Determining factors affecting Filipino consumers' behavioral intention to use cloud storage services: An extended technology acceptance model integrating valence framework

Cloud Storage (CS) is a service that digitally stores, remotely manages, backs up, and renders internet-accessible data. However, despite its known benefits compared to traditional storage devices, this service is not widely used in developing nations such as the Philippines. This study integrated the Valence Theoretical Framework into the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) to evaluate the influence of twelve variables on Filipino consumers' behavioral intention (BI) toward adopting CS services. The data is gathered through an online survey. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to examine the responses of 431 cloud users, mainly students and working professionals. Results showed that Perceived Benefit and Perceived Usefulness were the strongest determinants of BI. The Job Relevance was also found to be a significant factor. Therefore, CS providers should find additional ways to make their offerings more beneficial for the daily tasks of students and working individuals. Furthermore, considering the substantial influence of Perceived Risk and Subjective Norms on BI, CS providers must strengthen their security measures to boost users' trust in their services. Consumers who receive excellent service are likely to give positive reviews, which can be helpful to individuals who might also be considering purchasing CS for their data. Although the focus of this study is CS services, this can also serve as a reference when analyzing the BI of consumers concerning the adoption of other novel technologies applied in various sectors, including education, e-commerce, healthcare, and more.

Re-Examining the Impact of Multidimensional Trust on Patients' Online Medical Consultation Service Continuance Decision

Recent years have witnessed the rapid growth of an emerging digital healthcare service - online medical consultation (OMC). Despite its popularity, many OMC platforms have encountered issues in initial adoption and continuance use among patients. We posit that many of the hesitation and resistance may arise from a lack of trust toward OMC, which is a complex phenomenon that involves both interpersonal and technological-oriented considerations. This study seeks to clarify the conceptualization of online trust in the context of OMC. It compares two plausible explanations (i.e., trust as a direct cause vs. trust as a moderator) regarding how interpersonal and technological trust contributes to the service continuance decision in OMC. By contextualizing the valence framework, we identify the critical factors in making the risk-benefit assessment of patients' OMC decision. We conduct an online survey of 365 experienced OMC users and analyze our structural model using a partial least square approach. Our results show that the multidimensional conceptualization approach, which incorporates both interpersonal and technological aspects of trust, is superior to the unitary approach. Besides, our findings suggest that the role trust plays in determining service continuance decisions in OMC is more of a direct cause than a qualifier that buffers the impacts of risk-benefit evaluation. We believe the findings can help both researchers and practitioners recognize the multidimensional perspective of trust and better understand the role trust plays in OMC and other online healthcare delivery problems.