Examining User Engagement and Experience in Agritech

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Agricultural technologies (agri-techs) have focused on developing the AI perspective of human-AI interaction rather than human perceptions and responses. A lack of understanding of their employees’ behavioral responses when interacting with advanced technologies can lead to unexpected problems in the future. Drawing on the theoretical perspective of advanced user engagement, this paper examines the impact of five different technostressors on user engagement and, consequently, user experience. Design/methodology/approach For data collection, 464 participants from the U.S. and Asian (Singaporean) agri-tech sectors were interviewed via an electronic survey. Findings The U.S. study showed that techno-overload, techno-complexity, and techno-uncertainty were positively related to user engagement (t = 2.609; t = 6.998, and t = 6.013, respectively), whereas techno-invasion and techno-uncertainty were negatively correlated with user engagement (t = –2.167 and t = –3.119, respectively). The Singapore study showed that techno-overload, techno-complexity, and techno-invasion were negatively related to user engagement (t = –2.185, t = –2.765; t = –5.062, respectively), while techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty surprisingly showed nonlinear correlations with user engagement. In both studies, user engagement is positively related to user experience (t = 2.009 for the U.S. study and t = 2.887 for the Singapore study). Originality/value First, this paper provides agri-techs with a modern framework to better predict the behavioral responses of their employees when managing AI. Second, this paper expands the equation of change in the discipline of change management by introducing the dimension of readiness.