Continued use of wearables for wellbeing with a cultural probe^*

* Note. This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board, National Tsing Hua University–Research Ethics Committee (NTHU-REC) No. 10511HS048. In order to maintain the anonymity, we did not show the IRB number in the manuscript.

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore what makes people improve their health behavior through the continued use of wearable devices. This research explores the relationship between wearable continuance expedition and wellbeing improvement through a qualitative-longitudinal cultural probe study. This research discovered the sequential patterns of users’ behaviors in using wearables corresponding to users’ agency. First, users who decide to continue using wearables are more likely to incorporate device functionality into their daily lives. Second, users with higher efficacy are more likely to have the autonomy to guide their lives to achieve better wellbeing. We formulated six propositions identifying the roles of efficacy and engagement in shaping the continued vs. discontinued behavior and the change in quality of life, by which this exploratory study has established a foundation for future research. Moreover, it offers managerial guidance for the increasingly important applications of wearables for wellbeing.

KEYWORDS:

• Agency
• cultural probe
• continued use intention
• efficacy
• engagement
• wearable device
• wellbeing

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, Republic of China under Grant No. 105-2410-H-007 -037 -MY2. The authors would also like to thank the collaborators in cultural probe activities. They are Ting-chun Lin, Ying-hsian Wu, Yu-ching Chang, Wei-xuan Wang, and Chien-yu Liao.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

* Note. This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board, National Tsing Hua University–Research Ethics Committee (NTHU-REC) No. 10511HS048. In order to maintain the anonymity, we did not show the IRB number in the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology: [Grant Number 105-2410-H-007 -037 -MY2].