An innovation resistance theory perspective on home service applications: The moderating role of country context

Abstract On‐demand home service applications (HSAs) have revolutionized the service industry and are gaining high popularity. By using the innovation resistance theory in HSA context, the present study aimed to (a) examine the relationships of consumer barriers with trust and word of mouth (WOM) and (b) analyze how country context moderates the relationships of consumer barriers with trust. Survey data were gathered from 343 respondents (India = 216, The USA = 127) and analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software. The results showed that value barrier, risk barrier, and image barrier negatively affect trust and WOM. While the tradition barrier is insignificantly associated with trust and WOM, and usage barrier negatively relates to WOM only. The study also discovered the positive association of trust with WOM. The study further found that the country context moderates the relationship of value barrier, risk barrier, and image barrier with trust. Finally, implications for theory and practice are presented.