Accepted Manuscript

The adoption of virtual reality devices: The technology acceptance model inte-
grating enjoyment, social interaction, and strength of the social ties

Jung Hyo Lee, Jung Hun Kim, Jae Young Choi

PII: S0736-5853(18)30641-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.12.006
Reference: TELE 1199

To appear in: Telematics and Informatics

Received Date: 1 June 2018

Revised Date: 21 November 2018
Accepted Date: 19 December 2018

Please cite this article as: Lee, J.H., Kim, J.H., Choi, J.Y., The adoption of virtual reality devices: The technology
acceptance model integrating enjoyment, social interaction, and strength of the social ties, Telematics and
Informatics (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.12.006

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 The adoption of virtual reality devices: The technology acceptance
model integrating enjoyment, social interaction, and strength of the
social ties

Jung Hyo Leea, Jung Hun Kimb, Jae Young Choia*

a
Graduate School of Technology and Innovation Management, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-

ro, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul 131-791, Korea. E-mail: j.h.lee.mot@gmail.com (Jung Hyo Lee),

boogalooaz@gmail.com (Jae Young Choi).

b
Technology Management, Economics and Policy Program, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro,

Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Korea. E-mail: jkim.snu@gmail.com (Jung Hun Kim).

*Corresponding author: boogalooaz@gmail.com

 The adoption of virtual reality devices: The technology acceptance
model integrating enjoyment, social interaction, and strength of the
social ties

Abstract

Recently, the development of virtual reality technology in the entertainment industry has

applied social network capability. This study empirically analyzes how the introduction of social

network characteristics as a diffusion strategy for virtual reality devices affects consumers’ intention

to use. This survey was conducted with 350 people from South Korea, and TAM was used to analyze

the acceptability of virtual reality. User adoption behaviors were analyzed rigorously, adding

perceived enjoyment, social interactions, and strength of the social ties to the basic TAM. The results

of this study indicate that social interactions and strength of the social ties increase perceived

enjoyment, and perceived enjoyment has a more significant effect on intention to use than perceived

usefulness, which is the main element of TAM. These results have theoretical implications for

consumer adoption behavior and empirical implications for the best marketing strategies for virtual

reality devices.

Keywords: Virtual reality; Technology adoption; Technology acceptance model; Enjoyment; Social

interaction; Strength of the social ties

1. Introduction

In the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), the growth of

virtual reality (VR) technology has been attracting attention, particularly in light of the innovations

expected from 5th generation mobile communications (5G).1

VR is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a 3D environment that mimics reality us

ing special electronic devices, such as helmets equipped with sensors and screens (Zhang, 2018).

The term VR first appeared in the 1960s, but in the past, the price of VR equipment and similar

HMDs (head mounted displays) was prohibitively high. Hence, VR was used only in specific fields

such as medical, defense, and education (Freina 2015; Hawkins, 1995). Recently, VR technology has

evolved to become increasingly similar to reality and has received considerable consumer

attention as affordable VR devices have been released (Freina 2015; Basu and Johnsen, 2014). The

most prominent selling point of VR devices is their ability to make users feel like they are actually in

a simulated world (Freina 2015). In addition, VR systems are more stable and less error-prone than

physical systems and can be remotely shared by multiple users (Zhang, 2018). From a social

standpoint, virtual reality has the potential to reduce the consumption of natural and social resources

by replacing physical systems with virtual systems (Zhang, 2018).

VR devices have thus been applied to various fields, such as entertainment and gaming,

and the VR device industry is expected to grow rapidly. According to a report by IDC, a market

analysis and consulting agency, sales of VR hardware will grow by 183% annually from 350,000

units in 2015 to about 64.8 million units by 2020 (IDC, 2016). Moreover, worldwide sales of

1
Unlike 4G, which uses frequencies below 2GHz, 5G uses the ultra-high frequency of 28GHz. 5G is
a mobile international standard aiming at commercialization in 2020 by inheriting 'IMT-2000,' a 3G
communication method commercialized in the 2000s. According to the International
Telecommunication Union, 5G is a mobile communication technology with a maximum download
speed of 20Gbps and a minimum download speed of 100Mbps, 280 times faster than general LTE.
products and services related to VR, including AR (augmented reality), are expected to increase from

$5.2 billion in 2016 to more than $162 billion in 2020 (Gaggioli, 2017).

As VR technology advances and the VR device market grows, studies related to VR

technology in various industrial fields, such as architecture (Ma, 2017), medical care (Dascal et al.,

2017; North and North, 2017), and education (Stavroulia and Lanitis, 2017) are being conducted. Th

ose studies focus mainly on technical aspects such as application and development, but for

technology to be effectively utilized, it must be easily accessible and adopted by users (Turoff et al.,

2004; Keil et al., 1995). Therefore, researchers have also analyzed users' intention to use VR

technology. In those studies, the technology acceptance model (TAM) has been used to explain

user attitudes and behavior toward information technology and devices (Legris et al. 2003). The

various studies of the intention to use VR technology (Yang et al., 2016; Huang et al., 2013; Chen et

al., 2012) contain common features that analyze enjoyment as an important variable, in addition to

the basic elements of TAM. Moreover, research on the analysis of ICT services, not only VR but also

entertainment-oriented devices, suggests that enjoyment could be an important factor in consumers’

intention to use (Mäntymäki and Salo, 2011).

