Modelling Malaysia residents’ behavioural intention to use smartwatch: the role of health technology and device benefits

Consumer smartwatches have been accessible for the worldwide consumer market since 2012 when Sony Corporation first offered them to the market. According to numerous smartwatch technology adoption journals, consumer smartwatch functionalities such as health technology, infotainment and communications, supported living and safety, and lifestyle and fashion are beneficial for social well-being. Researchers hypothesised that these practical applications which automatically manage individual personal information, simplify infotainment and communications, support safety and complement individual social lifestyles can improve individual social well-being and professional productivity. However, despite numerous benefits of consumer smartwatch technology, Malaysia population with good ICT and digital technology literacy have been slow to embrace smartwatches in comparison to other regional and global countries. Furthermore, smartwatch adoption research in Malaysia is still in its early stages, with only a few published studies accessible. These practical issues are the motivation for this study to examine Malaysia residents’ behavioural intention to use a consumer smartwatch. This study tested the factors that influence Malaysia residents’ behavioural intention to use a consumer smartwatch by adapting and extending the UTAUT2 theory with health technology and design benefit in a single study. The conceptual model consists of seven determinants with seven hypotheses representing technical, social, economic, health technology, and design benefit. The research process emphasised theory to practice inquiry technique, ethical practises, attaining reliability and validity, and bias minimization targeting a confidence level of 95% with an error margin of ±5%. The study empirically tested 366 valid responses from Malaysia residents collected using an online crosssectional self-administered survey questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the suggested conceptual model. Effort expectancy and price value were found to not influence Malaysia residents' behavioural intention to use a consumer smartwatch. Performance expectancy, social influence, health technology, and design benefits all have significant effects and positive influences on Malaysian residents' behavioural intention to use a smartwatch, while hedonic motivation has a significant effect and negative influence. These constructs were found to explain 65% of the proposed model behavioural intention. In conclusion, this study empirical findings based on extending the UTAUT2 theory generate awareness of the importance of performance expectancy, social influence, and hedonic motivation, health technology and design benefits in influencing Malaysians' iv behavioural intention to use a consumer smartwatch. The insights generated by this study based on the UTAUT2 theory provide new empirical information on the influence of health technology and design benefit which did previously not exist in any of the existing Malaysia smartwatch adoption research. The findings provide new reference dimensions for consumer smartwatch manufacturers seeking to improve their understanding of the Malaysia consumer smartwatch market