Emotions and continued usage of mobile applications

A pressing issue with mobile applications (apps) is continued use. The expectancy disconfirmation theory is employed as the theoretical basis for most studies on continuance. Recognising the experiential aspects of using mobile apps, the purpose of this paper is to extend the existing disconfirmation model to account for the emotional experiences and their influences on continuance. In particular, the authors are interested in the factors that drive the experience of emotions, and how these cognitive drivers differ in shaping distinct emotional experiences (i.e. positive vs negative).

Structural equation modelling was applied on 271 valid responses collected from an online survey conducted among mobile app users.

Disconfirmation affects emotions in a non-linear fashion through arousal, and both positive and negative emotions influence continuance intention. Furthermore, positive emotions tend to be influenced by inherent benefits, whereas negative emotions are more likely to be influenced by instrumental benefits.

The generalisability of this study may be enhanced by collecting data from more diverse samples and validating the model on more mobile app categories.

This study progresses from the demonstration of a mere impact of emotions on continuance as in several recent empirical inquiries to more nuanced understandings of the role of emotions in forming continuance intention.