More than a decade ago, Chen (2006) showed that enjoyment can be directly or indirectly

increased by social interactions among users of entertainment services such as online games. Given

that the game and entertainment sectors represent the largest portion of VR's various industries 2,

2
Digi-Capital, a market research institute, selected the game industry as the sector with the greatest
growth potential in the VR-related industry sector, expecting it to account for about 50% of the total
VR market. In addition, the Markets and Markets' market report (Feb, 2017) estimated that about
26.8% of the virtual reality content market in 2020 (about $2 billion) will be game-related content.

According to a survey conducted on the Korean VR Industry, entertainment has the highest level of
competition when compared to overseas VR-content markets [IITP. Survey of domestic VR industry
(2016.12)].
social interactions among the users of VR services are expected to increase user enjoyment and

intention to use.

Indeed, social interactions are becoming an important strategy in the VR game industry. For

example, Oculus and Sony, leading manufacturers of VR game devices, announced that they have

developed services that enable social interactions3. The social interaction strategy of those companies

is to connect users with other VR device users through social networking service (SNS) and enable

them to play games together. In other words, representative companies in the VR game industry are

looking to promote network effects as they launch and spread VR devices in the market.

Designing an efficient VR marketing strategy requires an understanding of the factors that

influence consumers’ intention to use VR devices and the relationships among those factors. Despite

the fact that the VR industry is strategically introducing social networks, there is a lack of TAM

research considering these VR industry strategies. Many Korean consumers already have ICT

devices, such as smartphones, that make VR applications relatively easy to use. In addition,

consumers already interact socially through SNS platforms such as Facebook4, so consumers

might be easily affected by social VR strategies.

Therefore, our purpose in this study is to analyze the effects of social networks on the

acceptance of VR devices, taking into account the strong entertainment tendencies of the VR

industry. Specifically, we analyze the relationships among the factors that influence the acceptance

3
Oculus, a manufacturer of VR devices, has developed a 'toybox' that allows users to communicate
within the VR space [https://www.wired.com/2016/01/oculus-rift-toybox/], and Sony's 'playroom
VR' allows multiple users to play together [ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/gaming/692843/PS4-
VR-PRICE-DROP-Sony-PlayStation-reveal-MASSIVE-discount-coming-this-week].

4
'Facebook Space' is a service that enables various social activities in VR space within Facebook
[ https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/04/facebook-spaces/ ].
of VR devices by integrating social interactions, strength of the social ties (as a social network

characteristic), and enjoyment in TAM. The rest of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2

presents our hypotheses and models related to the adoption of VR devices, focusing on the existing

literature that uses TAM to analyze consumers’ intention to use information technology and

information devices. In Section 3, the operational definitions of the factors (constructs) that

constitute the model and the data collection procedure are explained. Section 4 presents the

estimation results, and Section 5 presents discussion and Section 6 presents our conclusions the

implications of our findings.

2. Acceptance model for VR devices

2.1 Technology acceptance model

TAM is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) that Davis (1985) proposed and is a

useful tool for empirically analyzing the factors that directly or indirectly affect user attitudes and

intent to use new information technologies (Davis, 1989). TAM has been applied in many studies

and has been used mainly to explain consumers’ initial adoption behavior of information technology

such as voicemail (Straub et al., 1995) and object-oriented technology (Hardgrave and Johnson,

2003). Recently, TAM has been widely used to analyze consumer adoption behavior of not only

information services such as online games (Hsu and Lu, 2004), mobile banking (Shaikh and

Karjaluoto, 2015), and social media (Lisha et al., 2017), but also information devices such as

smartphones (Joo and Sang, 2013) and smart watches (Kim and Shin, 2015). TAM has been

extended by adding general external variables, creating TAM2 and TAM3 (Venkatesh and Davis,

2000) and by adding external variables specific to particular ICT technologies (Park et al, 2014).

The basic constructs of TAM are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, usage attitude,
and intention to use. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the antecedent variables of

usage attitude and intention to use. Perceived usefulness is defined as “the degree to which a person

believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance.” (Davis, 1989)..

Perceived ease of use is defined as the “degree to which users feel that using information technology

does not require physical [or] mental effort” (Davis, 1989). The validity and reliability of perceived

usefulness and perceived ease of use are supported by many studies (Wallace and Sheetz, 2014), and

those constructs are widely considered to be important variables in explaining usage attitude and

intention to use (Abdullah and Ward, 2016; Teo, 2016; Yang et al., 2016; Schepers and Wetzels,

2007).

