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People spend more than 90% of their smartphone usage time on mobile applications (apps). Companies have capitalized on this opportunity to develop various types of branded apps. However, due to fierce competition in the app market, most branded apps have a low retention rate. Drawing on the theory of psychological ownership, this study aims to investigate drivers of what we call “strong” indicators of branded app outcomes or, namely, indicators of app engagement that reveal a higher level of consumer brand commitment.

Two studies were conducted using online and offline surveys. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used for data analysis.

The results of the two studies confirm the research hypothesis. When utility-related antecedents (perceived usefulness and ease of use) are controlled for, self-brand congruity and investment size facilitate psychological ownership towards a branded app, which, in turn, generates feedback intention and brand evangelism.

Unlike the utilitarian perspective on user engagement with branded apps, the current research contributes to the literature by proposing a self-concept perspective that can drive strong indicators of branded app marketing outcomes. Two strategies through which practitioners can facilitate these indicators and create a competitive advantage for their companies are proposed.

Companies understand the potential to use gamification marketing to facilitate a better connection. However, most endeavours in gamification fail. This study aims to identify the design factors that drive the marketing effectiveness of branded applications (apps) with gamification features.

This study investigates branded apps covering various industries such as hospitality, retail and financial services. A total of 296 respondents were recruited from an online questionnaire platform.

The results show that playability, design aesthetics, goal clarity, incentive provision and symbolic benefits were drivers of consumer–brand engagement, which in turn generated purchase intention, app continuance intention and brand loyalty.

Based on the elemental tetrad model, this study specified relevant factors identified in the literature to represent the technology, aesthetic, mechanical and story elements. The authors contribute to the literature by identifying design factors as drivers of consumer–brand engagement in the branded app context.

Enabled by pronounced advancement in technology, branded apps have dramatically changed how consumers communicate with brands. However, despite the proliferation of mobile apps, brands are struggling to engage users. Without engagement, a mobile app is unable to attract continued usage and brands are unable to establish relationships with consumers. Grounded in construal level theory, this study aims to adopt a fresh perspective to examine the determinants of psychological distance, which plays a key role in branded app engagement.

An online survey with valid data from 396 app users of UberEats, Foodpanda, 7-11 and FamilyMart in Taiwan was conducted.

Perceived synchronicity, localization, homophily, ease of use and design aesthetics are the key determinants that drive branded app engagement, which, in turn, facilitates continuous app usage intention, a positive brand attitude and brand loyalty.

This study contributes to the literature by revealing the five determinants of psychological distance that exert impacts on the establishment of branded app engagement. This research provides valuable findings that practitioners can emphasize to drive branded app engagement.

This study aims to examine the drivers and outcomes of the usage intention of branded mobile applications (apps), revealing findings of theoretical and practical relevance. First, it uncovers the specific technological features that underpin the perceived usefulness and ease of use of branded apps driving (directly and indirectly) usage intention. Second, it outlines two key outcomes that are relevant to the strategic management of branded apps: willingness to recommend the app and willingness to pay to continue using the app.

This study uses data randomly derived from a panel of one million UK consumers, analyzed via structural equations modeling. The unit of analysis was individual apps prominently displaying a brand identity. The study tested indirect relationships between the key drivers considered and usage intention via perceived usefulness and ease of use.

Consumers who view branded apps as protecting their privacy, customizable and compatible with what they do, will have stronger perceptions of usefulness and ease of use and greater intention to use the app. These effects also occur indirectly. Furthermore, usage intention drives the willingness to recommend the app and to pay to continue using it.

To influence usage intention, managers can improve the perception of usefulness of branded apps by protecting consumer privacy and improving the app’s design and its compatibility with people’s needs and lifestyle. Managers can also enhance the perception of ease of use of the branded app by heightening its security and ubiquity. Combined, these factors can enhance (directly and indirectly) the intention to use the app, which will lead to the willingness to recommend the app and pay for it.

This study extends previous research by examining factors driving the intention to use branded apps and the resulting outcomes. It also offers a model that yields predictions for individual branded apps (not the brand powering the app), thus providing practical recommendations on how to manage, in general, apps with a brand identity.

This study aims to empirically investigate ways to enhance customers’ continued mobile app use intention on the basis of information adoption model.

This study conducted an online, cross-sectional, self-administered survey, recruiting mobile app users in the USA.

Results identified both argument quality and source credibility positively influenced usefulness of branded apps and parasocial interactions. Results also confirmed a positive influence on usefulness of the branded app and parasocial interaction relating to continued branded app use intentions.

This study enriched the understanding of mobile app use behaviors, extending information adoption model in the service industry.

Providing that branded applications (apps) became a new trend in mobile marketing, the purpose of this study, thus, is to explore how to promote app users’ continuance intention and purchase intention (i.e. “app continuance”) toward a specific branded app.

