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To App or not to App: The effect of mobile
applications on consumer brand attachment and
purchase intention
By
Alexander Mouthaan
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To App or not to App: The effect of mobile
applications on consumer brand attachment and
purchase intention
By
Alexander Mouthaan
University of Groningen
Faculty of Economics and Business
Msc BA, Marketing Management
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Management Summary
In recent years the mobile communication market has changed rapidly. Smartphones have changed the market environment by mobile applications. Currently there are many opportunities for marketers to take advantage of these developments. This research is focusing on how marketers can use mobile applications. To be specific, this research focusses on the question how branded mobile applications influence brand attachment and purchase intention.
This research has started with a literature review. Previous research has indicated that paid applications and application theme can have a positive effect on brand attachment and purchase intention. Furthermore there is indicated that the relationship between (1) paid/free application, (2) application theme and (1) brand attachment, (2) purchase intention is mediated by frequency of using a mobile application. Besides that, assumptions have been made that the demographics (gender and age) and mobile operating system have an effect on frequency of using a mobile application.
This research has used an experimental scenario study to give an answer on the research question. Results indicated that paid applications and emotional applications have a positive effect on brand attachment and purchase attention. However, frequency of using a mobile application is only mediating the relationship of application theme and (1) brand attachment, (2) purchase intention. Thus frequency of using a mobile application is not mediating the relationship of paid/free application and (1) brand attachment, (2) purchase intention. Furthermore there seems to be no relationship of the demographics on frequency of using a mobile application. For mobile application store it was indicated that Android users use a mobile application more than Apple users.
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Preface
After five months of hard work this thesis for my master Business Administration specialization Marketing Management has come to an end. The road to finalizing my thesis consisted of many aspects that have broadened my knowledge in marketing but also in statistics and methodology. This accomplishment was not possible without the aid of my thesis mentor Maarten Gijsenberg and the feedback of Evert de Haan. Their knowledge and advice helped me to improve my thesis to what it is now. Therefore I would like to thank them for all their help and assistance.
Groningen, 6 August 2012
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Table of Content
Management Summary ... 3
Preface ... 4
Literature overview and hypotheses ... 8
Main effects ... 9 Brand attachment ... 10 Purchase Intention ... 14 Mediation effects ... 16 Brand Attachment ... 18 Purchase intention ... 18 Other effects... 20 Methodology ... 23 Method ... 23 Sample ... 24 Measures ... 25 Results ... 25 Main effects ... 26 Mediating effects ... 27 Other effects... 29
Conclusion and Discussion ... 30
Limitations ... 33
Future research... 34
Appendix A: Questionnaire ... 36
Appendix B: Sample descriptives ... 39
Appendix C: Scenario’s ... 40
Appendix D: Results H1-H4 ... 42
Appendix E: Overview hypothesis ... 43
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Introduction
The mobile communication industry rapidly changed the last few years. The introductions of new types of mobile telephones called smartphones resulted in new opportunities within the marketing environment. A smartphone can be defined as a 3G/4G or UMTS mobile phone that facilitates access for surfing the web, e-mails and can install and run mobile applications (Busk, 2011). Currently 44% of US adult users have a smartphone. For the age group 25-35, even up to 62% has a smartphone (Nielsenwire, 2011). One of the main reasons smartphones are so popular is because they can run mobile applications or so called ‘apps’. Taylor, Voelker and Pentina (2011) define these apps as small programs that run on a mobile device and perform tasks ranging from banking to gaming and web browsing. According to Nielsen (2011) 62% of the US smartphone users have downloaded a mobile application within the last 30 days. Data of Lookout Mobile Security (2011) also shows the popularity of the apps. In the Apple store for the IPhone you can find more than 350.000 different apps to be downloaded. This is more than 61% of all apps. One other big provider of apps is the Google Play Store (formerly called Android Marketplace) from Google’s operation system Android. It is expected the Play Store will surpass the number of apps of the Apple Store in 2012. According to all these numbers it is shown that there is a large potential and growth within this channel for acquiring new customers, increasing sales and improving customer relationships.
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make room for a more useful application. Consequently, companies need knowledge how to differentiate their apps and how they can use apps most effectively. Third, Shankar, Smith & Rangaswamy (2003) found that online customers are more loyal than offline customers, so migrating customers from offline to online could enhance customer loyalty. Mobile applications are one way to let customer become online affiliated with the brand. Fourth, mobile applications belong to a fairly new marketing communication channel. According to Neslin & Shankar (2009) the mobile channel, the marketing channel involving mobile devices, is growing rapidly in the multichannel environment. Therefore for marketers it is essential to know how they can use mobile applications effectively at this channel. Finally, research on the effect of mobile applications is rather limited. As Gogging (2011) mentions currently there is less known about apps compared to other research about mobile technologies; that is what kind of technological system they constitute as a cultural platform, but in particular what kind of activities, projects, aims, groups and individuals may access apps and upon what terms. So this lack of research makes it hard for marketers to make grounded decisions of introducing apps.