Thus, the TAM model suggests that an innovative technology that is both easy to use and

useful will create a positive attitude among consumers and likely be accepted (Wallace and Sheetz,

2014). In this study, we define the perceived usefulness of a VR device as the degree to which

consumers believe that using the VR device will provide benefits to themselves. We define perceived

ease of use of a VR device as the degree to which consumers believe that using the device will be

simple and effortless, and we define usage attitude as the degree to which users expect the use of the

VR device to be positive. Based on the existing literature and those defined constructs, this study has

the following hypotheses.

H1. The perceived usefulness of a VR device will positively affect usage attitude.

H2. The perceived usefulness of a VR device will positively affect intention to use.

H3. The perceived ease of use of a VR device will positively affect its perceived usefulness.

H4. The perceived ease of use of a VR device will positively affect usage attitude.

H5. The usage attitude toward a VR device will positively affect intention to use.
2.2 Perceived enjoyment of a VR device

Although the studies that analyzed the initial adoption behavior of information devices using

TAM mainly emphasized practicality, the importance of enjoyment to user acceptance has recently

been described (Sun and Zhang 2006). Perceived enjoyment is defined as the degree to which using

an information technology is perceived as fun (Venkatesh, 2000). Hsiao and Yang (2011) analyzed

TAM studies and found that perceived enjoyment has often been included as a basic factor in TAM

and that it has an important effect on intention to use.

According to a TAM meta-analysis by Shamy and Hassanein (2017), perceived enjoyment is

a key variable in the intention to use innovative devices such as VR devices, wearable devices, and

robots, all markets that are growing rapidly in the development of ICT. In addition, Abdullah at al.

(2016) found that in students' adoption of an e-portfolio, perceived enjoyment had a significant effect

on perceived usefulness and ease of use. In other words, perceived enjoyment can affect not only

intention to use but also perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and usage attitude. Park et al.

(2014) also found that perceived enjoyment in mobile social network games has a significant

influence on usage attitude. In the study of acceptance of AR technology similar to VR (Shin 2017),

it was confirmed that Hedonism, which shows the pleasure of using specific systems, improves

satisfaction when using AR.

Previous studies using TAM to analyze the acceptability of VR devices have included

perceived enjoyment as a key factor, along with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use,

following previous research on entertainment devices and services such as games (Yang et al., 2016;

Huang et al., 2013; Chen et al., 2012).

Therefore, based on the existing literature, we defined the perceived enjoyment of VR as the
degree to which the user perceives the use of a VR device to be enjoyable, and we derived the

following hypotheses.

H6. The perceived enjoyment of a VR device will positively affect perceived usefulness.

H7. The perceived enjoyment of a VR device will positively affect perceived ease of use.

H8. The perceived enjoyment of a VR device will positively affect usage attitude.

H9. The perceived enjoyment of a VR device will positively affect intention to use.

2.3 Social interaction with a VR device

In general, social interaction is the process of behaving and reacting with another, which in

this context means interactions among users (Choi and Kim, 2004). It is considered to be one of the

most important factors affecting the use of entertainment-related applications, including computer

games (Lewinski, 1999).

Lazzaro (2004) argued that game players can obtain enjoyment by interacting with others.

Chen et al. (2017), in a study on the acceptance of mobile social games, found that social interaction

strongly influenced perceived enjoyment and was an important factor in determining users’ level of

participation. Thus, social interaction has a significant effect on the popularity of entertainment

because it plays a role in the storytelling used to build play experiences (Choi and Kim, 2004).

Shin (2017) confirmed that a social presence, which is defined as the degree to which a user

recognizes another person in augmented reality, indirectly increases satisfaction with the service. The

concept of social presence represents a perception of being connection to other social users in the

context of online games (Biocca et al., 2003). This concept, which indicates that two people
interacting through the technical drama have a sense of togetherness, has been understood as a

connection to other social users since the advent of VR (Shin and Biocca., 2017). VR interaction

between social users ultimately provides a feeling of coexistence (The Sense of Togetherness). In a

mediated world, this sense of coexistence is seen as a factor that allows users to immerse themselves

in service, thereby increasing enjoyment.

The development of VR game devices capable of social interaction means that users can

interact with other users while playing games or before and after games through computer-mediated

communication (King et al., 2010). Because those social interactions affect users’ satisfaction and

enjoyment (Ding et al., 2010; Lazzaro, 2004), it is reasonable to expect that social interactions will

increase the perceived enjoyment of VR (Chang, 2013).

Therefore, we define social interactions on a VR device as the degree to which users want to

interact with one another in the process of using VR devices, and we derived the following

hypothesis.

H10. Social interactions on a VR device will positively affect perceived enjoyment.

2.4 Strength of the social ties on a VR device

Strength of the social ties, defined as the "perceived strength of social relations among users,"

are an important basic component of social networks (Zhang et al, 2018; Gilbert and Karahalios,

2009). Woisetschläger et al. (2011) found that strength of the social ties can occur in the process of

using social network services such as Facebook and Instagram, and those strength of the social ties

increase the loyalty of users to the service. Choi (2012) also emphasized the importance of

considering perceived enjoyment and strength of the social ties together because the use of social

network services plays a multiplicative role in promoting user pleasure and enhancing their bonds
with others.

