Abstract

Smart thermostats represent an innovative smart home technology and a growing commercial opportunity, yet little is known about the salient factors that affect the adoption of such devices. To address this gap in research, we conduct a three-stage study that progresses through belief elicitation, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factory analysis within a nomological network. We leverage the mixed methods approach to explore the factorial structure of salient perceived benefits and concerns associated with smart thermostats, and we examine the effects of the emergent factors on the adoption intention. We discover that a novel factor, which we term techno-coolness, is the key predictor of the smart thermostat adoption intention. Techno-coolness encompasses the perceptions that a smart thermostat can make a home look modern and futuristic, be fun to use, and make the user feel technologically advanced. We also find that compatibility concerns as well as privacy concerns are significant impediments to the smart thermostat adoption intention.

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