Adoption Factors and Moderating Effects of Age and Gender That Influence the Intention to Use a Non-Directive Reflective Coaching Chatbot

Abstract

Chatbots are increasingly applied in various contexts including helping professions, such as organizational and life coaching. Coaching facilitates individual wellness, behavioral change, and goal attainment in a reflective, non-directive manner, and is considered one of the fastest-growing professions. The use of knowledge imparting service chatbots have been studied; however, the application of chatbots in coaching has received scant research attention, raising the question about which factors and moderating effects play a role in the adoption of reflective, non-directive coaching chatbots. In this study, we applied a modified Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to determine factors and moderating effects of age and gender that influence the adoption of a goal-attainment coaching chatbot. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis of a cross-sectional UTAUT survey ( n = 226). Performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions had significant roles as direct determinants of intent to use the coaching chatbot. Gender moderated performance expectancy and age showed a moderation tendency on effort expectancy. This study on non-directive, reflective chatbots in the organizational, and life coaching domains contributes to our understanding of how to design chatbots aimed at helping people find their own answers.