As mentioned in the introduction, VR device manufacturers have begun to provide services in

conjunction with SNS. It is thus reasonable to consider both perceived enjoyment and strength of the

social ties and expect that strength of the social ties could increase perceived enjoyment (Choi,

2012).

Therefore, we define strength of the social ties as the degree of communication between users

and their acquaintances and derive the following hypothesis.

H11. Users’ strength of the social ties will positively affect perceived enjoyment.

[Insert Table 1]

3. Methods

3.1 Survey and data description

The survey was completed by 350 people who live in Seoul and other cities 5 in South Korea

between July and August of 2017. The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews by Gallup

Korea, a specialized research company. The interviewees were selected through probability sampling

with quota, which takes into account the distribution of gender and age as demographic characteristics 6.

Although probability sampling with quota does not differ from probability sampling in terms of sample

5
Gyeonggi (new city) and 5 major cities (Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju)
6
The subjects of the questionnaire were all 20–59 years, considering the degree of purchasing
ability and familiarity with ICT devices.
representation, it has advantages in terms of time and costs (Kim et al., 2016; Sudman et al., 1996).

The demographic characteristics of the respondents are shown in Table 2.

[Insert Table 2]

3.2 Measurement

As discussed in Section 2, this study considers the constructs of intention to use, usage

attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, social interaction, and

strength of the social ties to analyze VR device adoption. Three or more items from previous studies

were used to measure each construct. The questionnaire items are shown in Table 3. Specifically, this

study used four items from Venkatesh (2000) and Holsapple and Wu (2007) to measure perceived

enjoyment. Based on the research of Chang (2013) and Choi and Kim (2004), we appropriately

transformed three items on social interaction according to the purpose of this study. The items to

measure strength of the social ties are based on a study by Choi (2012). The detailed descriptive

statistics for all the constructs are shown in Table 4. The mean value for all constructs was 3.395,

which indicates that on average, respondents perceived VR devices positively.

[Insert Table 3]

[Insert Table 4]

4. Data analysis and results

 This study used the two-step approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) to

analyze the data. Although there is an academic debate about separating and analyzing the

measurement model before analyzing the structural model7, the two-step approach is consistent with

many previous studies (Wallace and Sheetz, 2014; Chang, 2013; Chong and Chong, 2002) and has

the advantage of improving the measure before validating the structural model (Wallace and Sheetz,

2014). Thus, we first analyzed the measurement model to verify its reliability and validity and then a

nalyzed the structural model to verify the research hypotheses empirically.

4.1 Measurement model analysis

The software package AMOS21 was used to analyze the reliability and validity of the

measurement items. The results are shown in Table 5. The Cronbach's alpha value for evaluating

internal reliability was more than 0.7 for all constructs, confirming reliability (Hair et al., 2012). The

convergent validity of each construct was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Specifically, convergent validity can be evaluated by examining the factor loading for each item and

the composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) for each construct that

constitutes the measurement model.

In the CFA analysis, all factor loadings exceeded the minimum requirement of 0.6 to confirm

convergent validity (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). For each construct, the CR was more than 0.7,

which is considered to be valid (Sharma, 1995; Hair et al., 2012). Also, the AVE for each construct

was greater than 0.5, further confirming satisfactory convergent validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

7
It is possible to distinguish between a recommendation for a single process that combines a
measurement model and a structural model (Hayduk and Glaser, 2000; Hayduk, 1987) and a
recommendation for a two-step process of separately analyzing a measurement model and a
structural model (Herting and Costner, 2000; Anderson and Gerbing, 1988).
To confirm the discriminant validity, the correlation between two constructs should be smaller than

the square root of the AVE (Fornell and Larcker 1981). As shown in Table 6, this study model had

satisfactory discriminant validity.

[Insert Table 5]

[Insert Table 6]

4.2 Structural model analysis

The results of the structural model analysis are shown in Fig. 1, which also shows the

standardized path coefficients and statistical significance of each path. In this study, the model was

analyzed by controlling for gender, age, and average monthly income. To test the fit of the research

model based on the hypotheses, 9 indices were measured (Chang, 2013): χ2 / d.f, goodness-of-fit

index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), normed fit index (NFI), non-normed fit index

(NNFI), comparative fit index (CFI), incremental fit index (IFI), RMSEA (root mean square error of

approximation), and SRMR (standardized root mean square residual). The results are shown in Table

7.

The χ2 / d.f. was 1.901, satisfying the fit threshold of 5.0 or less, and the CFI, NNFI, and IFI

were higher than the recommended minimum value of 0.908. The GFI and AGFI were also higher

than the recommended minimum of 0.80. In addition, the RMSEA and SRMR were lower than the

recommended maximum values of 0.06 and 0.09, respectively. Therefore, the overall fit of the

8
The NFI value of the study model is 0.885, which is not as good as the recommended level of 0.90,
but it is considered to be acceptable because it is close (Wallace and Sheetz, 2014).
research model is excellent.