This research can provide some answers on these issues. Overall the focus of this research is on branded mobile applications. Specifically, the research focuses on the question how branded mobile applications influence brand attachment and purchase intention. Besides that there is examined how the demographics (gender and age) and mobile operating system influence frequency of using a mobile application.
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Literature overview and hypotheses
Current research about mobile apps has still been rather limited. As Varnali & Toker (2010) stated the academic literature on mobile marketing is accumulating but the topic is still under development and the research is in its early stages. One of these reasons is the fact that smartphones where less sophisticated in the past and only recently became more technologically advanced. This resulted in more comprehensive apps that were able to attract a wider range of people. As Prata, Moraes & Quarisma (2012) stated; apps are responsible for 56% of all daily smartphone activity which confirms that app usage is one of the main reasons for a user to move from an ordinary phone to a smartphone. Furthermore although the first smartphone was already released in 1996, mobile apps only became widely used after the introduction of the Apple App Store in 2008 and the Play Store (formally called the Android Market) of Google in 2008.
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The focus of this paper is on the effect of branded apps on consumer brand attachment and purchase intention. In order to give a clear representation of this research figure 1 represents a framework of the model.
As figure 1 shows it is expected that paid/free application and application theme have a influence on brand attachment and purchase intention. Furthermore the effect of paid/free application and application theme are proposed to be mediated by frequency usage of mobile applications. The demographic variables (age and gender) and mobile operating system are assumed to influence frequency of using a mobile application. Each of the relationships in figure 1 will now be discussed together with background literature about the topics.
Main effects
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application theme on purchase intention. For the main effects first brand attachment will be discussed followed by purchase intention.
Brand attachment
The first question of this research involves how mobile applications influence brand attachment. Research on brand attachment suggests several definitions. Bowlby’s (1977) emotional attachment theory based on parent-infant relationships defines attachment as an emotion-laden target-specific bond between a person and a specific object. Kolsaker & Drakatos (2009) mention that emotional attachment to the application can be seen as the consumer feeling a kind of emotional bond toward the application, as it helps the consumer in everyday life, arouse the consumer with enjoyment, and makes it possible to mirror their own identity and thereby unconsciously becomes an essential part of their life. Park et al. (2010) define brand attachment as the strength of the bond connecting the brand with the self. Two critical components represent the concept of brand attachment. These are brand-self connection and brand prominence. Thomson, MacInnis & Park (2005) suggest that attachments vary in strength, and stronger attachments are associated with stronger feelings of connectivity, affection, love and passion. Many more authors use this type of definition for brand attachment (Aron & Westbay, 1996; Bowlby, 1979; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Collins & Read, 1990, 1994; Feeney & Noller, 1996; Fehr & Russell, 1991; Sternberg, 1987). Consequently, current literature explains brand attachment as emotions and feelings of connectivity between the person and a brand. Therefore the most suitable definition for brand attachment is from Thomson, MacInnis & Park (2005). Hence, brand attachment can be defined as an emotion-laden target-specific bond between a person and a brand that differ in strength, and where strong attachment is associated with strong feelings of connectivity, affection, love, and passion. This definition is also the most suitable for this research because the definition is based on a scale that measures emotional attachment to brands in a consumer-brand relationship. Overall the scale was proved valid and reliable in measuring consumer-brand attachment.
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repeat buying. They have found that the big payoff in sales is only attained when the highest level of emotional attachment is achieved. Attachment also allows that revenue and profit are less vulnerable to disruption, especially when the affective emotional bond is strong, an ultimate loyalty evolves that ensures repurchase despite situational incentives and enticements that might otherwise induce switching (Oliver, 1999) Another advantage of brand attachment is that it may prevent consumer defections (Liljander & Strandvik, 1995) and increases consumers forgiveness in the face of negative information (Ahluwalia, Unnava & Burnkrant, 2001). According to Park, Macinnis & Priester (2006) attachment is a more appropriate construct than attitude for explaining higher order, relationship based behaviors relevant to marketing exchange. Furthermore, researchers have long considered attitudes to be an insufficient predictor of brand commitment such as loyalty and suggest that true loyalty requires the customer to form an emotional bond with the brand (Oliver, 1999; Park, Macinnis & Priester, 2009). Consequently companies are searching for ways to create strong emotional brand connections with consumers because such connections increases the company’s financial performance and are a stronger predictor of actual consumer behavior than brand attitude strength (Park et al. 2010). This is confirmed by Grisaffe & Nguyen (2011) mentioning that marketers currently build emotional attachment to brands as a strategy to realize the financial rewards of true loyalty. One possible way of increasing emotional attachment to brands can be by the introduction of mobile applications. Research of Crosman (2012) indicates that the main reason banks introduce a mobile application is to deepen the relationship with the customer. Furthermore according to Zhang, Adipat & Mowafi (2009) mobile applications can help companies to communicate with their customers intimately.
