Developing a user perception model for smart living: A partial least squares structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

Smart living is highly advocated to improve the quality of life by involving original and innovative solutions. This trend has been jointly driven by policymakers and domain specialists such as urban planners, property developers, and computer engineers. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the perception of the actual users, whose opinions should have been considered in the design and development of smart living systems. To address the gap, this study aims to investigate the user perceptions towards smart living by adopting an exploratory sequential quantitative research method. A user perception model is proposed based on a comprehensive literature review. Using smart student residence as an example scenario, 221 valid data was obtained through open-ended questionnaires, which were then analysed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. This approach analysed the complex relationship among the identified latent dimensions in realising smart living based on the users' perceptions. The finding demonstrated four significant dimensions to consider in realising smart living: system-to-user conditions, system-to-system conformity conditions, safety and service-related conditions, and tracking and monitoring-related conditions. The proposed model explained 78.3% of the variance in realising smart living for the users considered in the study's context. The study makes a unique contribution to the knowledge body by proposing a model to understand smart living from users' perspectives. It reflects the increasing clamour to incorporate user perspectives into the design of smart living systems. The developed model could serve as a decision-support tool to fulfil users' expectations of smart living.