[Insert Figure 1]

[Insert Table 7]

The results of the hypothesis tests are shown in Table 8, and all proposed causal relationships

are statistically significant except for H2 and H4. Specifically, perceived usefulness was an important

factor affecting usage attitude, supporting Hypothesis 1 (β=0.293, C.R.=3.219, p<0.01). But

Hypothesis 2 (β=0.089, C.R.=1.162, p>0.1) was not supported because the effect on the intention to

use was not statistically significant. Hypothesis 3 (β=0.359, C.R.=4.066, p<0.001) is supported,

indicating that perceived ease of use is an important factor influencing perceived usefulness, but

Hypothesis 4 (β=0.099, C.R.=1.067, p>0.1) is not supported, indicating that the effect on usage

attitude is not statistically significant.

The demographic control variable results showed that age had a significant negative impact

on enjoyment and strength of the social ties. Therefore, we can see that the younger the age, the

strength of social ties and enjoyment increases. Also, for social interaction, gender had a significant

negative impact and income had a significant positive impact on the social interaction. It can be seen

that a male with a higher income correlates to an increase in social interaction. In addition, since

income had a significant positive effect to strength of social ties, it can be interpreted that the higher

the income, the more the strength of social ties increase.

[Insert Table 8]
 Perceived enjoyment was identified as an important factor statistically affecting all the basic

components of TAM: perceived usefulness, supporting Hypothesis 6 (β=0.441, C.R.=5.356,

p<0.001); perceived ease of use, supporting Hypothesis 7 (β=0.608, C.R.=7.726, p<0.001); usage

attitude, supporting Hypothesis 8 (β=0.360, C.R.=3.810, p<0.001); and intention to use a VR device,

supporting Hypothesis 9 (β=0.263, C.R.=3.268, p<0.001).

Hypotheses 10 (β=0.607, C.R.=7.654, p<0.001) and 11 (β=0.197, C.R.=3.273, p<0.001) were

supported; thus social interaction and strength of the social ties affect perceived enjoyment.

Specifically, the effect of social interaction on perceived enjoyment was very high.

As shown in Fig. 1, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and usage attitude in this

structural model accounted for 51.4% of the variance in intention to use. At the same time, perceived

enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness accounted for 44.6% of the variance in

usage attitude. In addition, social interaction and strength of the social ties accounted for 49.6% of

the variance in perceived enjoyment, one of the determinants of intention to use.

Finally, direct, indirect, and total effect analyses are shown in Table 9. Usage attitude had the

greatest influence on the intention to use in terms of direct effects. However, because social

interaction had the greatest indirect influence on intention to use and perceived enjoyment had the

greatest total effect, social interaction and perceived enjoyment are also important factors affecting

intention to use.

[Insert Table 9]

5. Discussion

The results of this study suggest several managerial and policy implications.
 First, because Hypothesis 1 was supported and Hypothesis 2 was rejected, we deduce that

VR’s usefulness can promote a positive attitude toward VR among users, but it does not directly

increase intention to use. However, as shown by the support for Hypothesis 9, perceived enjoyment

directly affects intention to use. Thus, we conjecture that users normally consider VR to be for

pleasure rather than usefulness. Although Chow et al. (2012) similarly analyzed consumers’ adoption

behavior on a VR-related item—the acceptance of using Second Life, an online 3D virtual world—

and found that perceived usefulness significantly affected intention to use, their research item has the

distinct purpose of medical education. Similarly, Chen et al. (2012) analyzed teacher acceptance of

technology in the VR education environment through the TAM model, showing that usefulness had a

significant effect on intention. This can be attributed to different purposes for using the technology.

In this case, the use of VR devices for educational purposes was found to have a significant effect on

the intention to use because it improves the quality of education and facilitates effective learning.

However, amusement also has a significant effect on the intention to use; this study’s results indicate

that it is an important factor. Similarly, Huang et al. (2013) studied the acceptance of virtual reality in

travel and marketing domains, while Chen et al. (2012) studied the acceptance of wearable VR

devices. This study’s results support the existing hypothesis that enjoyment has a significant effect on

the intention to use. It is interesting to note that, although specific areas such as education and

marketing have been designated by the VR industry, entertainment is still an important factor in

despite the different intentions involved in accepting the technology. Most consumers thus appear to

be aware of VR as a form of entertainment regardless of its actual purpose.

This study’s results also indicate that most people interpret VR as an entertainment medium

used for applications such as games. These results are consistent with the high proportion of

entertainment media seen in both domestic and foreign VR industries.

