Impact of Internet Security and Seamless Transactions on Intentions to Adopt Bitcoin: The moderating role of Government Support

Abstract

This study examines the impact of internet security and seamless transactions on the intentions to adopt the bitcoin in the presence of perceived trust as a mediator and Government support is used as a moderator to strengthen the relationship. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from 400 respondents selected on the basis of purposive sampling technique. Unit of analysis was individuals. The nature of the study is quantitative because questionnaires were used to collect the responses. UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) theory is used in this study. Pilot testing was conducted on the basis of 79 responses in order to check the reliability and validity of the data, whether the data is reliable or not for further analyses, the results are given in appendix B. The SPSS software version 26 was used for the analysis. The reliability was checked through Cronbach alpha. The reliability of all variables was observed above 0.8. The data were found normally distributed. The KMO and Bartlett’s test found that the overall model had significant both a p value, 0.000 and the KMO value, 0.92. In the correlation test all the variables were moderately correlated with each other. Government support is moderately correlated with the intentions to adopt the bitcoin by the individuals. Perceived trust was found moderately correlated with the internet security, seamless transactions and the government support. The factor analysis was performed that included EFA (exploratory factor analysis) and CFA (confirmatory factor analysis). KMO and Bartlett’s test value examined through EFA. The mediation and moderation effects were checked through two different methods including, SEM and Baron Kenny (1986) methods. The outcomes of these two analyses depict that the perceived trust significantly mediates between independent variables and dependent variable. Government support did not moderate significantly in the path of seamless transactions and perceived trust, because the p-value according to the SEM is 0.985 and according to Baron Kenny method p > 0.05, which is (p .784). All the hypotheses are accepted, except H3b. The findings show that the government supports decreasing the positive relationship between ST and PT, the estimated value is -0.145. However, the interaction term effect is insignificant. The current study is assumed to be beneficial for the managers and policy makers to develop the policies to regulate the bitcoin. It is declared that when secure internet is provided to the individuals, then the individual’s trust towards the adoption of the bitcoin increases as the xv government support increases. This is also supported through the findings of the current study. The government support effect on perceived trust is significant; a p-value is, 0.000. The direct effect of government support on the bitcoin adoption is also significant; a p-value is, 0.000. Therefore, the government of Pakistan and SBP should review/devise policies to regulate the bitcoin instead of banning it. Keywords: Internet Security, Seamless Transactions, Government Support, Intentions to Adopt the Bitcoin, Perceived Trust, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency