End user acceptance model for MySejahtera application in Malaysia

Abstract

The Malaysian government has mobilized its strength to confront the current COVID-19 pandemic and sought to develop and implement a digital contact tracking application (known as MySejahtera) and made it an integral part of the lockdown exit strategy. The application records which users have been in closeness from one another. If a user is confirmed to have COVID-19, application users who have been recently close to this individual get informed. Although the adoption of some new technologies is confronted with high failure rates, this application is expected to contribute greatly to the said strategy. As the effectiveness of this application depends mostly on the acceptance of its users, the research will identify the factors that can stimulate, or which affect the adoption of this application and its effective incorporation into the lockdown exit strategies. The research proposes a model that is aimed to provide solutions to mitigate the factors that affect users’ acceptance of this application. A quantitative approach was used for this research where an electronic survey was distributed among residents of Malaysia, and the collected data was analyzed using PLS-SEM. The proposed model is then validated based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model. The findings indicate that UTAUT factors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilities condition) are significant predictors for the adoption of the application among residents of Malaysia. On the other hand, the factors of application-related privacy concern were found to be insignificant for the adoption of the application.