IT Adoption: A Persuasive Perspective

Based on Fogg’s Functional Triad, we develop a model to explain how a feature of persuasive technologies can influence usage intention by shaping an individual’s beliefs in regard to the Functional Triad. Specifically, we operationalize the Functional Triad by adopting the constructs of perceived usefulness, perceived medium function, and perceived social presence, respectively. We investigate the trade-off transparency of an online decision aid as a persuasive feature of a computing technology. Through an experimental study, the results show that 1) perceived tool function, perceived medium function, and perceived social actor function all significantly influence intention to use a computing technology; 2) trade-off transparency influences the perceptions of these three functions; and 3) the three functions fully mediate the effect of trade-off transparency on usage intention. Implications for researchers and technology designers are also discussed.