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Abstract
Public administrations are launching smart cards for citizens’ identification and access to local public services. Despite being focused on citizens’ demands, there is a lack of acceptance of such initiatives. This study explores the key drivers of citizen adoption of smart cards and reveals that, in addition to utilitarian benefits, social processes, such as citizens’ identification with the city, affect individual adoption. The effect of place identity is moderated by citizens’ level of interdependence. The discussion highlights place branding and the support of local collectives as strategic governmental instruments for achieving a critical mass of smart card users.
Notes
1. The indirect effect of place identity on the intention to adopt the smart card was analysed in more detail. We followed the indications of Baron and Kenny (Citation1986) to analyse mediation and ran some alternative models. First, only place identity was included as antecedent of the intention to adopt the card, and we obtained a significant and relatively high effect (γ = 0.319, p < 0.01), which supports that place identity exerts an effect on the intention to adopt. This significant effect still holds (γ = 0.121, p < 0.01) when the control variables (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) are also included. However, the significance of the direct effect of place identity on the intention to adopt is reduced when attitude or social intention are considered as mediators. These results, together with the ones obtained in our research model, suggest that the effect of place identity on the intention to adopt is mediated through both attitude and social intention (Baron and Kenny, Citation1986).