Can mobile money be the boost the sharing economy in Senegal needs? Predicting adoption using the Technology Acceptance Model theory

Research background and purpose Since its introduction, Mobile Money (MM) has revolutionised the digital financial service (DFS) landscape by enabling the unbanked to access these services via their mobile phones. Initially, MM was used for fund deposit/withdrawal or purchasing mobile credit. As time went by, providers started exploring other areas of MM usage by offering more functionalities. This innovation has therefore attracted the interest of scholars. Tremendous efforts have been made over the past few years to develop the digital economy in West Africa. Nevertheless, the lack of suitable payment methods remained a choke point, given the low level of bank card penetration in the region. However, our analysis of the literature has revealed that some areas of MM have not been adequately addressed. Although a great deal of research has been devoted to the impact of MM, none of it has examined its application within the sharing economy (SE) in Senegal. This paper investigates the key parameters influencing the acceptance of MM as a preferred payment method for ride-sharing in Senegal, and how this adoption can help the SE flourish. We employ the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with 7 hypotheses (H1 to H7). We analyze the structural relationships among key TAM constructs: Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), Intention to Use (ITU), and Actual System Use (ASU) Design/methodology/approach In this paper we adopted a multiple case study methodology. Data was collected via questionnaires from ride-sharing users in Dakar (Senegal) and analysed using statistical software, namely IBM SPSS trial licence. Findings Our model indicates that PU and PEOU are the primary drivers of MM adoption. Furthermore, factors such as age and regularity of service usage-act as external variables that significantly influence these cognitive beliefs, whereas level of education and gender were found to have a minimal effect on intention of adoption Value added and limitations By examining how PU and PEOU influence MM acceptance for ride-sharing (a key segment of SE) transactions in Senegal, this study identifies the critical drivers of MM adoption and by so doing demonstrating the potential for MM to complement or replace traditional bank cards in the African context, this study addresses a critical gap in payment method research. The limited geographical area from which the data was collected (one region) and the fact that it was collected from users of just one SE service (ride-sharing) could be considered limitations of the study.