The role of generational cohorts in mobile banking adoption: evidence from South-Eastern Europe

Abstract

The extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model extensively explains consumers' behaviour. However, from the service providers' perspective, understanding the role of generational cohorts in technology acceptance is necessary. The paper explores this role in mobile banking adoption by investigating its moderating effect on the linkages between the antecedents of the UTAUT2 model and behavioural intention. The article uses the partial least square method and regressions with generation as a multi-categorical moderator to investigate the moderating effect in a sample of 959 individuals from South-Eastern Europe. Findings reveal that generations govern most of the linkages between the antecedents of UTAUT2 and behavioural intention. These relationships were stronger for generation Y than generation Z, while there were no differences between generation X and Y. The paper contributes to the literature by providing theoretical and practical insights in the context of developing countries.