The Moderating Effects of Subjective Well-being on the Elderly's Acceptance and Use of Gerontechnology: An Extended UTAUT Model

Abstract

Gerontechnology is playing a role in assisting the elderly in living independently, supporting their social interactions, improving their quality of life, and preventing emergencies. The purpose of this study is to extend the UTAUT model by referring to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions [2] and examining the moderating effects of subjective well-being (SWB) on the UTAUT model for the elderly's intention to use and use behavior of gerontechnology. This study conducted a questionnaire survey method. Data were collected from 487 elderly users of gerontechnology in Guangzhou, China. The results showed that performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE) and social influence (SI) positively affected the elderly's behavioral intention (BI) to use gerontechnology. Facilitating conditions (FC) and BI had positive effects on the use behavior (UB) of the elderly. The major conclusion showed that SWB merely moderated the relationship between PE and BI. The implications for practice and future research directions are discussed.