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1 – 10 of over 11000Cristelle Msaed, Sam O. Al-Kwifi and Zafar U. Ahmed
The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that underpin consumer switching intention in the smartphone industry. Most of the literature on brand switching uses…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that underpin consumer switching intention in the smartphone industry. Most of the literature on brand switching uses conventional models that lack the ability to explain this behavior for high-technology products. Such products have unique characteristics that make the switching process more challenging from the consumer perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model is built based on the related theories that consider the distinctive aspects of high-technology products. Furthermore, two variables “relative advantage of product features” and “company innovativeness” are introduced for the first time to evaluate consumer attitude to switch a high-technology product. The smartphone industry was selected to test the proposed model, where an online survey was sent to Apple and Samsung users.
Findings
The results confirm the expectation that perceived product usefulness, perceived ease of use and relative advantage of product features are the major factors driving the intention of users to switch, whereas subjective norms have limited impact. The financial cost of switching is the main barrier to consumers’ decision to switch to a new technology. The pleasure consumers feel toward their brand and the other brand is positively associated with their attitude toward switching.
Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to the literature on brand switching by introducing a comprehensive model that explains consumer switching behavior of high-technology products. Research findings would allow managers to draft better marketing strategies to improve consumer brand awareness.
Originality/value
The majority of literature on brand switching uses simple models to explain consumer behavior. This study is the first attempt to build a comprehensive model that considers the characteristics of high-technology products and how they shape consumer behavior during the decision-making process.
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Jimin Kim, Goya Choi, Younghoon Chang and Myeong-Cheol Park
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use contexts of personal computing devices in multiple steps and conducts an in-depth analysis for the use context of smartphones…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use contexts of personal computing devices in multiple steps and conducts an in-depth analysis for the use context of smartphones. The determinants of use context changes of smartphones are investigated using the technology-to-performance chain model.
Design/methodology/approach
In steps 1 and 2, a diary study method and 2014-2015 Korea media panel research data provided by the Korea Information Society Development Institute are used. Correspondence analysis, χ2 independence tests, and standardized residual analyses were conducted. In step 3, this study develops and validates a framework for use context changes using a survey method and structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results show that the use context of personal computing devices is represented differently and is clearly defined depending on the device used. Furthermore, the use context of smartphones has changed significantly because of the rapid growth of smartphone users and diverse usage patterns of smartphones. The research model results show that users expand the scope and frequency of smartphone use when they experience improved performance in everyday tasks and feel that smartphone content and functions could support everyday tasks better.
Originality/value
This study presents novel early stage research and presents empirical evidence and propositions in both exploratory and confirmatory ways. The main contribution of this study is to provide guidelines and general implications for other empirical studies on the use contexts of devices or information technology services.
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Yong Jeong Yi, Soeun You and Beom Jun Bae
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of smartphones. A research model is proposed to explain how TTF of smartphones affects college students’ perceived academic performance and smartphone use.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys were administered to college students at a South Korean university that has offered online academic services for more than five years, and 1,923 valid responses were analyzed. The study used partial least squares path modeling to evaluate the measurement model, and the bootstrapping technique to test the significance of the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings highlight that the TTF of smartphones has a direct influence on students’ perceptions of performance impact and an indirect influence on smartphone use through a precursor of utilization, such as attitude toward smartphone use, social norms and facilitating conditions.
Research limitations/implications
Despite a reasonably large sample, a single cross-sectional survey has a likelihood of selection bias in the sample.
Practical implications
This study applies the TTF model to smartphone use among college students and suggests an effective way to motivate them to use mobile technologies for their academic activities.
Originality/value
The present study develops an empirical model to assess the adoption of smartphones and its effect on college students’ academic performance. Above all, the study identifies a causal relationship among TTF, precursor of utilization, smartphone use and a perceived impact on academic performance based on the development and validation of the TTF constructs of smartphones.
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Roberto Pessoa de Queiroz Falcão, Murilo Carrazedo Marques da Costa Filho and Jorge Brantes Ferreira
The purpose of this paper is to segment travelers by their predispositions regarding the adoption of smartphones to purchase travel-related services, which is crucial for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to segment travelers by their predispositions regarding the adoption of smartphones to purchase travel-related services, which is crucial for developing specific marketing strategies for each group of tourists.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with 1,014 Brazilian travelers assessing their smartphone usage frequency and predispositions regarding travel purchases. The authors selected three variables related to the users’ acceptance of technology (perceived usefulness, ease of use and intentions to use smartphones for tourism purchases) and m-commerce perceptions of risk. Segmentation was conducted employing cluster analysis.
Findings
The authors identified three significantly different clusters of travel consumers: “Risk Ignorers,” “Cautious Users” and “Conservatives.” Risk perceptions appeared to be the main discriminating variable, followed by perceptions that smartphone apps are useful and free of effort.
Research limitations/implications
The non-probabilistic snowball sampling technique of Brazilian travelers may limit the generalization of the findings. Also, the use of intentions as one of our clustering variables instead of actual purchase behavior might bring limitations.
Practical implications
Segmentation enables the development of specific marketing strategies for each group, encompassing different risk profiles. Cautious travelers demand the development of safe and trustworthy m-commerce environments, as well as reassuring communication approach to reduce their perceptions of risk in performing mobile-mediated transactions. Conservatives demand marketers to build simpler and more straightforward apps to entice them.
Originality/value
The study reveals more fine-grained nuances to the role of mobile technology and its impact on travelers, unveiling important differences across travelers’ predispositions toward smartphone adoption that is distinctively associated with usage patterns regarding their risk profiles.
