Mobile wallet adoption intention amid COVID-19 pandemic outbreak: A novel conceptual framework

This research aims to explore adoption intention towards mobile wallet (m-wallet) amid COVID-19 outbreak using mediated-moderation framework. This study, in its uniqueness, utilises the stimulus-organism-response (S—O—R) theory as its theoretical base. The study investigated the effect of relative advantage, ease of effort, favourable infrastructure conditions, security considerations, and touch-free transactions on m-wallet adoption. The model includes perceived values as a mediator and perceived critical mass (PCM), promotional benefits (PBs) and users’ demographics as moderators for deeper understanding of the phenomenon. A total of 327 responses were collected using purposive sampling method. The results revealed that relative advantage, favourable infrastructure conditions, security considerations and touch-free transactions exert a positive significant effect on m-wallet adoption intention. Further, except for ease of effort, perceived values mediate the association among antecedents and adoption intention and PCM, PBs and age found to be crucial moderators between perceived values and intention. This study enriches the existing literature on the adoption of m-wallet. Practically, this study helps marketers frame strategies to enhance the adoption and usage of m-wallet.