Second, the rejection of Hypothesis 4 (perceived ease of use affects usage attitude) indicates

that users do not necessarily have a positive attitude toward VR even if they expect it to be easy to
use. Most survey respondents (96.6%) answered that they did not use VR. This is because most

consumers have not directly addressed the functions of VR. Respondents are thus aware of VR only

through indirect experience. Most such experience is derived from online media and TV. The VR

applications featured in most media can be viewed (Håkansson 2018) by mounting headgear. Users

can also implement their own motions in a virtual space using specific devices. They therefore rely

on visual content to use VR. This makes it unlikely that users will recognize the difficulty involved

in VR operations. Combined with the results of this study, such recognition is presumed to be the

most fundamental factor for ease of use. In other words, consumers appear to regard ease of use as an

essential VR attribute.

Ease of use does not significantly effect attitude because consumers perceive it as an essential

attribute. This is also explained in the KANO model9. These factors indicate that users may not

recognize the difficulty involved in operating a VR environment. Rather, they may consider that

there is no difficulty involved.

Third, among the elements of TAM, perceived enjoyment had the largest total effect on the

intention to use VR. In fact, perceived enjoyment was significantly related to all the elements in

TAM: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, usage attitude, and intention to use. VR gives

users pleasure by providing a new experience. Thus, the perceived enjoyment of VR directly makes

users’ attitude toward VR more positive. Furthermore, perceived enjoyment is also significantly

related to perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Attitude is the core determinant in

increasing intention to use, so perceived enjoyment indirectly affects intention to use via attitude.

9
As introduced in KANO model, the functional requirements of the mandatory attributes show the
minimum level that the consumer expects of the product. That is, if the level of functional
requirements of this mandatory attribute is lowered, the dissatisfaction with the consumer's
perception of the product deteriorates very rapidly, but conversely, no matter how high the level of
this functional requirement, the consumer's satisfaction level does not rise above a certain level.
 Fourth, judging from the size of their indirect effect on intention to use, social interactions

and strength of the social ties could play a key role in increasing perceived enjoyment. In other

words, sharing the new experiences provided by using VR with other users enhances consumer

enjoyment of VR such that users with strong strength of the social ties have more perceived

enjoyment. Despite significant technological advances, VR is not yet widely used and is thought to

be in the early adopter stage (Ryynänen, J. 2018). Thus, this result suggests that invigorating social

networks when marketing VR products and services could play a crucial role in helping them cross

Moore’s chasm (1991).

6. Conclusion

This study has scrutinized consumers’ adoption of VR devices using an extended TAM to

empirically test the role of perceived enjoyment and social network activity in the adoption of VR

devices while controlling for users' gender, age, and monthly income.

This study has academic implications, especially in its consideration of social-network-

related characteristics (a trend in the VR industry) and their effects on the acceptability of VR

devices to users. Similar to previous TAM studies of new media and SNS, this study found that

perceived enjoyment is an important factor, especially for intention to use. Therefore, the results

about enjoyment revealed in this study can promote understanding of consumer behavior in adopting

VR and provide meaningful information about the diffusion of VR technologies and devices.

This study also provides meaningful insights for VR device manufacturers. Specifically,

social interactions in VR enhance user enjoyment, and the positive attitude formed through those

social interactions strongly influences intention to use. Thus, this study demonstrates that adding

social network services can promote VR acceptance and confirms that social interactions are an
essential element in the entertainment industry, not an optional one. Therefore, companies should

focus on marketing that introduces SNS functionalities to VR and promotes interpersonal

relationships among users. In addition, marketing strategies should target users who already have

experience with VR. Providing an environment in which users can share their experiences in detail

is expected to enable viral marketing. In addition, from a demographic standpoint, social interaction

and the strength of the social ties to VR, can be in general, be positively responded to by men, high

income individuals and young people. Also, the enjoyment factor may be more effective towards

young people, suggesting a marketing strategy considering these characteristics.

New services create entirely new values and lead to the emergence of diverse business

models (Shin and Biocca, 2017). Only 10 years ago, social media platforms such as Facebook used

only images and text. At present, however, various business models are emerging by combining

various video and real-time broadcast services. Social networking through VR has enabled existing

social media users to communicate in the virtual environment space. This will provide the Sense of

Togetherness, which is similar to a real environment in which the user feels they share a virtual

environment that cannot be provided through existing social media. As a result, experiences with the

new services provided through social VR are expected to lead to the emergence of diverse business

models that will enrich the VR ecosystem and market.

Although this study provides meaningful insights about the adoption and acceptance of VR

devices, it has some limitations that should be considered in future studies. First, the scope of the VR

concept in this study is broad; it covers the entire VR industry, not VR applied to specific areas.

Therefore, our results cannot distinguish differences among individual VR applications. Second, this

study’s survey was conducted based on the general perception of consumer VR; it does not reflect

direct user experience. Most questionnaire respondents had no experience using VR. This study’s

results therefore seem to have been influenced by indirect media experiences through formats such as

TV, YouTube, and social media. Future research should thus examine direct user experiences with
VR applications available through social networks. Third, this study considered only two external

constructs: social interactions and strength of the social ties. Therefore, future studies should

incorporate other variables, such as self-esteem, peer effects, innovativeness, and information leaks,

which are frequently considered as external variables in TAM, to more usefully determine the effects

of social network service characteristics within the model.

