An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing the Adoption of Internet of Things Services by End-Users

The current trends in the internet of things (IoT) continue to attract global attention by adopting various IoT technologies to provide efficient and effective services to consumers. Earlier studies have reported a lot of prospects for IoT which resulted in interest in the technology; however, there is a lack of awareness and interest in the adoption of this technology by end-users in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study proposes an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine IoT adoption in Saudi Arabia. The extended TAM model comprises technological, social, and individual factors. The study utilized a questionnaire approach to collect data from 236 individuals that were examined using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. Results of this study showed that perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) are the indispensable determinants of IoT technology adoption by individuals. The findings also provided proof for perceived behavior control, cost, subjective norm, anxiety, and enjoyment as equally important variables to the adoption of IoT. However, trust has an insignificant impact on user's behavioral intention to use IoT services. These findings can help providers of IoT-based services to have insights on users' requirements and provide more acceptable and useful services.