Do-It-Yourself laboratories and attitude toward use: The effects of self-efficacy and the perception of security and privacy

Abstract

Despite the growing importance of Do-it-Yourself laboratories for science, technology, and innovation advancement, scholars have yet to find how and when people enhance their attitude toward using such laboratories. Drawing on the technology acceptance model and self-regulation theory, we theorized and examined a model to show that the effect of self-efficacy on attitude toward using Do-it-Yourself laboratories is mediated by perceived ease of use, whereas the relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude toward using Do-it-Yourself laboratories is moderated by perceived security and privacy. We used a longitudinal design to conduct an empirical study and found support for the hypothesized relationships in which the indirect effect of self-efficacy on attitude toward using Do-it-Yourself laboratories through perceived ease of use was conditional on the level of perceived security and privacy. This study provides theoretical and practical implications for a more nuanced understanding of attitude toward using Do-it-Yourself laboratories and contributes to the literature on Do-it-Yourself laboratories for the further development of theory and empirical studies.