A User Ability and Willingness Matrix for the Adoption of Digitalised Services

Abstract

Digitalisation has transformed how services are accessed, yet users vary greatly in both their skills and motivation to engage with digital systems. This study examines how users’ digital ability and digital willingness influence the adoption and continued use of digitalised services. Existing technology adoption models treat user ability and willingness as sequential; this study proposes an interdependent matrix. It draws on semi-structured interviews with 40 users of digitalised transportation services in Wiltshire, UK, to examine how a user’s ability and willingness interact and influence the use of digitalised services. Our findings suggest that ability and willingness are multifaceted and the relationship between them is complex and emergent. Further, we categorise users into nine archetypes based on their ability and willingness. The nine user archetypes provide a practical framework for developing targeted interventions for improving user-centred digital inclusion strategies. Our findings also identified a new concept of leverageable ability whereby users can call upon more digitally capable friends or family members to support, or undertake, digital tasks on their behalf, influencing their effective engagement with digitalised services and thus their observed position within the matrix. We discussed the implications of our findings.

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