User Acceptance of Internet of Things in Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan: A Case Study

Abstract

In the present digital era, the Internet of Things is gaining increasing popularity in different speheres of everyday life
and professional aspects. Internet of Things is an emerging concept that enables the information sharing among people
and physical devices by utilizing the digital devices and functions of web connectivity. Similarly, after the outbreak of
COVID-19, higher education institutions have transferred their teaching environment from physical to online space. This
calls for transferring traditional classroom approaches to the smart classroom styles. While this has been possible with
advanced available technologies, it comes with greater challenges including the smart classroom design and
management, lack of IoT infrastructure, limited digital resources, old and inappropriate teaching methods, etc.
Accordingly, IoT seems to be a favorable choice for HEIs to facilitate smooth learning of students. The purpose of this
paper is to assess the acceptance of IoT by HEIs in Pakistan. Initially, a conceptual framework is proposed. Subsequently,
survey-based research is conducted with students and teachers to verify the proposed model and statistically analyze the
readiness of stakeholder towards IoT adoption. The results of the study show that Technology awareness, IoT efficacy,
Performance Expectancy, Price value trade-off, and Social Influence are important affecting factors in this regard.