Self‐Conscious Emotions in Technology Adoption: How Embarrassment and Shame Shape Consumer Responses to New Technologies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates how self‐conscious emotions, specifically embarrassment and shame, act as sequential emotional barriers that shape consumer behavior and hinder the adoption of multifunctional technologies. Drawing on theories of self‐conscious emotions and integrating them with established technology adoption models such as the technology acceptance model and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the study develops a conceptual framework in which prior consumption experience and social exposure influence consumer adoption through dual mediation by embarrassment and shame. Across three scenario‐based experimental studies analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling, the findings reveal that prior experience reduces embarrassment and facilitates adoption, whereas social exposure intensifies embarrassment and shame, particularly in public settings. Moreover, the moderating role of perceived multifunctionality is identified; this mitigates emotional barriers under certain conditions of public exposure. Results highlight the emotional costs of technology use under social scrutiny, and demonstrate that dual mediation paths explain adoption behavior better than single mediators. This study contributes to consumer psychology and technology adoption literature by extending acceptance frameworks with an emotion‐ and identity‐sensitive perspective, while offering practical implications for user‐centered design, marketing strategies, and the reduction of emotional resistance in digital consumption contexts.

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