Still on Track? An Investigation of the Factors Driving Continuance Intention in Wearable Fitness Technology

Sammanfattning

Purpose: Despite the rapid growth of the Wearable Fitness Technology (WFT) market, high discontinuation rates persist. This study investigates the determinants of Satisfaction and Con- tinuance Intention by extending the Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM) (Perceived Useful- ness, Confirmation) with device-specific (Personalization, Perceived Aesthetics) and contextual fac- tors (Community Immersion, Social Influence, Perceived Security) to explain sustained WFT use. Research Design and Methodology: A quantitative survey of 213 WFT users was conducted. The extended ECM was empirically tested using Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) to jointly estimate the determinants of Satisfaction and Continuance Intention while addressing correlated error terms between the outcomes. Additionally, post-hoc tests were conducted to better understand patterns within the data. Findings: The results validate the core ECM: Confirmation emerges as the dominant driver of Satis- faction, which subsequently predicts Continuance Intention. For contextual and device-specific fac- tors, results varied: Contrary to prevailing assumptions, Community Immersion showed a marginally significant negative effect on Satisfaction, whereas Perceived Security is becoming increasingly im- portant for users. Personalization showed a marginally significant positive effect on Satisfaction. Practical implications: The findings emphasize that managers should prioritize reliable functionality and expectation management over expanding feature sets, ensuring marketing claims align with actual performance. Additionally, security, personalization and community features emerge as factors that must be managed actively. Originality/value: This study integrates device-centric and contextual factors into a unified ECM framework for WFTs. It challenges the role of Perceived Security and provides novel evidence for the unexpected "dark side" of active Community Immersion on Satisfaction.