Towards a more general theory of blockchain technology adoption – Investigating the role of mass media, social media and technophilia

Abstract

Earlier research has relied on well-established technology acceptance models to investigate the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT) in various domains. However, citing criticism from other scholars, we show that this approach is severely limited because of portraying users as passive absorbers of technology, failure to recognise that users can find novel applications for the technology, triviality of the results, inability to add new insights and creating the ‘illusion of cumulative tradition.’ Therefore, departing from this earlier approach, the current study mobilises Cultivation Theory (CT) and Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to propose and empirically investigate the direct impact of mass media, social media and technophilia as well as moderating impact of technophilia on BC adoption intentions at a more general level. Responses collected through a structured questionnaire from 416 professionals working in different Pakistani organisations were used to test the proposed model by application of PLS-SEM. The results of the study indicate that mass media, social media and technophilia positively and significantly affect an individual's intention to adopt blockchain technology. In addition, technophilia moderates social and mass media influence on the intention to adopt blockchain technology. The study makes a major theoretical contribution to BCT adoption scholarship.