Determinants of Practitioners’ Intention to Adopt Advanced Technology: A Conceptual Model for the Malaysian Eye Care Industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jmrr/V2E6/2026-13Keywords:
Advanced Technologies, intention to adopt, Attitude TAM-TPB, optometric practice Malaysian eye care practitionersAbstract
The Study develops and justifies an integrated framework to explain Malaysian eye care practitioners’ intention to adopt advanced technologies in optometric practice. It motivated by a growing digital transformation in global eye care contrasted with comparatively slower and uneven adoption in Malaysia, particularly in private practices. This study synthesises technological, psychological, and contextual arguments to propose how digital tools such as OCT, retinal imaging, AI-assisted diagnostics, EHRs and tele-optometry can transform service quality, yet remain underutilised due to cost, capability, and policy–practice gaps. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, supported by perspectives from UTAUT, Social Cognitive Theory, Ecological Modernisation Theory and the Technology–Organisation–Environment framework, the model posits that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioural control and subjective norm shape intention both directly and indirectly through attitude. Attitude is theorised as the mediating mechanism translating practitioners’ beliefs, social pressures and perceived capabilities into adoption decisions. The paper further outlines a positivist, deductive, quantitative design using a cross-sectional survey of licensed optometrists and opticians in Malaysia, with validated Likert-scale measures and PLS-SEM for future empirical testing. Conceptually, the study advances technology-adoption research by explicitly modelling attitude as a mediator within an integrated TAM–TPB structure in an under-researched professional context. Practically, it offers a diagnostic lens for policymakers, professional bodies, technology providers and educators to design targeted incentives, training and support to strengthen digital readiness, address resistance, and accelerate the uptake of advanced technologies in Malaysia’s optical sector.
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