“The Digital Euro between innovation and regulation: An empirical analysis of users’ adoption intentions”

Abstract

The research intends to explore the factors affecting users' intention to adopt the Digital Euro as an institutional innovation promoted by the European Central Bank (ECB). This analysis stems from the study of the existing literature in order to build it own theoretical framework, which integrates some established models of technology and innovation adoption, such as the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Institutional Theory, and Perceived Risk Theory (PRT). The methodology of the study consists of carrying out a questionnaire survey with a quantitative approach with a sample size of 347 respondents, followed by data analyses through factor analysis and multiple linear regression. The results show that Perceived Efficiency, Perceived Usefulness, and Perceived Ease of Use emerged as positive and significant determinants of adoption intention, while Privacy Concerns exert a significant but negative effect. However, the study concluded that Trust in the ECB and Attitudes towards Innovation are not predictive factors in the intention to adopt the new tool. In practical terms, evidence is supportive of according priority to an intuitive design, a transparent information on the utilization of user data, and the implementation of early incentives to encourage adoption of the Digital Euro.