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List of Tables
Table 1. References

Table 2. Demographic characteristics of respondents

Table 3. Questionnaire items in the main survey

Table 4. Descriptive analysis of the constructs

Table 5. Reliability and convergent validity

Table 6. Discriminant validity results

Table 7. Fit indices for the measurement and research models

Table 8. Results of the hypothesis tests

Table 9. Direct, indirect, and total effects of the constructs on intention to use
List of Figures
Fig. 1. Summary of hypothesis tests
 Table 1

Author Variables Field

Chen- PU, PEOU,

Virtual-learning
Yuan(2012) PF(Playfulness), AT, IN
CMY Rasimah
PI, PE, PU, PEOU, IN Mixed reality
et al (2011)

Clyde W(2007) EN, AR(Arousal), BE Virtual world

Vivian Hsueh- Massive Multiplayer Online

Social Interaction, EN
Hua Chen(2006) Role Playing Game
Su Jeong Social network survices
EOU, Usefulness, EN, ST(Social Ties), Usage
Choi(2012) (sns) base on smart phone
Hans van der Hedonic information
PU, PEOU, PE, IN
Heijden(2004) systems
Immersion, Social Presence, Confirmation,
D shin (2017) Augmented reality games
Utility, Hedonism, Satisfaction, Intention
Presence, Flow, Empathy, Embodiment,
D shin (2018) Virtual reality
Engagement
Shin, D., &
Presence, Immersion, Confirmation, Empathy,
Biocca, F. Virtual reality
Satisfaction, Intention
(2017).
Immersion, Presence, Confirmation, PU,
D shin (2013) Virtual-learning
PEOU, Satisfaction, Intention
H chen et al Social Interaction, PE, Mobile Social Gaming
(2017) Use context, Altruism, Flow, AT, IN. Service
 Table 2

Table 2Group Number of respondents (%)

Male 176 (50.3%)
Gender
Female 174 (49.37)
< 30 79 (22.6%)
30 – 39 85 (24.3%)
Age
40 – 49 95 (27.1%)
50 – 59 91 (26.0%)
Less than 3 million KRW 39 (11.1%)
3 – 4 million KRW 73 (20.9%)
Monthly average income
4 – 5 million KRW 108 (30.9%)
More than 5 million KRW 130 (37.1%)
Seoul 139 (39.7%)
Busan 46 (13.1%)
Incheon 42 (12.0%)
Residence Dae-gu 33 (9.4%)
Daejeon 30 (8.6%)
Gwangju 30 (8.6%)
Gyeonggi (new city) 30 (8.6%)
Note: All currency is given in KRW (Korean Republic Won); KRW 1,070 = US$1 (Date: Apr 20, 2018)
 Table 3

Construct Item Measurement items Sources

I plan to use virtual reality devices in the future (or
IU1
continue to do so).
Intention to Wu and Zhang
IU2 I will purchase a virtual reality device in the future.
Use (2014)
I will use virtual reality devices in the future (or continue
IU3
to do so).
Compared to the effort put into it, the virtual reality device
AT1
will benefit me. Kim et al.,(2010);
Usage
Compared to the time spent, the virtual reality device will Mathieson et al.,
Attitude AT2
be useful to me. (2001)
AT3 Overall, the use of virtual reality devices will be valuable.
Using virtual reality devices will be useful in my daily
PU1
life. Lederer et al.,
Perceived
It would be convenient to acquire information and data (2000); Davis
Usefulness PU2
through a virtual reality device. (1989)
PU3 Using virtual reality devices will increase my productivity.
PEOU1 Using virtual reality will be simple.
Perceived Using virtual reality devices does not require much mental Van der Heijden
PEOU2
Easy of Use effort. (2004)
PEOU3 It will be easy to operate a virtual reality device.
PE1 It would be fun to use a virtual reality device.
PE2 I will not be bored while using a virtual reality device. Holsapple and
Perceived
Virtual reality devices will make my leisure time more Wu (2007);
Enjoyment PE3
fun. Venkatesh (2000)
PE4 I am interested in virtual reality devices.
I will use it more if it is possible to talk to someone on a
SI1
virtual reality device.
Chang (2013);
Social It would be better if I could use SNS like Facebook on
SI2 Choi and Kim
Interactions virtual reality devices.
If I could share content with others on virtual reality (2004)
ST3
devices, I would use them more.
ST1 I meet my friends as much as I want.
Strength of
I spend enough time with my family or friends by phone,
the social ST2 Choi (2012)
email, or instant messenger.
ties
ST3 I have plenty of opportunities to talk to others.
Note: Each item used a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
 Table 4

Construct Mean Standard deviation

Intention to Use 3.045 0.786
Usage Attitude 3.351 0.640
Perceived Usefulness 3.258 0.755
Perceived Easy of Use 3.523 0.646
Perceived Enjoyment 3.558 0.649
Social Interactions 3.478 0.575
Strength of the social ties 3.554 0.556
 Table 5

