Acceptance of mobile commerce in low-income consumers: evidence from an emerging economy

This paper examines the intention to use m-commerce in low-income consumers in Ecuador by expanding the original unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model to include the trust and perceived security constructs. A total of 344 Ecuadorians were surveyed according to the following criteria: 1) had made at least one purchase through their mobile device in the last month and, 2) belonged to the low and medium-low socioeconomic segment of the selected country. The results showed that facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, habit, and perceived trust significantly and positively predict the intention to use m-commerce. The best predictor was facilitating conditions followed by perceived trust. Contrary to expectations, performance expectancy, social influence, and perceived security did not significantly affect low-income consumers' intention to use m-commerce. This study produced diverging results in significant constructs used to validate the UTAUT2, highlighting the need to examine this model in different countries further. The relationships of the core constructs of UTAUT2 vary according to the country studied, possibly due to differences in national culture and economic development that could moderate the impact of explanatory constructs of technology adoption.