MOBILE-APP ADOPTION IN A MULTICHANNEL CONTEXT: THE INFLUENCE OF WEBSITE-USE INERTIA

Many firms have developed mobile applications (apps) to capitalise on the mobile commerce opportunity. In a multichannel context, the mobile app of a firm is a complementary channel to other existing channels, such as a... [ view full abstract ]

Many firms have developed mobile applications (apps) to capitalise on the mobile commerce opportunity. In a multichannel context, the mobile app of a firm is a complementary channel to other existing channels, such as a website. However, customers’ persistent use of the website can inhibit the use of the mobile app. To investigate this dilemma for marketing managers, the purpose of this study was to explore the influence of website-use inertia on mobile-app use-intention. Based on a literature review a conceptual model was developed of the influence of web-use inertia on mobile-app use-intention. To test the conceptual model data were collected from 426 website users of an online price-comparison service. The results of the study showed that the habitual use of the website strongly influenced inertia. As hypothesised, cognitive-based inertia negatively influenced mobile-app use-intention. Empirical support could not be found for the negative influence of behavioural-based inertia on mobile-app use-intention. Contrary to the hypothesised negative influence of affective-based inertia on mobile-app use-intention, the results of the study showed that affective-based inertia can positively influence mobile-app use-intention. Lastly, the results showed that perceived mobile-app relative advantage decreases the status-quo-bias effect of website cognitive-based inertia.