Abstract
Despite the benefits of using smart speakers, serious privacy concerns have been raised, particularly due to their constantly listening microphones. Given the mixture of the advantages and risks deciding whether to use them is not an easy matter, casting a doubt about sustainable growth and development of smart speakers. Using a sample of 559 users in South Korea and the U.S., we empirically investigated the dilemma of users seeking to adopt smart speakers. The results revealed users’ perceived usefulness and enjoyment positively influenced the intention to adopt smart speakers. No direct effect of perceived ease of use was found but this effect was completely mediated by perceived usefulness and enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment was found to be twice as strong as perceived usefulness in determining the usage intention, confirming the hedonic aspect of smart speakers. Conversely, perceived privacy risks were shown to be a significant negative factor. This negative impact was significantly stronger in the U.S. than in South Korea. We could infer that the more mature the stage of acceptance of smart speakers, the greater the sensitivity of users to privacy risks. Lastly, in the South Korean sample, we found that the perceived usefulness could reduce the negative impact of perceived risks on the intention. to adopt smart speakers.
Highlights
Personal assistant services using artificial intelligence are growing rapidly as they are used in various ways by both individuals and businesses
To simultaneously consider both the advantages and privacy risks of adopting smart speakers, we developed a united adoption model by integrating the two most widely accepted models: technology acceptance model (TAM) [13,14] and privacy calculous model (PCM) [9,12]
In terms of the benefits of adoption, we found that users’ perceived usefulness and enjoyment positively influence the intention to adopt smart speakers, supporting the hypotheses anchored on TAM
Summary
Personal assistant services using artificial intelligence are growing rapidly as they are used in various ways by both individuals and businesses. Smart speakers provide the benefits and convenience of providing personalized information (e.g., weather services, traffic status, individual schedules, etc.) to users through an integrated voice assistant They provide services such as music playback, games, online shopping and the control of home functions like thermostats, light fixtures and surveillance cameras. Using a sample of 559 users collected in South Korea and in the U.S, this study empirically investigates the dilemma of users seeking to adopt smart speakers To simultaneously consider both the advantages and privacy risks of adopting smart speakers, we developed a united adoption model by integrating the two most widely accepted models: technology acceptance model (TAM) [13,14] and privacy calculous model (PCM) [9,12]. We discuss some important managerial implications based on these key findings
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