How the theory of planned behaviour and flow theory contribute to the acceptance of 5G technology

Abstract

Fifth-generation (5G) networks are currently being adopted at high rates and have recently gained significant popularity creating endless opportunities for consumers. It is vital for corporations to further understand 5G technology and how customers benefit and change their behaviours after using this technology. By emphasising Flow Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we include the flow experience and trust as the main mediators in our model. SEM was used to investigate the predicted model with data from 518 respondents from Iran and the USA. Our results support our hypotheses, indicating social influence and self-efficacy have a positive impact on flow and trust, even though the satisfaction of previous technologies influences only flow. Moreover, we found evidence that flow and trust mediate the associations among self-efficacy, satisfaction and social influence with 5G acceptance. Finally, the findings indicated that trust and intention are significantly different between students from developed and developing countries.