Barriers of Mobile Commerce Adoption Intention: Perceptions of Generation X in Malaysia

Many telecommunication companies in Malaysia have been attracted to invest significantly in the development of mobile commerce due to the explosive growth in the usage and market penetration of mobile devices. Eventhough generation X is characterized with high earning power, as they are reluctant on technological advancements, the mobile commerce adoption rate is remaining low in Malaysia. Therefore, this study is intended to explore the resistance factors to understand the reasons for this low adoption among generation X in Malaysia. Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) and Valence Framework have been employed to examine the barriers, including usage, value, risk, tradition, image, and perceived cost barriers. The results of this study have been derived from data collected from 227 generation X consumers through questionnaire survey. The findings of this study show that, except the cost barrier, all other barriers significantly affect the mobile commerce adoption. These results enable local businesses to develop solutions to eliminate the resistance barriers and act as a means of understanding how to possibly enhance the rate of mobile commerce adoption in Malaysia. This research provides an extended Innovation Resistance Theory model by adding the perceived cost barrier construct, a negative valence factor, for the adoption intention of mobile commerce.