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mobile application and brand. Research by Orth, Limon & Rose (2010) shows that positive affective experience evoked during a store visit may facilitate attachment to a brand. If the experience contains pleasure and arousal satisfaction is influenced that contributes to attachments. Mobile applications are nowadays so technological advanced that they can visualize high performance games and applications. These applications can lead to pleasure and arousal and therefore contribute to attachment to the brand.
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because possession of an item produces greater liking to it (Heider, 1958). Besides that possession of an item may develop an attachment to the item (Belk, 1988) and leads to a higher attractiveness rating (Beggan, 1992). Thus, consumers that already have some level of brand attachment will download a paid application faster and will increase their attachment because they posses and use the mobile application. Thus based on the literature it is expected that a paid application leads to a higher level of brand attachment than free applications. Therefore the following hypothesis is defined:
H1: Paid applications have a stronger and more positive effect on brand attachment than free applications.
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the phone what results in less connection with the user. Ruiz & Sicillia (2004) found that informational advertising appeals can generate more positive attitudes toward the brand. Consequently, research is not in line with each other whether emotional or informational applications have a more positive effect on brand attachment. Therefore the following two- sided hypothesis is defined:
H2: Emotional applications have a significant different effect on brand attachment than informational applications.
Purchase Intention
The second question of this research is how mobile applications influences purchase intention. Belmann et al. (2011) studied the effectiveness of mobile applications by a pretest and posttest experimental design. Results showed that apps have a positive persuasive impact that increases the interest in the brand and also in the brand’s product category. Brand attitude and purchase intention were hereby positively influenced. Although there has not been considerable research on the effect of mobile applications, research on mobile advertising is more extensive. Merisavo et al. (2006) found that mobile advertising significantly increased sales to customers who were exposed to mobile advertising compared to those who were not exposed. Hairong & Stoller (2007) examined the effectiveness of mobile web advertising by a field experiment. Results showed that exposure to mobile advertising increases brand recall, brand association and purchase intention. Thus according to literature it is expected that there is a positive link between using a mobile application and purchase intention.
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positively related and price is the best measure of product quality. This is supported by Tung-Zong & Wildt (1994) who mentions that there is a positive relation between price perceived and quality. Furthermore when consumers believe a product or service has more quality there purchase intentions will be higher (Berry & Parasuraman, 1996; Boulding et al, 1993; Cronin et al, 1997; Taylor & Baker, 1994; Zeithalm, 1988). Consequently, when one pays for a mobile application it shows a signal of a higher quality brand which can positively influence consumers purchase intention. Besides quality, consumers take a financial risk when they pay for a application instead of downloading it for free. Research on sunk costs shows that how higher an initial investment is the more likely a consumer will follow the same path of action in the future (Samuelson & Zeckhauser, 1988). Hereby sunk costs can be defined as the tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort. or time has been made (Arkers & Blumer, 1985). Therefore, consumers who pay for an application have made an financial investment that increases their future purchase intention more than when they got the mobile application for free. Finally some consumers are willing to pay for the mobile application because they are committed to the brand. As As Thomson, MacInnis & Park (2005) mention commitment to the brand leads to consumers who are willing to make financial sacrifices to obtain the brand. Furthermore for consumers that are committed to a brand price is less of a factor (Eastlick, Lots & Warrington, 2003; Gilg, Barr & Ford, 2005; Rust, Zahoric & Keiningham, 1995). These consumers will increase their purchase intention because their interaction with the brand through the mobile application will increase. As Sen & Johnson (1997) states mere possession of a brand could lead to positive evaluation of the brand. Furthermore Becknell, Wilson & Baird (1963) mention that frequent exposure positively influences brand choice. Therefore it is expected that consumers that have already commitment to the brand will increase their purchase intention because the mobile application will expose them to the brand. Consequently, based on literature this research suggests that paid applications lead to higher intentions to purchase than free applications. Therefore the following hypothesis is defined:
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It is suggested that application theme also has a influence on purchase intention. Research on the different mobile applications themes differ considerably from each other. Shankar & Balasubramanian (2009) show that product/service type seems to influence consumers decision making. Nielsen (2011) found that games are the most popular category of apps followed by weather, navigation and social networking apps. Falaki et al. (2010) suggest that users of game and map applications seem to have the highest frequency of usages. According to Nysveen, Pedersen & Thorbjornsen (2005) perceived enjoyment, usefulness and expressiveness positively influence the intention to use mobile services. This is confirmed by Henderson et al. (1998) who mention that usefulness and enjoyment derived in using an innovation will likely lead to increased loyalty and future use. Li, Glass & Records (2008) are also in favor of using an entertainment theme for m-commerce. These authors stated that entertainment services demonstrate the highest adoption rate. Finally according to a study of DMA (2008) mobile marketing works best for entertainment products and services. Other research indicates more preference for an informational theme. According to Kim et al. (2011) informational styled apps affect consumer evaluation more positively than entertainment styled apps. Rau, Junwen & Duye (2006) mention that mobile websites which provide information based services result in a higher purchase intention than counterparts of websites that provide entertainment. Furthermore results of Ruis & Sicilia (2004) show that informational advertising appeals can generate higher levels of purchase intention and brand choice. Besides these relationships several authors found the influence of entertainment and informative styles of m-commerce on attitude to be insignificant (Chowdhury, Parvin, Weitenberner, & Becker, 2006; Lee & Jun, 2007). Accordingly, research shows different effects on purchase intention if a mobile application is emotional or informational. Therefore a two-sided hypothesis is defined:
H4: Emotional applications have a significant different effect on purchase intention than informational applications.
