Article
Antecedents of Investment App Adoption Among Generation Z: An Extended UTAUT Perspective on Financial Literacy, Digital Financial Skills, and Financial Well-Being
While the rise of the digital investment platforms in India is explosive, the financial behavior of the first generation that has grown up entirely in the digital era (Generation Z) is still not well understood in the academic literature, especially in the case of the hill-state of Uttarakhand. In the current cross-sectional study, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with Financial Capability Theory is used to explain why Gen Z students would be interested in investing in an application. The proposed model situates Financial Literacy (FL), Budgeting Behaviour (BB), and Digital Financial Skills (DFS) as antecedents of Financial Well-being (FWB), which in turn drives Investment App Adoption (IAA) intention. Primary data were gathered from 404 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Uttarakhand using a structured questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed in AMOS v21 following Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-stage approach. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) established sound measurement properties (CFI = 0.992; RMSEA = 0.024). All four structural paths were significant, and Financial Well-being fully mediated every antecedent–adoption relationship. The findings extend UTAUT into the financial technology domain and carry actionable implications for FinTech developers, HEI administrators, and policymakers seeking to foster responsible investment behaviour among India's younger population.