0.21⁎ 1.00
WEX 0.15 0.35 0.09 0.08 0.02 0.10 0.02 0.05 − 0.12 − 0.17 − 0.08 − 0.18 1.00

Note: N = 120.
FRM (forman), JEX (job experience), WEX (wearable device experience).

p < 0.05.
⁎⁎
p < 0.01.

Table 9
Hierarchical regression analyses predicting intention to adopt wristband.

Variables WIA

Step 1 Step 2

β β

⁎⁎
WPR 0.22 0.19⁎⁎
WPU 0.27⁎⁎ 0.21⁎
WPE 0.15 0.14
WSI 0.24⁎⁎ 0.36⁎⁎
WHM 0.04 0.01
WPV 0.04 0.03
Fig. 7. Interaction between foreman and social influence.
Site 1 0.06 0.06
Site 2 −0.10 − 0.14⁎
FRM 0.09 0.09 5.25 which are far below the threshold of 10.0 [56].
FRM × WPU 0.35⁎⁎
FRM × WSI − 0.35⁎⁎
Adjusted R2 0.700 0.722 5.3. Discussion
ΔR2 0.722 0.025
ΔF 31.79⁎⁎ 5.347⁎⁎
This study developed and tested theoretical models to identify fac-
Note: N = 120. tors influencing construction workers' acceptance of two different

p < 0.05. wearable technologies (i.e., smart vest and wristband) by extending the
⁎⁎
p < 0.01. previously validated technology acceptance model (TAM). To do this,
the authors have reviewed previous studies on acceptance of other
technologies and considered unique nature of each technology. As a
result, several factors (i.e., SPR, SSI, WPR, WSI, WHM, and WPV) have
been selected and added to TAM to predict construction workers' ac-
ceptance of each technology. Since construction workers' acceptance of
wearable devices has unique contexts and attributes, theoretical models
in this study will provide more specific intuition to construction prac-
titioners who plan to introduce the wearable technologies to promote
workers' safety and health. In addition, the present study also includes
the moderating effects of characteristics of users (i.e., wearable device
experience, job position) on the relationship between independent
variables and dependent variables. Although previous studies on TAM
have examined direct effects of independent variables, there is limited
Fig. 6. Interaction between foreman and perceived usefulness.
consideration of the moderating effect of individual differences in
previous studies. The moderating effects help explain why relative
p = 0.002). Specifically, a positive regression coefficient of interaction importance of different independent variables of construction workers'
between FRM and WPU implies that the association between WPU and acceptance of each technology can vary across different workers.
WIA is greater for foremen than ordinary workers (Fig. 6). Also, a ne- This study employed four factors (i.e., SPU, SPE, SSI, and SPR) re-
gative regression coefficient of interaction between FRM and WSI im- lated to construction workers' intention to adopt a smart vest (SIA).
plies that the association between WSI and WIA is weaker for foremen Consistent with findings from the previous studies, four hypotheses
than ordinary workers (Fig. 7). However, the inclusion of an interaction regarding the effects of perceived usefulness (SPU) (Hs1), perceived
term between WEX and independent variables (i.e., WPR, WPU, WPE, ease of use (SPE) (Hs2), social influence (SSI) (Hs3), and perceived
WSI, WHM, and WPV) does not add significantly to the prediction of privacy risk (SPR) (Hs4) are supported. The results indicate that use-
WIA. The result of white test suggests that there is no heteroscedasticity fulness and comfortableness of the smart vest are associated with
issue. In addition, the values of VIFs for all variables range from 1.06 to workers' acceptance of the smart vest. In this regard, construction

