What drives the individual use satisfaction and acceptance of sports wearable devices?

In the era of rapid technology disruption and development, wearable devices have become one the major and most prominent application of technology innovations in the field of consumer electronics. In addition to the technical advancements, global consumer trends and preferences in terms of wellbeing and healthy lifestyle as well as the growing hype of self-tracking phenomenon are significant growth drivers in the wearable technology market. This thesis concentrates on studying the use perceptions towards sports wearable devices, such as sports watches. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and investigate how individual wearable users’ use experience, satisfaction, technology readiness and technology acceptance levels impact their satisfaction and use behavior of sports wearable devices. This thesis further aims at identifying factors that may drive or withhold individuals from using sports wearables as well as examine how perceptions about wearable usage translate into consumer behavior and continuous technology use. The key is to also gain a better understanding on how the use satisfaction in terms of consumers electronics such as wearables can be improved. While a vast range of prior literature on technology use acceptance and adoption as well as wearables already exist in general, no similar study with a focus on individual perspectives of wearable use motives currently exists. This study is quantitative and explorative in nature. To examine the factors influencing the use satisfaction and use of sports wearables, this thesis develops a novel extension in the field of technology acceptance research by creating the Extended Use Satisfaction and Use Continuance research model. The research model is applied into practice by creating a survey body that reflects the research model’s constructs and indicators. Furthermore, the empirical data is gathered from individual wearables users, mainly Suunto users, using an online survey tool, and 997 individual responses were gathered in total. The main data analysis is conducted using PLS-SEM method in SmartPLS3 software. The key findings of this study emphasize the importance of utilitarian and hedonic motives and perceptions in terms of sports wearables use. While technology use is often seen as utilitarian and based on functionality, the hedonic aspects such as perceived enjoyment and value are critical enablers of wearables use for a longer haul and should not be underestimated. The perfect balance between these two aspects might be they key for success for wearable manufacturers when developing new products and features. Understanding the needs and preferences of the target customers is vital in order to keep up with the intense competition and retain customer loyalty