Explaining tourist behavioral loyalty toward mobile apps

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-430
Author(s):  
José-Alberto Castañeda ◽  
María-José Martínez-Heredia ◽  
Miguel-Ángel Rodríguez-Molina

Purpose The overall tourist experience is changing because of the development of mobile devices, ubiquitous internet access and applications (apps) designed specifically for tourism. The aim of this study is to identify the determinants of continued use and recommendation of such apps (loyalty), framed within the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model, considering innate user traits (innovativeness) and one of the principal attributes of mobile phones (portability). Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised 285 Spanish tourists who owned a smartphone and were using some kind of mobile app in connection with their stay. Findings The results show that the UTAUT2 model is effective in explaining loyalty toward tourism apps and that its variables mediate the effect of user and mobile device characteristics. Research limitations/implications To ensure continued use of a tourism app, it should possess the following core attributes: deliver a positive cost–benefit trade-off, be fun to use, provide up-to-date and useful information and generate a degree of dependency in the user. Originality/value The present research is particularly relevant because of its focus on the use of apps during the stay, given that most of the extant literature centers on previous stages (such as service booking).

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti Tak ◽  
Savita Panwar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand antecedents of app-based shopping in an Indian context. The paper has used unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) 2 model for examining the impact of various constructs on behavioral intention and usage behavior of smart phone users toward the mobile shopping apps. Design/methodology/approach The constructs were tested and validated by means of a structured questionnaire which was administered on a sample of 350 mobile app shoppers in Delhi. AMOS 20 was used to analyze the collected data. Findings The study revealed that hedonic and habit are the strongest predictors of users’ behavioral intention to use mobile apps for shopping. Respondents are also influenced by the deals that are being offered by the marketers. The research also suggests that facilitating conditions help in usage of mobile apps for shopping. Research limitations/implications Managerial implications simplifying the interface which would encourage the less technologically advanced individuals to use mobile apps. Hedonic element of shopping through mobile apps should also be enhanced. Originality/value This study contributes to the research on intentions and usage behavior of consumer technologies by adopting UTAUT 2 model to explain the intentions and usage behavior toward mobile apps for shopping. The paper also measured the role of deals in influencing the consumers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qunyi Wei ◽  
Zhaoxin Chang ◽  
Qin Cheng

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the usability of the mobile library App of Chongqing University and to provide recommendations for improving the experience of App users. Design/methodology/approach – Usability testing, which comprised pre-test questionnaires, accomplishing tasks, and post-test surveys, was conducted in this study. The effectiveness and efficiency of the App, as well as user satisfaction with it, were measured. Findings – The mobile App was proven effective but the efficiency of the App required improvement. With regard to user satisfaction, the factors “clarity” and “usefulness” received the lowest and highest scores, respectively. The descriptions of mobile services were unclear and confused users; nonetheless, the services provided by this App were appealing and useful to the users. Based on the measured user experience, this study proposed several recommendations for enhancing the usability of the App. Originality/value – An increasing number of domestic and foreign libraries have begun to use mobile Apps to provide new services to patrons. In the future, smartphones are likely to become crucial to the delivery of information services. Given the extensive use of the Super Star Mobile Library system adopted by Chongqing University Library in China, the usability of such a system must be investigated. Improving the usability of the mobile library App can help enhance user experience.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 16-18
Author(s):  
Kristen Julia Anderson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a list of various travel-themed mobile apps that librarians might recommend as a supplement to other print/digital resources. Summer is a time when many people take the chance to escape on a much-needed vacation. As a librarian, whether you work in a public or academic institution, chances are you will be asked at one point or another where the travel books in your library are located. Design/methodology/approach There is always the possibility that the travel books in need may already be checked out or that the patron will not have time to wait for an interlibrary loan request to arrive. Findings Planning a trip, from deciding where to go, where to stay and what to do, can be a simultaneously stressing and thrilling decision-making process. Research limitations/implications Whether someone is planning a trip to a familiar location or to a place they never imagined visiting, there are numerous mobile apps that can aid the most nascent to the most experienced traveler. Originality/value In addition to including up-to-date travel guide books in library collections, librarians can also further assist their patrons with travel needs by recommending mobile travel apps.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros E. Polykalas ◽  
George N. Prezerakos

