Effects of user experience on mobile service continuance: a motivational theory perspective

Abstract

The factors that determine the continued usage of new information technologies are of critical importance to researchers and practitioners of information systems as they can tell what measures to be utilized to retain customers effectively. At the same time, user experience has been highlighted recent years as a key factor that determines various user behaviors. However, the effect of user experience on continued usage of information systems has not been examined by prior research, in particular with regard to mobile services. In this study we propose a motivational model of user experience that traces the effect of user experience on mobile service continuance intention through its effect on extrinsic motivation (perceived usefulness), intrinsic motivation (enjoyment), and perceived ease of use. The model further theorizes perceived ease of use as an antecedent of perceived usefulness and enjoyment, both of which influence user satisfaction and continuance intention. In addition, perceived ease of use is an antecedent of satisfaction while satisfaction is an antecedent of continuance intention. The proposed model was empirically validated using the data collected from an online survey of over 1600 existing smartphone users of mobile application services in South Korea, which has the highest smartphone market penetration rate in the world. Based on prior research on user experience, we theorized user experience as a second-order construct having four sub-dimensions: sensory, intellectual, behavioral, and affective. The study results largely support the proposed model, highlighting the effects of user experience through motivation in determining the continuance intention of mobile services. The model explains 47% of variance in user satisfaction and 48% of variance in continuance intention. As theorized, user experience was a significant determinant of perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and perceived ease of use, which all had a significant effect on satisfaction...