Article Preview
TopIntroduction
As wearable technology popularity grows, so does its interest in being used for elite sport performance (Benson et al., 2020). These technologies are often promoted within elite athletics because they provide athletes, coaches, and support staff with real-time information about the athlete and how they respond to various modes of training and competition (Cardinale & Varley, 2017). This information can be analyzed by different stakeholder groups to individualize training plans, helping to maximize performance, enhance recovery, and minimize injuries (Halson, Peake, & Sullivan, 2016).
An important, but often overlooked, aspect of implementing wearable technology is the perceived effectiveness of the data by its users (Crang et al., 2021; Rupp et al., 2018). If an athlete does not understand how to utilize a device, how to interpret the information, or have general aversions against using a technological device, then this will potentially have a negative impact on their intention to use or adopt a particular technology (Dellaserra, Gao, & Ransdell, 2014).
The technology acceptance model (TAM) is regarded as one of the most influential theories within information systems adoption, ranging in fields from online banking to wearable healthcare technology (Gau et al., 2015; Talukder et al., 2019). This model, first introduced by Davis (1989), explores various factors that explain why individuals decide to accept (or reject) and adopt (or not adopt) a new technology. According to the TAM, investigating perceived effectiveness can help to predict adoption intention behaviors, while also uncovering important enabling factors that impact these decisions. Research by Chauah et al. (2016) demonstrated that perceived effectiveness is one of the most influential drivers that determines an individual’s intention to use information technology. Similarly, Kim et al. (2007) found that when a technological product is thought to be beneficial, positive outcomes motivate the individual, which in turn strengthens their intention to use the device. Based on these assumptions of the TAM model, the researchers designed this mixed methods project to explore the following research questions: 1) what is the perceived effectiveness of the WHOOP band wearable technology in a university women’s basketball team environment? and 2) what factors impacted perceived effectiveness of this technology?
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: in the first section, an overview of the related work of the literature associated with the WHOOP band is provided. The second section describes the explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach that was employed to explore the research questions through an interpretivist lens. The third section discusses the blended results from the questionnaire and individual interviews. Finally, the last section relates findings from the current study to existing literature, while also presenting conclusions and recommendations for future works.