Purpose Mobile devices (smartphones, tables etc.) have become the de facto means of accessing the internet. While traditional Web browsing is still quite popular, significant interaction takes place via native mobile apps that can be downloaded either freely or at a cost. This has opened the door to a number of issues related to privacy protection since the smartphone stores and processes personal data. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of access to personal data, required by the most popular mobile apps available in Google Play store. In addition, it is examined whether the relevant procedure is in accordance with the provisions of the new EU Regulation. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines more than a thousand mobile apps, available from the Google Play store, with respect to the extent of the requests for access to personal data. In particular, for each available category in Google Play store, the most popular mobile apps have been examined both for free and paid apps. In addition, the permissions required by free and paid mobile apps are compared. Furthermore, a correlation analysis is carried out aiming to reveal any correlation between the extent of required access to personal data and the popularity and the rating of each mobile app. Findings The findings of this paper suggest that the majority of examined mobile apps require access to personal data to a high extent. In addition, it is found that free mobile apps request access to personal data in a higher extent compared to the relevant requests by paid apps, which indicates strongly that the business model of free mobile apps is based on personal data exploitation. The most popular types of access permissions are revealed for both free and paid apps. In addition, important questions are raised in relation to user awareness and behavior, data minimization and purpose limitation for free and paid mobile apps. Originality/value In this study, the process and the extent of access to personal data through mobile apps are analyzed. Although several studies analyzed relevant issues in the past, the originality of this research is mainly based on the following facts: first, this work took into account the recent Regulation of the EU in relation to personal data (GDPR); second, the authors analyzed a high number of the most popular mobile apps (more than a thousand); and third, the authors compare and analyze the different approaches followed between free and paid mobile apps.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simran Kaur ◽  
Rupak Chakravarty

Purpose User review is a significant component of mobile app markets such as the Google Play Store, App Store, Microsoft Store and others. Users submit their reviews for downloaded apps on these sites in the form of star ratings and text reviews. Apps can contain huge volumes of feedback, making it difficult for the user and the developer to skim through thousands of such reviews to get an insight into usage and impact of such apps. Thus, the current study aims to assess the usage and satisfaction among users of the Mendeley’s Android app vs iOS app. Design/methodology/approach The analytics are performed by using Appbot analytics software which captured, monitored, measured and analyzed the review results for a particular period. Appbot provides easy-to-understand insights of an app using artificial intelligence algorithm tools. Findings The findings of the study reveal strong inclination, adoption and usage of Mendeley’s Android app compared to that of iOS among users. Originality/value The value of this research is in getting an insight of the pattern/behavior of users towards using apps on different platforms (Android vs iOS) and provides valuable results for the app developers in monitoring usage and enhancing features for the satisfaction of users. Without mobile app analytics, one will be blindly trying out different things without any evidence to back up their experiments.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Schuster ◽  
Judy Proudfoot ◽  
Judy Drennan

Purpose – This paper aims to use the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB) to examine the factors affecting consumers’ continued use of emerging technology-based self-services (TBSSs) with credence qualities. Professional services, which traditionally require specialized knowledge and high levels of interpersonal interaction to produce owing to their credence qualities, are increasingly delivered via self-service technologies. Health services delivered via mobile devices, for example, facilitate self-care without direct involvement from health professionals. Design/methodology/approach – A mental health service delivered via the Internet and mobile phone, myCompass, was selected as the research context. Twenty interviews were conducted with users of myCompass and the data were thematically analyzed. Findings – The findings of the study showcase the unique determinants of consumers’ continued use of TBSSs with credence qualities relative to the more routine services which have been the focus of extant research. The findings further provide support for the utility of the MGB in explaining service continuance, although the importance of distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic motivational components of behavioral desire and capturing the impact of social influence beyond subjective norms is also highlighted. Originality/value – This study contributes to recent research examining differences in consumer responses across TBSSs and behavioral loyalty to these services. It also provides empirical evidence for broadening and deepening the MGB within this behavioral domain.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 19-21