38
B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

practitioners who are willing to introduce the smart vest to promote wristband. Therefore, it can be difficult for them to connect perceived
workers' safety in their sites should try to ensure that workers have a usefulness and ease of use to the acceptance of the wristband. However,
clear understanding of the benefits of the technology. Training session in the case of the smart vest, workers easily conceive how to use the
at the site where workers learn how the smart vest works and how it smart vest system because it only requires to wear the vest and to ob-
prevents their access to the hazardous area by experiencing the smart serve the alert light from the vest. In this regard, workers might be able
vest in an actual working environment would be a promising approach to associate the perceived ease of use and intention to adopt the smart
to increase workers' perceived usefulness and comfort of the smart vest. vest. The simplicity of the technology can make differences in the re-
Despite the temporary nature of the construction workforce, the result lationship between perceived ease of use and intention to adopt the
implies that beyond the objective features of the technology itself, the technology. However, it might be conceivable that WPE and WHM af-
social aspect has a significant association with acceptance of the smart fect to intention to continue to use the wristband after adopting the
vest. This finding is in line with recent findings that workers' behaviors technology. Construction practitioners, therefore, are recommended to
in construction sites are under the influence of social controls [57,58]. adopt two-step approaches. Benefits from the wristband and the po-
Also, the result shows the construction workers' concern about their pularity of the wearable technologies should be emphasized to en-
privacy can be an obstacle to introduce the smart vest in construction courage construction workers to adopt the wristband at the first step.
sites. Although the smart vest aims to prevent workers' access to ha- After achieving the satisfactory acceptance rate, construction practi-
zardous locations in construction sites, workers could be reluctant to tioners should consider perceived ease of use and hedonic motivation at
reveal their location because the location information can be used for the second step to maintain the acceptance rate. Developing and pro-
monitoring their idling time. Construction managers, therefore, should viding gamification services would be an effective means to promote
pay more attention to how to relieve workers' privacy concerns before construction workers' hedonic motivation.
introducing the smart vest. Also, the result found no significant association between perceived
In addition to the direct effects of the four factors (i.e., SPU, SPE, vulnerability (WPV) and WIA. As aforementioned, perceived vulner-
SSI, and SPR), this study found that wearable device experience mod- ability refers to “the possibility that one will experience health threat
erates associations between perceived usefulness and the intention to [1,22].” If the users are able to connect the physiological information
adopt a smart vest (H7a) and between social influence and intention to provided by the wristband (e.g., heart rate and skin temperature) and
adopt smart vest (H9a). The result indicates that construction workers their health threat, WPV will affect their intention to adopt the wrist-
who have experience using wearable devices show a weaker association band. However, raw data about users' heart rate or skin temperature
between perceived usefulness and intention to adopt smart vest and a from the wristband might not be enough to link to their health issue.
stronger association between social influence and intention to adopt This vague link between physiological information from the wristband
smart vest. A possible explanation for this result might be that the and health issue might be a possible explanation for this result.
characteristics of wearable devices contribute to the moderating effect Finally, this study found the moderating effect of foremen (FRM) on
of wearable device experience. Considering that we are still in an early the association between WPU and WIA (H7b) and between WSI and
stage of wearable technology in the technology life cycle [49], con- WIA (H9b). The results indicate that foremen show stronger association
struction workers who already had experiences using a wearable device between perceived usefulness and intention to adopt and weaker as-
might be placed in the category of early adopters. According to the sociation between social influence and intention to adopt a wristband.
diffusion of innovation theory, five groups have been delineated in- The role of foremen in construction projects may contribute to the
cluding innovator, early adopter, early majority, late majority, and moderating effect of foremen on intention to adopt the wristband. As
laggard regarding adoption of innovation [59]. Innovators and early previously mentioned, foremen in construction sites manage and su-
adopters are less cautious and more willing to take risks to test a new pervise their crew and are responsible for the performance of their
technology than other groups [60,61]. It implies that curiosities re- crew. They, therefore, may pay more attention to the functionality of
garding the technology leads early adopters to adopt the technology the technology and less focus on social influence.
even if they do not have a clear perception of the usefulness of the Although findings from this study extend our understandings of
technology. On the other hand, followers (i.e., early majority, late workers' intention to adopt wearable technologies, some limitations
majority, and laggard) make their decision to adopt a new technology should be acknowledged. First, since all three construction sites from
based on the expected benefits (i.e., perceived usefulness). Early which participants were recruited for this study were building con-
adopters, therefore, would be less sensitive to perceived usefulness than struction project, conducting the same survey and data collection from
other groups if they have curiosity about the technology. On the other other project types such as highway, tunnel, bridge, etc. and comparing
hand, early adopters are more sensitive to social influence than other the results will be helpful to generalize the findings. In this regard, the
groups [62]. These characteristics of early adopters might contribute to authors plan to conduct future surveys in these project types to extend
moderating the association between perceived usefulness and accep- this study and ultimately to generalize the findings. Also, the results of
tance of smart vest and between social influence and intention to adopt this study are based on a cross sectional design which is limited for
smart vest. Construction practitioners, therefore, are recommended to drawing causal relationship among the variables. Therefore, long-
apply different approaches for workers who have experience using itudinal studies could be used to gain a greater validity of the results in
wearable devices. Emphasizing the popularity of wearable technologies future research. Finally, this study used a self-reported questionnaire to
in society would be a more effective means for those workers. measure variables and thus we cannot rule out a possibility that
Regarding the wristband, the effects of six factors (i.e., WPR, WPU, common method bias attenuates the theoretical significance of the
WPE, WSI, WHM, and WPV) on the intention to adopt (WIA) are ex- findings. Because of the concerns about common method bias, this
amined in this study. The results of this study confirm the influence of study examined the adequacy of the measurement items (i.e., relia-
perceived usefulness (WPU) (Hw1), social influence (WSI) (Hw3), and bility, convergent validity, and discriminant validity) before testing
perceived privacy risk (WPR) (Hw4) on WIA, which is consistent with research hypotheses and examined the homoscedasticity assumption
previous studies and the results from the smart vest study. However, and multicollinearity issue after the regression analysis. However, these
this study found that perceived ease of use (WPE) (Hw2) and hedonic approaches may not be enough to fully address the common method
motivation (WHM) (Hw5) do not have significant associations with bias, and thus it is recommend to apply proactive methods such as
WIA. A possible explanation for this result may be the lack of partici- multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) procedure or a marker variable to
pants' adequate experience using the wearable devices. Because most address the common method bias in future studies (see [63,64] for
participants do not have experience regarding the wearable devices, more details).
they might not be clear about difficulty and enjoyment of using the

39
B. Choi et al. Automation in Construction 84 (2017) 31–41

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