Mediation effects
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and an emotional application lead to a higher frequency of using an application. Subsequently the mediation relationship of brand attachment will be discussed followed by purchase intention.
Chaudhuri & Holbrook (2001) use a restaurant example to explain that commitment and loyalty can lead to more frequent usage of a service/product. As previously explained some consumers who are willing to pay for an application will already be committed to the brand to a certain level. This commitment can therefore result in more usage of the application. Furthermore literature on sunk costs shows that if customers have made an initial investment in certain services or goods it is reasoned that the customer tends to remain behaviorally loyal and keep using the product (Beerli, Martin & Quintana, 2004; Dick & Basu, 1994). This is strengthen by Lam et al. (2004) who found that sunk costs have a positive and direct effect on loyalty and future usage. Finally, Samuelson and Zeckhauser (1988) mention that the more one has invested in an existing course of action, the more likely one will continue down that path in the future. Consequently, it is expected that consumers that have paid for an mobile application remain will use the product more frequently because they have made a financial investment. Thus, it is expected that paid applications have a stronger effect on usage frequency of mobile applications than free applications.
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application. In order to conclude a mediation effect first brand attachment will be discussed followed by purchase intention.
Brand Attachment
What is the effect of more usage of mobile application on brand attachment? According to Patwardhan & Balasubramanian (2011) more usage with a brand will lead to more repeated interactions that may result in an attachment. Furthermore research on mobile applications of Danish banks showed that respondents who used an application more often and for a longer period of time showed a stronger level of brand attachment (Vibe & Holm, 2011). The mere exposure effect shows that repeated exposure of a stimulus can evoke an emotional response (Bornstein, 1989) and has an effect on object liking (Zajonc, 1968). Consequently it seems likely that the more frequent consumers use a mobile application the higher the probability is that they get attached to the brand. Thus from this perspective the following hypothesizes are defined:
H5: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between paid/free application and brand attachment in such a way that paid applications result in more mobile application use than free applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger brand attachment.
H6: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between application theme and brand attachment in such a way that emotional applications result in more mobile application use than informational applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger brand attachment.
Purchase intention
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determine the level of interaction. According to literature it is therefore assumed that frequency of using a mobile application has a positive influence on purchase intention. Consequently a mediating effect is expected from frequency of using a mobile application. Therefor the following hypothesizes are defined:
H7: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between paid/free application and purchase intention in such a way that paid applications result in more mobile application use than free applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger purchase intention.
H8: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between application theme and purchase intention in such a way that emotional applications result in more mobile application use than informational applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger purchase intention.
Other effects
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and less experienced online. As Compeau & Higgins (1995) mention, people tend to avoid behaviors that invoke anxious feelings. Furthermore according to McFarland & Hamilton (2006) anxiety has a significant negative effect on technical adoptions. DMA (2008) did a research on 800 U.S. teenage and young adult users of mobile phone services. The study revealed that responders to mobile marketing offers were more likely to be males. Other research suggest that gender gaps are lessening or disappearing as increasing numbers of males and females are exposed to and are using computers and applications in their work and personal life (Rainer, Laosethakul & Astone, 2003) According to Li, Glass & Records (2008) the adoption rate of m-commerce is for both male and female 30%. Hence research has different views on how gender effects technological adoption and m-commerce. Although the authors do not agree with each other most research points out that males have higher adoption rates of technological products than females. Besides that, males tend to understand technological products better which can result in males using the product more effective. Therefore this research proposes that the frequency of using a mobile application will be higher for males then for females. Thus the following hypothesis can be defined for gender:
H9a: Males have a stronger and more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than females.