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Creating and strengthening meaningful relationships with the firm’s customers should be a top priority for any marketing manager. Greater positivity toward the organization and increased loyalty are among the rewards attainable for those willing to expend the effort. The magnitude of the issue has lead to growing attention on consumer-company identification. Core to this construct is the notion that people consider themselves to be psychologically connected to a particular firm. This perception of belongingness often leads to deeper relations and higher levels of commitment reflected in such as willingness to act as an advocate for the firm and spread positive word-of-mouth, lower vulnerability to negative information about the company, increased purchase intention and higher levels of both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anteneh Ayanso ◽  
Mingshan Han ◽  
Morteza Zihayat

Purpose This paper aims to propose an automated mobile app labeling framework based on a novel app classification scheme that is aligned with users’ primary motivations for using smartphones. The study addresses the gaps in incorporating the needs of users and other context information in app classification as well as recommendation systems. Design/methodology/approach Based on a corpus of mobile app descriptions collected from Google Play store, this study applies extensive text analytics and topic modeling procedures to profile mobile apps within the categories of the classification scheme. Sufficient number of representative and labeled app descriptions are then used to train a classifier using machine learning algorithms, such as rule-based, decision tree and artificial neural network. Findings Experimental results of the classifiers show high accuracy in automatically labeling new apps based on their descriptions. The accuracy of the classification results suggests a feasible direction in facilitating app searching and retrieval in different Web-based usage environments. Research limitations/implications As a common challenge in textual data projects, the problem of data size and data quality issues exists throughout the multiple phases of experiments. Future research will extend the data collection scope in many aspects to address the issues that constrained the current experiments. Practical implications These empirical experiments demonstrate the feasibility of textual data analysis in profiling apps and user context information. This study also benefits app developers by improving app descriptions through a better understanding of user needs and context information. Finally, the classification framework can also guide practitioners in customizing products and services beyond mobile apps where context information and user needs play an important role. Social implications Given the widespread usage and applications of smartphones today, the proposed app classification framework will have broader implications to different Web-based application environments. Originality/value While there have been other classification approaches in the literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this framework is the first study on building an automated app labeling framework based on primary motivations of smartphone usage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1037-1063
Author(s):  
Sameh Al-Natour ◽  
Hasan Cavusoglu ◽  
Izak Benbasat ◽  
Usman Aleem

When using mobile apps that extensively collect user information, privacy uncertainty, which is consumers’ difficulty in assessing the privacy of the data they entrust to others, is a major concern. Using a simulated app-buying experiment, we find that privacy uncertainty, which is mainly driven by uncertainty about what data are collected and how they are used and protected, is indeed a significant influencer of one’s intentions to use a mobile app and the perceived risk associated with that use, as well as the price a potential consumer is willing to pay for an app. Our results further show that the uncertainty concerning the data collected while using a mobile app drives consumers’ decisions more than the uncertainty regarding data that are collected at the time an app is downloaded. To investigate whether privacy uncertainty continues to be a factor after a consumer has already started using an app, we conducted a survey of users of wellness and personal finance apps. The results indicate that privacy uncertainty is a lingering concern because it continues to influence a user’s intention to continue using an app and the perceived risk associated with that continued use.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakhi Thakur

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderating role of customer engagement experiences in satisfaction–loyalty relationship in the digital business environment. This paper looks at mobile apps for shopping and travel planning to understand these relationships. Design/methodology/approach This paper includes the conceptualization and validation of the proposed relationship through multiple studies. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to identify the relevant engagement experiences. Subsequently, multiple quantitative studies were conducted to examine the proposed relationships. Findings The effect of satisfaction on continuance intention is stronger among customers with higher levels of engagement. Further, the propensity to provide electronic word of mouth is non-linear in customers with higher levels of engagement and may not vary directly with satisfaction levels. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study contribute to the emerging literature on customer engagement and mobile app-usage domains. Future studies may examine such a relationship in different businesses and on varied digital platforms. Practical implications The findings of this paper may provide actionable insights to marketers, giving them a mechanism to segment customers based on engagement levels and using discretion while focusing on satisfaction levels among different segments. Originality/value This study validates the proposed moderating role of customer engagement in the satisfaction–loyalty relationship. The non-linear relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is also demonstrated.


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