Role of age, gender and cultural factors as moderator on technology acceptance of online entertainment

Abstract

Purpose Research on technology acceptance of online entertainment with age, gender and cultural factors as moderator, is rarely conducted. Previous research predominantly focused on age or gender as moderator, neglecting the influence of cultural factors. Therefore, this study aims to investigate acceptance of online entertainment technology, incorporating age, gender and cultural factors as moderator. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a survey comprising 1,121 individuals aged 14–24 years from three cities in Indonesia. The proposed theoretical model examined the causal effect of acceptance and moderating effects due to individual gender, age, power distance, individualism, feminism and uncertainty avoidance (AU). Subsequently, structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the theoretical model, and the results confirmed several findings from previous research. Findings The findings confirmed the positive direct impact of habit and price value (PV) on behavioral intention and hedonic motivation, as well as social influence on habit. The recent findings derived from the moderating effect analysis showed that age, individualism and feminism played a moderating role in the effects on individual intention due to habit. Additionally, gender and AU moderated the effects on individual habits due to hedonic motivation. Originality/value This research contributes to the limited knowledge of technology acceptance of online entertainment, and also integrates the causal effects of individual intention due to habit, PV, hedonic motivation and social influence, considering the moderating role of culture, age and gender. Consequently, the investigation provides valuable insights into the literature by presenting evidence of age, gender and cultural differences in acceptance. Furthermore, it offers practical guidance to online entertainment application developers on designing applications to satisfy consumers of different ages, genders and cultures.