An Explication of Acceptability of Wearable Devices in Context of Bangladesh: A User Study

Abstract

The advent of wearable technology, which includes smart electronic devices, is burgeoning day by day and is highly anticipated to be the next big thing in the field of Internet of Things (IoT). Wearable technology includes smart electronic devices, which can be worn on the parts of your body. This technology has been proved to be highly prolific and well accepted in the developed countries. In spite of its efficacy, potency, ease of use and many other qualities that it claims to have, the adoption of wearable devices is still very low in the developing countries like Bangladesh. This study, based on Focused Group Discussion (FGD), depicts a set of factors affecting the adoption of wearable technology in Bangladesh. The objective of this research is to find out the dominant factors that affect the adoption of wearable devices in context of Bangladesh. The conventional IT adoption models such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) etc. were used as background theory to carry out the study. The study results showed that Perceived Cost, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Unavailability & Lack of Promotion are the most cardinal factors; Perceived Trust, Lack of Knowledge, Brand Loyalty are moderately important factors while Social Influence, Perceived Risk, Facilitating Condition and Attitude Towards Use are the trivial factors working as catalyst behind the acceptance of wearable devices.