The Effects of Technology Affinity, Prior Customer Journey Experience, and Brand Familiarity on the Acceptance of Smart Service Innovations

Abstract

In our study, a model of smart service innovation (SSI) acceptance is delineated. We assume that the effects of the customer journey experience (CJE) and technology affinity (TA) on adoption intention (IN) are mediated by consumers’ attitudes (AT) towards the adoption of SSIs. Furthermore, contingent on the level of brand familiarity (BF), this study hypothesizes a moderated mediation with regard to the ‘CJE = AT = IN’ relationship. The empirical findings are largely in line with the model hypotheses: First, technology affinity affects adoption intention indirectly via attitude towards SSIs. Second, CJE has a significant direct and indirect effect on adoption intention in the cases of average and high brand familiarity. For low brand familiarity, CJE neither has a significant direct effect nor a significant indirect effect on SSI acceptance. Based on the empirical findings, the present paper discusses implications for service management and service research, study limitations and avenues for future research.