Adoption of virtual reality in secondary school education: extending the diffusion of innovation theory

Purpose The advent of information and communication technology (ICT)-driven innovations changed people’s lives in a big way. Virtual reality (VR) technology is an innovation that helps in digital transformation across several industries. This research aims to investigate the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology in secondary school education in India. Design/methodology/approach This research applies Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory. The study proposes a conceptual framework with the effect of the diffusion of innovation factors, relative advantage, complexity, and compatibility and contextual factors such as local government support, cost, market pressure and competitive pressure on the intention to adopt VR in school education. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Delhi-National Capital Region in India to validate the proposed study model. Findings The proposed model was tested using partial least squares-structural equations modeling. The study’s results suggest a significant effect of relative advantage, complexity, market and competitive pressure on intentions to adopt VR in secondary schools. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to private-sector secondary schools in India. The contextual factors related to public-sector secondary schools might be different. Practical implications The study’s findings imply a number of measures for educational technology developers and marketers to enhance the adoption of VR in schools. Originality/value Research studies in educational technology literature focus on the adoption of VR from different stakeholder perspectives, such as consumer, employee and management. This research investigates VR adoption from the management perspective in the context of secondary school education in a developing country, India.