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impact of age on m-commerce adoption. Thus not every author has found a significant relationship for age but there seems no reverse relationship where older people adopt technological innovations faster than younger people. Therefore it is more likely that younger consumers have higher adoption rates of technological products than older people. Furthermore it is likely that older people do not understand technology well what reduces their frequency of using the mobile application. Hence, the following hypothesis can be defined:
H9b: Younger users have a stronger and more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than older users
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applications. Therefore it is expected that the App Store results in more frequency of using a mobile application then the Play Store. Therefore there can be hypothesized that:
H10: Mobile applications from the Apple operating system have a more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than mobile applications from the Android operating system.
Methodology
Method
To test the hypothesis an experimental scenario study was conducted. There has been chosen for an experimental design because first it allows the purpose of the research to be disguised. Secondly it can demonstrate true causality. For this research a 2x2 design was used which resulted in four different scenarios. Table 1 gives a representation of the four different types of scenarios.
TABLE 1 Types of scenarios
Paid Application Free Application Emotional Application Scenario 1 Scenario 2
Informational Application Scenario 3 Scenario 4
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questions one of the four scenarios was presented. Subsequently a question was asked what type of mobile operating system the respondents has and how many times per month they are intending to use the application. Finally respondents were asked to fill in the same questions about brand attachment and purchase intention after the scenario. The questionnaire can be found in appendix A.
Sample
The sample consisted of 232 Dutch respondents who were invited to randomly fill in one of the four online questionnaires. Scenario one consisted of 62 respondents, scenario two of 59 respondents, scenario three of 54 and scenario four contained 57 respondents. The average age of the sample was 41. As figure 2 shows 45.8% was in the age group 20-29, 4.3% in the age group 30-39, 3.8% in the age group 40-49, 28.9% in the age group 50-59 and 17.2% in the age group 60-69.
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The variables paid/free applications and application theme were tested by the four different scenarios. For paid/free applications two scenario’s consisted of the introduction of a free applications. For the other two scenarios respondents had to pay €0.79, - for the application. This price has been used because it is the most commonly used price for mobile applications. Furthermore for all scenarios an emotional or informational themed application was described. Appendix C represents the description of each scenario. Brand attachment was measured by a 7 point rating scale of Thomson, MacInnis & Park (2005). This scale consists of 10 items where respondents indicate how well the item described their feelings about a brand (1 describes poorly and 7 describes very well). The 10 items were divided by three dimensions including affection, passion and connection. Another variable tested was purchase intention. To measure purchase intention a scale by Li, Daugherty & Biocca (2002) was used. This scale consists of a four-item, seven-point semantic differential scale (unlikely/likely, improbable/probable, uncertain/certain and definitely not/definitely). Frequency of using an application was measured by asking respondents how many times a month they are intending to use the application. The variable demographics were measured by two questions at the start of the questionnaire.
Results
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attachment and two for purchase intention. These cases have been removed because they were not representative for the sample.
Main effects
The first four hypotheses test the main relationship of paid/free application and application theme versus brand attachment and purchase intention. To test the four hypotheses an Anova test has been used. The first two hypotheses proposed an effect of paid/free application and application theme on brand attachment. Results of H1 showed that paid applications (M = .29, SE = .05) have a stronger effect on brand attachment than free applications (M = .11, SE = .04, p<.05). This is in line with H1 so the first hypothesis is accepted. H2 proposed that emotional applications have a significant different effect on brand attachment than informational application. Results indicate support for H2 because emotional and informational applications significantly differ from each other on brand attachment (p<.05). Furthermore results showed that emotional applications (M = .34, SE = .05) have a stronger effect on brand attachment than informational applications (M = .06, SE = .03).Consequently the second hypothesis is accepted. H3 and H4 proposed an effect of paid/free application and application theme on purchase intention. Results of H3 show that paid applications (M = .42, SE = .07) have a stronger effect on purchase intention than free applications (M = .13, SE = .06, p<.05). Thus, there is support for the third hypothesis. Results of H4 showed a significant different effect between emotional and informational applications on brand attachment. (p>.05). Hereby emotional applications (M = .39, SE = .07) have a stronger effect on purchase intention than free applications (M = .16, SE = .06). So there is support for H4.
