The challenges in adopting residual radio frequency identification technologies in the business environment: a consumer segmentation approach

Abstract

In today's global competitive environment, organisations face a variety of challenges. Many organisations are adopting Radio Frequency Identification Technologies (RFID) as part of their information supply chains. These technologies provide many benefits to the organisations that use them. However, how these technologies affect consumers and their willingness to adopt the technology is often overlooked. Many of the tags remain active after the consumers have purchased them. These RFID tags, placed in a product for one purpose and left in that product after it has served that purpose, are residual RFIDs. Residual RFID technology can have many positive and negative effects on consumers' willingness to buy and use products containing RFID and, thus, on the business's ability to sell products containing RFID. In this study, we outline some of the advantages and disadvantages of residual RFID from the consumer perspective, then follow it up with an in-depth survey and analysis of consumer perceptions. Using cluster analysis, the study identifies three distinct groups: the moderate majority, the untrusting sceptics and the concerned realists. The characteristics and likely behaviour of each group are identified and discussed.