Household Adoption of Technology: The case of high-speed broadband in Australia

While there is a large body of research on individual technology adoption in organisations, household adoption of technology is still an emerging area of study. This research proposes a theoretical model by drawing on the key belief structures developed through the literature which build on both Rogers' (1962) innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action. Key theories contributing to the development of the household adoption of technology (HAT) model proposed by this research include: the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis, 2003); and Venkatesh and Brown's emerging work developing (2001) and extending (Brown & Venkatesh, 2005) the model of adoption of technology in households (MATH).A mixed methods approach was used to explore and validate the key belief structures which affect household intention to adopt technology. The HAT model was first investigated with a qualitative phase where focus groups were conducted to explore whether the key belief structures drawn from the literature were good indicators of household intention to adopt technology. Analysis of the focus groups revealed broad support for the eight belief structures in the HAT conceptual model. In addition a theme of purchase complexity emerged from the focus groups which had not been previously identified in the existing technology adoption literature.