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Murad Moqbel, Saggi Nevo and Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah
The research purpose is to investigate the mediating and moderating relationships between smartphone addiction and well-being (i.e. health-related quality of life).
Abstract
Purpose
The research purpose is to investigate the mediating and moderating relationships between smartphone addiction and well-being (i.e. health-related quality of life).
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 236 smartphone users was used to test the research model.
Findings
The structural equation modeling analysis results show that smartphone addiction negatively impacts well-being by draining a key personal resource, energy, thus creating strain. The adverse effect of smartphone addiction on users' well-being is found to be more intense when smartphones are used for hedonic purposes.
Research limitations/implications
Through the conservation of resources theory lens, this study increases our understanding of the role of strain in mediating the negative effect of smartphone addiction on well-being. This study also has practical implications. By exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying when and how smartphone addiction can be detrimental to well-being, interventions can be carried out to mitigate the adverse effects on well-being.
Originality/value
Past research has focused on the antecedents and consequences of smartphone addiction while ignoring the contextual factors of smartphone addiction effects as well as the intervening mechanism through which smartphone addiction impacts well-being. Through the lens of the conservation of resources theory, we close this gap in the literature by providing a better understanding of the mechanism by which smartphone addiction reduces well-being and identifying a relevant contextual factor (i.e. hedonic use) that can worsen the impact of smartphone addiction on well-being.
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Ana Paula Borges and Luiz Antonio Joia
This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether the technological paradoxes identified and prevalent in a series of technologies are also identified in the relationship between executives and smartphones, as well as which of these paradoxes is most strongly detected in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
It was adopted the simple case study method, in which the individual is the unit of analysis. Therefore, a medium-sized company that operates in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market was chosen since the majority of its senior executives use the smartphone as a tool in their day-to-day work.
Findings
Two paradoxes generated strong ambiguity regarding the use of smartphones by the executives, namely continuity vs asynchronicity and autonomy vs addiction. Furthermore, three other paradoxes were moderately associated with the use of smartphones by the executives, namely freedom vs enslavement, dependence vs independence, and planning vs improvisation.
Research limitations/implications
By using only one organisation in the case study, the generalisation of results might be prejudiced.
Practical implications
The identification of technological paradoxes provides input for the development of strategies aimed at minimising these ambiguities on the part of executives.
Originality/value
This paper not only identified some smartphone-enabled paradoxes among Brazilian executives, but also established an approach to measure the intensity of these paradoxes.
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Cheng-Chia Yang, Cheng Liu and Yi-Shun Wang
This article aims at a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model framework that was used to investigate the impact of a 16-h smartphone training program on…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims at a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model framework that was used to investigate the impact of a 16-h smartphone training program on the correlations among different constructs of smartphone use in a sample of older adults.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 208 participants aged 60–78 (mean: 65.4) years completed a questionnaire that collected information on demographic variables and the frequency and duration of smartphone use as well as the answers to questions on the six UTAUT constructs of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and behavioral intention and usage behavior. The data were analyzed using partial least squares analysis.
Findings
This study was the first to compare post-training changes in the correlations among UTAUT constructs. The results revealed significant post-training changes in all construct correlations. Behavioral intention and facilitating conditions were shown to significantly impact usage behavior both before and after training and performance expectancy was shown to impact behavioral intention before training. After training, both effort expectancy and social influence were found to impact behavioral intention significantly. Moreover, the impact of facilitating conditions on usage behavior was significantly increased after training.
Originality/value
To date, no study published in the literature has investigated the impact of technological training on the technology-use intentions and behaviors of older adults. The findings of this study suggest that, for older adults, the results of the acceptance and use model for smartphones change significantly and positively between pre-smartphone training and post-smartphone training time points. The findings support that technology training has a positive impact on smartphone use in older adults.
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Minwoo Lee, Kawon Kim, Kyung Young Lee and Jung Hwa Hong
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between usability and aesthetic values to clarify what value users place on aesthetic design as compared to usability and how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between usability and aesthetic values to clarify what value users place on aesthetic design as compared to usability and how this is different across cultures.
Design/methodology/approach
Smartphone service acceptance and uses were analyzed cross‐nationally, in a comparative fashion, focusing on the differences in the composition of motives in the USA and Korea.
Findings
While the results illustrate the importance of both usability and aesthetic values, the two countries show different value preferences, as well as intention and adoption patterns.
Research limitations/implications
In the context of the recent overwhelming move toward mobile technologies such as smart devices, there exists a potential trade‐off between the aesthetic design and the usability in smartphones.
Originality/value
The results of this research suggest practical implications for employing cross‐cultural strategies in the global marketing of smartphones, as well as theoretical implications for cross‐country studies, which are recommended accordingly.
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Jae-Pil Ha, Sun J. Kang and Yukyoum Kim
With the ever-increasing popularity of smartphones, it has become one of the most important medium to increase sport fan engagement. However, very little attention has been paid…
Abstract
Purpose
With the ever-increasing popularity of smartphones, it has become one of the most important medium to increase sport fan engagement. However, very little attention has been paid to understand how fans use smartphones to follow sport. With that in mind, the purpose of this paper is to investigate specific factors that influence the use of smartphones in the sport consumption context.
Design/methodology/approach
This research empirically examined theoretical relationships between three categories of variables (perceptions toward smartphones, sport-specific factors, and smartphone-specific factors) and intention to use the smartphone in following sports.
Findings
Of the 11 proposed hypotheses, eight hypotheses were supported. Approximately 79.4 percent of variance in the usage intention was explained by the three categories of the variables.
Originality/value
As one of the first to take a holistic approach toward understanding sport consumption behaviors using smartphones, results of the current research can be employed as a base for studies examining other multi-functional technology medium in various sport settings.
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