Internet use intention and adoption among Chinese older adults: From the expanded technology acceptance model perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how various factors intertwine to affect Chinese older adults’ decisions to adopt the Internet by applying the expanded technology acceptance model (TAM). Perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), subjective norm (SN), and facilitating conditions (FC) were four key predictors. Gender and age were included in the proposed model as factors to moderate the effect of two key TAM components (PU and PEU) on adoption behaviors. The results indicate that PU, PEU, and SN were significant predictors of Internet adoption among Chinese older adults, while PU, SN, and FC were significant predictors of Internet use intention. The effect of PEU on Internet use intention was also found to be stronger for older seniors than younger seniors. Implications for future research and practices are discussed.