Abstract
This study qualitatively explored factors driving disaster prevention app adoption among
Thai residents in Japan using the Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach. Interviews with
ten Thai residents revealed individual factors like disaster awareness and self-efficacy driving
app downloading. However, social interactions and cultural backgrounds within the Thai
community, such as online influencers and information sharing, emerged as significant adoption
drivers. For non-adoption, the findings shed light on language-proficient residents with
alternative information access not necessarily downloading apps despite organizational
recommendations. Non-adoption seemed influenced by a combination of organizational
influence, individual language ability, information environment, and disaster awareness levels.
Extending social cognitive theory, the results highlight sociocultural contexts playing a key role
beyond individual cognitions alone in disaster app adoption and non-adoption among foreign
residents. The study provides a theoretical basis for comprehensively understanding this
phenomenon in minority communities.