Internal reliability Convergent validity

Construct Items Cronbach’s Item-total Factor CR AVE
alpha correlation loading

Intention to IU1 0.829 0.865

Use IU2 0.928 0.861 0.904 0.929 0.813
(IU) IU3 0.869 0.934

Usage AT1 0.671 0.786

Attitude AT2 0.822 0.779 0.886 0.835 0.630
(AT) AT3 0.592 0.698

Perceived PU1 0.680 0.795

Usefulness PU2 0.833 0.720 0.807 0.834 0.626
(PU) PU3 0.683 0.772

Perceived PEOU1 0.638 0.772

Easy of Use PEOU2 0.772 0.623 0.773 0.788 0.554
(PEOU) PEOU3 0.562 0.685
PE1 0.653 0.729
Perceived PE2 0.685 0.747
Enjoyment 0.831 0.832 0.554
PE3 0.664 0.748
(PE)
PE4 0.640 0.752

Social SI1 0.527 0.647

Interactions SI2 0.756 0.691 0.832 0.769 0.529
(SI) SI3 0.543 0.690
Strength of ST1 0.592 0.808
the social
ST2 0.775 0.584 0.699 0.789 0.555
ties
(ST) ST3 0.682 0.724
 Table 6

1. IU 2. AT 3. PU 4. PEOU 5. PE 6. SI 7. ST
1. IU 0.901
2. AT 0.670 0.794
3. PU 0.551 0.606 0.791
4. PEOU 0.524 0.528 0.664 0.744
5. PE 0.577 0.576 0.658 0.638 0.744
6. SI 0.568 0.598 0.569 0.531 0.635 0.727
7. ST 0.367 0.358 0.404 0.397 0.398 0.455 0.745
Note: Diagonal elements indicate the square root of the average variance extracted.

Table 7

Measurement Research Recommended

Fit index Source
model model value
χ2/d.f. 1.821 1.901 <5.00 Shin and Shin (2011)
GFI 0.920 0.908 >0.80 Seyal, Rahman, & Rahim (2002)
AGFI 0.893 0.876 >0.80 Fornell and Larcker (1981)
RMSEA 0.048 0.051 <0.06 Hu and Bentler (1999)
SRMR 0.039 0.075 <0.09 Hu and Bentler (1999)
NFI 0.919 0.894 >0.90 Bentler and Bonnet (1980)
NNFI (TLI) 0.953 0.933 >0.90 Bentler and Bonnet (1980)
CFI 0.961 0.946 >0.90 Fornell and Lacrker (1981)
IFI 0.962 0.947 >0.90 Widaman and Thompson (2003)
 Table 8

Standardized
Hypothesis SE CR P-value Result
coefficient
H1. PU→AT 0.293 0.068 3.219 0.001 Supported
H2. PU→IU 0.089 0.087 1.162 0.245 Not Supported
H3. PEOU→PU 0.359 0.111 4.066 *** Supported
H4. PEOU→AT 0.099 0.086 1.067 0.286 Not Supported
H5. AT→IU 0.437 0.110 6.105 *** Supported
H6. PE→PU 0.441 0.096 5.356 *** Supported
H7. PE→PEOU 0.608 0.073 7.726 *** Supported
H8. PE→AT 0.360 0.082 3.810 *** Supported
H9. PE→IU 0.263 0.108 3.268 0.001 Supported
H10. SI→PE 0.607 0.098 7.654 *** Supported
H11. ST→PE 0.197 0.062 3.273 0.001 Supported
Note: ∗∗∗ p < 0.001
 Table 9

Standardized Direct Effects

ST SI PE PEOU PU AT IU
ST
SI
PE 0.197 0.607
PEOU 0.608
PU 0.441 0.359
AT 0.360 0.099 0.293
IU 0.263 0.089 0.437
Standardized Indirect Effects
ST SI PE PEOU PU AT IU
ST
SI
PE
PEOU 0.120 0.369
PU 0.130 0.400 0.218
AT 0.121 0.372 0.253 0.105
IU 0.116 0.358 0.326 0.121 0.128
Standardized Total Effects
ST SI PE PEOU PU AT IU
ST
SI
PE 0.197 0.607
PEOU 0.120 0.369 0.608
PU 0.130 0.400 0.659 0.359
AT 0.121 0.372 0.613 0.204 0.293
IU 0.116 0.358 0.590 0.121 0.217 0.437
 Figure. 1

2
Note: ∗p < 0.01, R indicates the degree to which a latent variable can be explained by the preceding

factor.
Highlights

 Perceived enjoyment of VR is a core factor that both directly and indirectly influences the
intention to use VR.
 Social interactions and strength of the social ties are significant factors that increase the
perceived enjoyment of VR.
 People recognize that using VR is not difficult.
 Users generally adopt VR for enjoyment rather than usefulness.