27 Mediating effects
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TABLE 2
Results mediating relationships
Mediating relationship Test Relationship Coeff/mean SE T LL 95 UL 95 Sig Paid/Free -BA (H5) Baron & Kenny Y-X 0,186 0,065 2,888 0,005
M-X 0,556 0,566 0,982 0,330
Y-M (X) 0,057 0,012 4,630 0,000
Y-X (M) 0,155 0,057 2,717 0,008
Sobel Indirect 0,032 0,034 -0,035 0,098 0,348
Bootstrap Indirect 0,033 0,035 -0,029 0,109
Application Theme - BA (H6) Baron & Kenny Y-X 0,276 0,059 4,657 0,000
M-X 3,204 0,408 7,861 0,000
Y-M (X) 0,038 0,018 2,133 0,037
Y-X (M) 0,156 0,081 1,935 0,057
Sobel Indirect 0,120 0,059 0,005 0,235 0,041
Bootstrap Indirect 0,119 0,052 0,024 0,227
Paid/Free -PI (H7) Baron & Kenny Y-X 0,289 0,094 3,071 0,000
M-X 0,556 0,566 0,982 0,330
Y-M (X) 0,069 0,019 3,670 0,001
Y-X (M) 0,251 0,087 2,885 0,000
Sobel Indirect 0,039 0,042 -0,044 0,121 0,359
Bootstrap Indirect 0,042 0,044 -0,032 0,142
Application Theme - PI (H8) Baron & Kenny Y-X 0,230 0,097 2,388 0,020
M-X 3,204 0,408 7,861 0,000
Y-M (X) 0,080 0,028 2,866 0,006
Y-X (M) -0,025 0,128 -0,199 0,843
Sobel Indirect 0,256 0,096 0,068 0,443 0,008
Bootstrap Indirect 0,248 0,248 0,071 0,426
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mediation the fourth relationship (Y-X (M)) of the Baron & Kenny test is examined. Hereby a significant effect indicates partial mediation and a non-significant effect indicates full mediation. Consequently results indicate that there is full mediation for H6 (p>.05). H7 proposed that frequency of using a mobile application is mediating the relationship between paid/free and purchase intentions. Results show that there is no indirect effect thus H7 (LL95 = .044, UL95 = -.032) is not supported. The bootstrap results for H8 revealed an indirect effect (LL95 = .092, UL95 = .071) and confirmed that frequency of using a mobile application is mediating between application theme and purchase intentions. Results indicate that emotional applications (M = 5.83) lead to more frequency of using a mobile application than informational applications (M = 2.62 ,β = 3.20, SE = .41, p<.05). Furthermore the more frequent a mobile application is used the stronger the intention to purchase is (β = .08, SE = .03, p<.05). Thus, H8 is accepted. Furthermore results of the Baron & Kenny test indicate full mediation (p>.05)
Other effects
Hypothesis 9 (demographics gender and age) and hypothesis 10 (mobile operating system) proposed to have an influence on frequency of using a mobile applications. For H9a and H9b a regression analysis will be used. Hypothesis H9a proposed that males have a more stronger and positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than females. H9b proposed that younger users have a more stronger and positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than older users. Both the variables gender and age were entered simultaneously into the analysis. The results of the regression analysis can be found in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Results H9 (Gender and age)
Variable Beta T Sig VIF
Anova 0,101
Constant 4,304 5,653 0
Gender 1,082 1,951 0,055 1,001
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The overall variance explained by the three predictors was 6.9%. Furthermore there was found no multicollinearity because the variance inflation factor (VIF) was lower than 10. As Hair, Anderson, Tatham & Black (2009) recommend, 10 is the maximum for the variance inflation factor. The Anova results shows that the overall model is not significant (p>.05). Furthermore for both gender (β = 1.082, p>.05) and age (β = -.019, p>.05) there was no significant effect. Therefore H9a and H9b were rejected.
Hypothesis 10 proposed that the mobile operating system from Apple has a more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than mobile applications from the Android operating system. The hypothesis is tested with a Anova analysis. As the questionnaire also contains persons with other types of mobile operating systems these cases were removed. The results can be found in Table 4.
TABLE 4
Results H10 (Mobile Operating System)
Variable Mean SE F Sig
Anova 4,854 0,033
Android 5,08 0,5
Apple 3,62 0,411
Results from the Anova analysis showed that the Android mobile operating system (M = 5.08, SE = .5) has a stronger and more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than the Apple operating system (M = 3.62, SE = .41, p<.05). This is not in line with H10 and even indicates a reversed relationship where Android has a more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than Apple.
