How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected the Sustainable Adoption of Digital Signature: An Integrated Factors Analysis Model

Abstract

Digital signatures have been widely and primarily used for document approval activities during the Coronavirus pandemic in Indonesia. This is the digital equivalent of a handwritten signature or stamped seal, although it provides more inherent security, such as validating the authenticity and integrity of a message, software, or virtual document. Therefore, this study aims to determine factors affecting consumer intention in using digital signatures based on (i) the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2, (ii) the theory of planned behavior, and (iii) the information acceptance model. A total of 358 respondents answered the online questionnaire containing 69 question items, with the data analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique to examine the hypotheses. The results showed that the relationship between consumers’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and information adoption had the highest and lowest effects on consumers’ behavioral intention. Moreover, the consumers’ attitudes had the most significant effect on their attitudinal intention to use digital signatures. The significant positive impact of these consumers’ attitudes had relevant implications for the sustainable adoption of the signature system. This indicated that an integrating model with the potential of extending to consumers’ intention analysis was established for digital signature adoption in other countries after the post-Coronavirus period.