Senior consumers' acceptance and adoption of self-service banking technologies: an Australian study

Abstract

[Abstract]: The financial banking sector has rapidly embraced new self-service technologies so as to limit the traditional interpersonal service model to one where consumers interact directly with various forms of self-service banking technologies (SSBTs) including EFTPOS, ATMs, telephone banking and Internet banking. For senior consumers (over 50 years of age) research findings indicate that they are the least likely to adopt SSBTs (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001-2002, McPhail & Fogarty 2004) even though the services appear to offer many benefits. The purpose of the present study was to test an extended version of the technology acceptance model (TAM: Davis et.al., 1989; Dabholkar & Bagozzi 2002; Curran et.al., 2003; Wang et.al., 2003)) to determine factors that influence the acceptance and adoption of SSBTs by senior consumers. In its current form, TAM concentrates on two immediate precursors to the formation of attitudes towards SSBTs, namely specific beliefs concerning the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of SSBTs. Background research on the attitudes of senior consumers to technology led the authors to include a wider set of predictors in an extended TAM (e-TAM). Specifically, the model was extended by including self-efficacy, perceived risk, technology discomfort, and personal service contact as antecedents of the TAM constructs.