Conclusion and Discussion
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was vice versa from what was hypothesized. Thus, the Android mobile operating system resulted in more frequency of using a mobile application than the Apple mobile operating system. One reason for this could be that respondents found it difficult to indicate how often they would use the mobile application because they could not see or try the mobile application. Another reason could be the different types of persons that use Android or Apple. Hereby it could be that Android users are more involved with mobile applications, differ in their attitude towards mobile applications or differ on other demographics like income or occupation. However, currently there is no research that examined the different types of users for each mobile operating system. Thus future research should examine that further. Furthermore it could be that satisfaction, quality and trust with the application store are no factors of people using an mobile application more but it could be different factors like the ease of use of the mobile application store or that it just varies per different type of mobile application.
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Parasuraman, 1996; Boulding et al, 1993; Cronin et al, 1997; Taylor & Baker, 1994; Zeithalm, 1988). Furthermore consumers who are willing to pay for an application do already have some attachment to the brand and are more willing to make financial sacrifices to obtain the brand (Thomson, MacInnis & Park, 2005). When these consumers paid for their mobile application, possession of the mobile application can increase brand attachment (Belk, 1988) and purchase intention (Becknell, Wilson & Baird, 1963; Sen & Johnson, 1997). A second implication is that frequency of using a mobile application is mediating application theme. Results indicated full mediation between application theme and (1) brand attachment, (2) purchase intention. However this was not the case for paid/free applications. Thus for companies it might be worthwhile to design mobile applications that consumers want to use often because they are fun and worth it to spend time with. Hereby consumers will increase their frequency of using the mobile application that results in stronger brand attachment and purchase intention to the brand. Third, if companies have the goal that consumers need to use their mobile application frequently it is worthwhile to focus on Android users. Results indicated that Android users use a mobile application more than Apple users. Finally, although mobile applications can have a positive effect on your brand the problem currently is getting your mobile application noticed. As indicated the success of the Apple and Play Store has led to an enormous rise in offered mobile applications. Therefore companies should use a supportive, persuasive and creative advertising campaign when introducing the mobile applications. Otherwise the probability that the mobile application will be noticed is lower and that will lead to less downloads.
Limitations
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constraints and the coverage of this research it was not possible. Third, respondents were not able to use the applications. Hereby respondents had, by means of a scenario, express their attachment and purchase intention without having to use or viewed the mobile applications. In a real world situation where consumers have used the mobile application results may be different. Fourth, normally consumers have more stimuli that decide if they will download a mobile application. Think hereby about the information like pictures and consumers reviews from the application store. Consequently, results may differ when consumers are in an actual situation where they are deciding to download the mobile application. This also means that it is possible that different consumers will also download the mobile application. Fifth, to test the mediation relationship the bootstrap technique has been used. Although this was the best technique to use for this research it has the limitation that it is overly optimistic and bootstrapping yields slightly different confidence intervals each time the method is applied to the same data (Preacher, Rucker & Hayers, 2007). This limitation is however partly solved by also providing the Sobel test that indicated the same results as the bootstrap technique. Finally, human behavior can be difficult to measure. Rationalizing behavior through experimentation does not account for the process of thought, making outcomes of that process fallible (Eisenberg, 1996).
Future research
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like/dislike in an application (colors, layout etc.), how do they navigate through an application and what are spots in a mobile application that are especially looked at (eg tracking eye movement). This can lead to important insights on how to improve the usability and attractiveness of a mobile application. Mobile applications can also be used for more causes then brand attachment and purchase intention. As Bellman et al. (2011) mention mobile applications can be an ideal medium for educating people about new categories, or categories they have yet to try. Hutton & Rodnick (2009) mention that the popularity for mobile applications as a marketing device is their high level of user engagement and the positive impact this has on attitudes towards a brand. Future research might indicate more factors that explain how mobile applications can lead to higher levels of user engagement and the positive influence on attitudes toward a brand. Furthermore as mentioned the success of the application stores resulted in an enormous amount of mobile applications. Getting noticed among all these mobile applications will get tougher each year. Therefore it might be interesting to research how mobile applications can be noticed optimally in an application store. Besides that it can be interesting to research what factors influence consumer decision making when downloading a mobile application in an app store (eg consumers reviews, screenshots of application or the application description).
36
Appendix A: Questionnaire
Allereerst wil ik hartelijk dank zeggen voor uw medewerking aan dit onderzoek. In dit
onderzoek treft u een aantal vragen aan over het merk Bertolli. Het invullen van deze enquête zal in totaal niet meer dan 5 minuten in beslag nemen.
1) Wat is uw geslacht? A: Man
B: Vrouw
2) Wat is uw leeftijd?
3) Wat is uw hoogst voltooide opleiding? A: Basisonderwijs
B: Lager voorbereidend beroepsonderwijs (lbo)
C: Middelbaar algemeen voortgezet onderwijs (mavo/vmbo) D: Middelbaar beroepsonderwijs (mbo)
E: Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs (havo) F: Voorbereiden wetenschappelijk onderwijs (vwo) G: Hoger beroepsonderwijs (hbo)
H: Wetenschappelijk onderwijs (wo) I: Anders, namelijk….
