A posteriori segmentation of elderly internet users: applying PLS-POS

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the study of the adoption and use of e-banking by adults over the age of 50, from the theoretical framework based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Design/methodology/approach After proving the validity of the model, the authors analyse the heterogeneity of these persons by using a structural model-based latent class segmentation called partial least squares prediction-oriented segmentation. Findings The results enable the identifying of four segments with different behaviours with respect to this electronic service. As implications of the results obtained, it is observed how sociodemographic characteristics do not explain their differences. However, the psychographic as well as the cognitive age, self-confidence and audacity are discriminating and explanatory criteria for the behaviour of the four segments. Originality/value From the academic point of view, this paper offers important contributions to the prior literature. First, although there is an extensive literature on the use of internet banking, the authors have nevertheless found a clear lack of research studies related to the specific group of older adults. There are not many works that exclusively deal with the elderly’s acceptation and use of technologies, and even less so in the case of internet banking services. Also, if the elderly are focussed, then it is discovered that there is a socially shared stereotype that sees them as inexpert and cut off from technology. This is, however, an unfair view that conceals a broad diversity of behaviours as has been proved for the different segments found.

Segmentation of Older Adults in the Acceptance of Social Networking Sites Using Machine Learning

“…Accordingly, in the case of the Baby Boomer generation, the Baby Boomer birth period varies from country to country (Sudbury-Riley et al, 2015 ). Moreover, although some studies propose the search for heterogeneity within generational cohorts (Rajaobelina et al, 2021 ), other studies have indicated that the differences are not associated with demographic variables such as age but rather psychographic variables such as cognitive age (Arenas-Gaitán et al, 2020 ). In this context, we follow the recent study of Ramírez-Correa et al ( 2019a ) that operationalized the Chilean generations in a digital setting.…”

Understanding E-Commerce Consumers’ Repeat Purchase Intention: The Role of Trust Transfer and the Moderating Effect of Neuroticism

“…The results showed three significant segments. It is important to check the improvement of the extracted variance (R2) when the segments are considered (Becker et al, 2013;Arenas-Gaitán et al, 2019). In Table 8, when calculating the model with the complete sample (Global), the aggregated R2 of the model is 1.964.…”

“…To achieve this, we applied a latent segmentation method on the basis of structural models which is called PLS-POS (partial least squares predictionoriented segmentation) combining with a conventional structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Eventhough PLS (partial least squares) provides general results of statistical analysis, it does not show the characteristics that act as critical segments (Arenas-Gaitán et al, 2019). The PLS-POS enables measuring both the segments and parameters of belonging of the observed variables (Becker et al, 2013).…”

Social Network Communications in Chilean Older Adults

“…The independent variables used are socioeconomic class, the number of people who live with the elder, marital status, educational level, gender, whether the elder lives with his/her partner and if work or not, age, and the use of wearable devices (smartwatch or bracelet). All of these sociodemographic variables are widely used to segment populations in previous studies [ 24 , 26 , 29 ].…”

“…However, this stereotypical image hides a much larger reality. Possibly the elderly is one of the segments with the most significant behavior heterogeneity [ 29 ]. The development of studies on heterogeneity among the elderly, through segmentation, question the current validity of this stereotype [ 30 ].…”