Scepticism and resistance to IoMT in healthcare: application of behavioural reasoning theory with configurational perspective

The innovative application of smart devices in healthcare promotes real-time sensing, enables intelligent services, and accelerates medical progress, which ultimately boosts clinical trial efficiency, timely diagnostics, and effective patient-centred care. Despite its proven capabilities, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) can flourish only if users in the medical sector willingly use these devices in their daily routine work. Drawing on behavioural reasoning theory and its implication in explaining user behaviour, this study aims to shed light on hospital practitioners’ reasons for and against resistance to IoMT. We proposed an integrative theoretical framework that combines system, information, and individual positive and negative factors to understand and explain clinical users’ scepticism and resistance toward IoMT. We benefit from a multi-analytical approach including symmetrical (net effect) and configurational analysis to test this theoretical framework. Our study contributes to the literature by proposing new insights into IoMT users’ decision-making, considering a dual approach that simultaneously explains positive and negative pathways toward scepticism and resistance. Empirically, this study advances our knowledge of users’ resistance rationality that could lead to improved managerial policies for introducing and successfully implementing IoMT technologies in hospitals.