Understanding consumer's adoption of financial robo‐advisors at the outbreak of the COVID‐19 crisis in Malaysia

The COVID‐19 crisis that resulted in diminished close contact interaction and increased financial volatility could influence consumer's perception toward online automated financial robo‐advisor, in order to manage their financial planning. Based on the data collected (i.e., between February [9 reported cases] and March [36 reported cases] 2020) within the developed urban cities in Malaysia just before the nationwide lockdown, the present study examines the antecedents of financial robo‐advisor's adoption during the COVID‐19 crisis. A variance based analysis shows that consumers with higher financial knowledge and having a greater tendency to rely on robo‐advisor tend to adopt financial robo‐advisor in times of crisis. In line with the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, performance expectancy, social influence, and trust in robo‐advisor, in particular during the pandemic, drive consumer's intention to subscribe online financial robo‐advisor. The findings imply how consumers, robo‐advisory service providers, and regulators could respond to unprecedented crisis such as novel corona virus‐19.