IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION (DMC) ON CUSTOMERS ADAPTABILITY FOR MOBILE-BASED TAXI APPS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM): A SERIAL MEDIATION APPROACH

Mobile Application Based Taxi (MBT) Services are the need of the hour. The Internet and mobile penetration have enabled commuters to benefit from MBT services. This study has extended the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by adding Digital Marketing Communication (DMC) as an antecedent for Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), Social Influence (SI) and Attitude (ATT). Behavioural Intention (BI), representing the adoption of MBT, was taken as the dependent variable. The study also tests the serial mediation by PU and ATT between DMC and BI.The data were collected through a questionnaire, which was designed with the help of statements collated from previous studies. The sample size was 368. Data were analysed through "Exploratory Factor Analysis", "Confirmatory Factor Analysis", "Structural Equation Modelling", and "Serial Mediation" It was found from the results that DMC, PU and ATT directly affect the BI. The relationship between DMC and BI through PU and ATT was reported as partial mediation. Keywords: Mobile App-Based Taxi, Digital Marketing Communication, Technology Acceptance Model, Behavioural Intention, Attitude, Perceived Usefulness, Serial Mediation.