Antecedents of mobile app usage among smartphone users

Abstract

Although mobile apps are already an influential medium in the new media industry as a whole, these apps have received little academic attention within the communication and marketing literature. This study develops and tests a hypothesized model to explain antecedents affecting app usage among smartphone users. The analysis of the structural equation model determined a final model with four significant factors (perceived informative and entertaining usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user review). Cost-effectiveness, a key variable of this study due to the particularity of 99-cent app price, had no influence on app usage. This study not only includes marketing implications but also offers insight into various theoretical applications to the field of mobile communication research by suggesting a conceptual model for the acceptance of mobile apps.