Understanding user acceptance of blockchain-based smart locker

Pages353-366
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2019-0150
Published date31 January 2020
Date31 January 2020
AuthorJiunn-Woei Lian,Chih-Teng Chen,Li-Fang Shen,Hung-Ming Chen
Understanding user acceptance of
blockchain-based smart locker
Jiunn-Woei Lian
Department of Information Management,
National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Chih-Teng Chen
College of Information and Distribution Science,
National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Li-Fang Shen
Department of Information Management,
National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan, and
Hung-Ming Chen
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering,
National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of thisstudy is to explore the critical factors that affectusersacceptance and usage
intentiontoward blockchain-based smart lockers.
Design/methodology/approach The research is designed in two phases. In the rst phase, the key
stakeholders are interviewed. Participants include managers from technology providers and logistics
companies.In the second phase, a questionnaire survey is used to validate the proposed model.
Findings Based on the nal results, this study makes the following three suggestions. First, perceived
usefulness and perceived ease of use are the critical factors.In other words, it is important to emphasize the
function and convenience of a new service whenintroducing it to a potential user. Second, safety is not the
major concern when using a blockchain-based smart locker. This means that users will trust the service
provider for providing a secure service.Users do not worry about the security problem. Finally, the network
externalityof smart locker is also insignicant.
Originality/value This study has three major contributions. First, this study identies the critical
factors that will affect user acceptance of blockchain-based smart lockers. Next, this study combines the
opinions from serviceproviders and users to understand the gap between different stakeholders.Finally, this
study can enrich our understandingon the applications of blockchain from a managerial perspective and not
only from a technicalperspective, as in most previous studies.
Keywords Blockchain, Smart locker, User acceptance
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In recent years, the development of global e-commerce has attracted many consumers toward
purchases on the internet. The Market Intelligence and Consulting Institutes (MIC) (2017)
survey shows that Taiwanese consumersspending on online shopping has continued to rise in
The authors would like to thank the Institute for Information Industry, for nancially supporting this
research under Contract No. BI18100058 of National Taichung University of Science and Technology.
Understanding
user
acceptance
353
Received27 June 2019
Revised18 October 2019
20November 2019
Accepted24 December 2019
TheElectronic Library
Vol.38 No. 2, 2020
pp. 353-366
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-06-2019-0150
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0264-0473.htm

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