By integrating both goods-dominant logic (GDL) and service-dominant logic (SDL), this study uses a unifying model to examine whether perceived usefulness and task-service fit (TSF) have different effects on the two parts of app continuance. This study identifies task characteristic and four service characteristics (interactivity, presence, localization and ubiquity) as antecedents of TSF. Furthermore, psychological barriers are examined as mediators of TSF and purchase intention within SDL. Data collected from 631 users of the targeted branded apps support all of the proposed hypotheses.

The findings show that besides perceived usefulness, TSF is an essential determinant of both app continuance in the context of branded apps and a partial mediator of psychological barriers between TSF and purchase intention.

Unlike prior studies, which have focused on traditional GDL to examine continuance intention, this study incorporates SDL and the notion of psychological barriers to explore such matters. The evidence concerning the significantly higher explanatory power of the full model suggests that a deeper understanding of the antecedents of app continuance is possible when the alternative view is taken into consideration, thus providing a promising avenue for future research.

Numerous companies have launched branded applications to foster consumer–brand relationships. Due to fierce competition among branded apps, the retention rate is quite low. The facilitation of behavioural outcomes through branded apps is a highly relevant research area. This paper investigates the drivers of behavioural outcomes in the context of branded apps from an investment model perspective.

This work examines various branded apps primarily used by consumers in disparate product categories, namely, Target, Walmart, Under Armour, Nike, Pandora, Spotify, Starbucks, Burger King, Disney and Netflix. Four hundred and one valid online questionnaires were obtained and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used for data analysis.

The results obtained extend the investment model to the context of branded apps and show that app investment size and app satisfaction facilitate brand relationship commitment, successively enhancing app continuance intention, brand purchase intention and app word-of-mouth (WOM) intention. Furthermore, app confidence benefits and self-enhancement benefits facilitate app satisfaction, while app social benefits and special treatment benefits facilitate app investment size.

The present work applies an investment model to various branded apps to show how relationship components facilitate behavioural outcomes. We contribute to the literature by identifying four types of app relational benefits as drivers of relationship components in the context of branded apps.

The purpose of this paper is to examine influential factors on branded app adoption from the perspectives of brand relationship and consumption values. Thus a research model integrating consumer-brand relationship literature and the theory of consumption values is developed.

Using the survey approach, 245 participants were recruited from several app market forums and app fan communities. The banking apps issued by three large banks in Taiwan were used in the research.

The findings support the research model and confirm that brand relationship in terms of brand attachment and brand identification, and perceived overall consumption values are influencing factors in branded app adoption.

The research advances the understanding of the effect of brand relationship on branded app use behavior and the functional and non-functional value components pertaining to branded apps.

Little research has investigated if brand-consumer relationship and consumption values can sustain and continually impact consumers’ choice in mobile apps.

Branded applications (apps) are increasingly important in marketers' omnichannel strategies. They have not only changed the way customers purchase but also changed the way how companies interact with customers. Building on value co-creation literature, this research investigates consumer brand engagement's role in enhancing perceived quality and brand loyalty via value co-creation.

Using online survey data from 355 brand app users, a conceptual model is tested employing the partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results suggest that not only does branded app personalization drives brand co-creation (fully mediated by consumer brand engagement) but that this process also increases perceived quality and brand loyalty among users of branded apps.

Data for the study are self-reported and thus may not accurately reflect actual attitudes and behaviors. In addition, respondents were students within the United States who, although representative of branded app users, may limit the generalizability of the study.

Knowing that branded apps can influence customers' perception of the quality and value of their apps, products and services, or even their associated brands, marketers and app designers should work together to provide a value co-creation platform through the apps to increase customers' personalized, engaging experience.

Although various relationships between personalization, engagement and co-creation have been studied, along with their impact on loyalty and perceived value, the interaction between these factors is not widely understood. The study examines these interactions in the context of branded apps, through the service-dominant logic perspective.

This study aims to examine the impact of the gameful experience on behavioural outcomes. Drawing from stimulus–organism–response theory, it proposes and tests a new model that investigates the relationship between the gameful experience, brand loyalty and intention to use gamified branded applications in the sports context. In addition, it explores the mediating role of customer–brand engagement (CBE) and the moderating role of self-image congruity (SIC).

A sample of 436 active users of sport-related branded gamified applications was used to test the model. Data was collected from online sports forums, brands’ Facebook communities and during sporting events.

Results indicate that the gameful experience positively and directly impacts behavioural intentions but does not directly influence brand loyalty. This relationship becomes partially significant when mediated by CBE. In addition, results show that users with high levels of SIC are more likely to continue using the gamified application, whereas users with low levels are more likely to engage with the brand.

This study expands the gamification literature in the sports sector by revealing the importance of the gameful experience in driving loyalty, behavioural intentions and CBE. It proposes a new model that sheds light on the emotional aspect of the interaction between a user and a gamified system and the importance of exploring the effects of moderators, such as SIC, in these relationships.