Abstract
Despite widespread mobile money adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa, many users still rely on digital platforms for low-stakes transactions but revert to cash for high-stakes payments. This study conceptualizes this pattern as Active Avoidance, a form of selective post-adoption non-use driven by cognitive execution constraints rather than lack of access or skills. Grounded in Behavioral Decision Theory, bounded rationality, and Status Quo Bias, the study examines how Navigational Burden, Technology Ambiguity, Perceived Transactional Risk, Structural Assurance, Perceived Peer Distance, and Habitual Reliance on Cash shape Active Avoidance. Using survey data from 270 digitally capable mobile money users across 14 Sub-Saharan African countries and PLS-SEM, the findings reveal an insurance paradox: Structural Assurance reduces Perceived Transactional Risk but not Technology Ambiguity. Perceived Transactional Risk influences Active Avoidance indirectly through Habitual Reliance on Cash. The study reframes digital financial inclusion as effective capability to execute consequential transactions confidently.
Recommended Citation
Nyazabe Nyazabe, S.,
Lee, C.,
&
Han, S.
(in press).
Adopted but Avoided: Explaining the Stalled Migration of Digital Financial Services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Information Technology for Development.
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/itd_forthcoming/24