37
5) Kunt u aangeven in hoeverre u een product van het merk Bertolli zult kopen? Onwaarschijnlijk (Unlikely) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Waarschijnlijk (Likely) Onaannemelijk (Improbable) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Aannemelijk (Probable) Onzeker (Uncertain) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zeker (Certain)
Vaststaand (Definitely) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Niet Vaststaand (Not Definitely)
6) Kunt u bij de volgende 10 begrippen aangeven in hoeverre het uw gevoel met betrekking tot het merk Bertolli weergeeft? Hierbij staat de score van 1 voor zeer slecht en 7 voor zeer goed.
Beschrijft zeer slecht Beschrijft zeer goed
A: Hartelijk/liefhebbend (Affectionate) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B: Houden van (Loved) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C: Vredig (Peaceful) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
D: Vriendelijk (Friendly) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E: Aangesloten tot (Attached) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F: Gehecht aan (Bonded) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 G: Verbonden (Connected) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 H: Hartstochtelijk (Passionate) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I: Verrukt (Delighted) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 J: In de ban van (Captivated) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Stelt u zich de volgende situatie voor: Een van de vier scenario’s
Kunt u met de gedachte van het voorgaande scenario de volgende vragen beantwoorden. 7) Wat voor een besturingssysteem heeft u huidige telefoon?
A: Apple (Iphone)
B: Android (HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericson) C: Symbian (Nokia)
38
E: Windows Phone (HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericson) F: Anders, namelijk….
8) Zou u gebruik maken van de nieuwe mobiele applicatie van Bertolli? Zo ja, hoe vaak per maand zou u er dan gebruik van maken?
A: Nee
B: Ja, namelijk… per maand
9) Kunt u aangeven in hoeverre u een product van het merk Bertolli zult kopen? Onwaarschijnlijk (Unlikely) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Waarschijnlijk (Likely) Onaannemelijk (Improbable) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Aannemelijk (Probable) Onzeker (Uncertain) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zeker (Certain)
Vaststaand (Definitely) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Niet Vaststaand (Not Definitely)
10) Kunt u bij de volgende 10 begrippen aangeven in hoeverre het uw gevoel met betrekking tot het merk Bertolli weergeeft? Hierbij staat de score van 1 voor zeer slecht en 7 voor zeer goed.
Beschrijft zeer slecht Beschrijft zeer goed
A: Hartelijk/liefhebbend (Affectionate) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B: Houden van (Loved) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C: Vredig (Peaceful) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
D: Vriendelijk (Friendly) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E: Aangesloten tot (Attached) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F: Gehecht aan (Bonded) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 G: Verbonden (Connected) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 H: Hartstochtelijk (Passionate) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I: Verrukt (Delighted) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 J: In de ban van (Captivated) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
39
Appendix B: Sample descriptives
40
Appendix C: Scenario’s
Scenario 1
Bertolli heeft het genoegen om een applicatie te introduceren voor uw mobiele telefoon. Via de applicatie winkel van uw mobiele telefoon kunt u deze binnen een paar minuten
downloaden. De applicatie van Bertolli geeft u meer mogelijkheden met producten van het merk Bertolli. Zo kunt u met deze applicatie een aantal spellen spelen zoals een puzzel spel, een actie spel en een sport spel. Daarnaast geeft de applicatie de mogelijkheid om
televisiereclames van Bertolli producten nogmaals te bekijken. Verder is er de mogelijkheid om een virtuele tour te maken door de fabriek van een Bertolli product zodat u op een
vermakelijke manier er achter komt hoe het product gemaakt wordt. Mocht u interesse hebben in deze applicatie dan is deze gratis te downloaden via uw telefoon.
Scenario 2
Bertolli heeft het genoegen om een applicatie te introduceren voor uw mobiele telefoon. Via de applicatie winkel van uw mobiele telefoon kunt u deze binnen een paar minuten
downloaden. De applicatie van Bertolli geeft u meer mogelijkheden met producten van het merk Bertolli. Zo kunt u met deze applicatie een aantal spellen spelen zoals een puzzel spel, een actie spel en een sport spel. Daarnaast geeft de applicatie de mogelijkheid om
televisiereclames van Bertolli producten nogmaals te bekijken. Verder is er de mogelijkheid om een virtuele tour te maken door de fabriek van een Bertolli product zodat u op een
vermakelijke manier er achter komt hoe het product gemaakt wordt. Mocht u interesse hebben in deze applicatie hij is nu voor € 0.97 te downloaden via uw telefoon.
Scenario 3
Bertolli heeft het genoegen om een applicatie te introduceren voor uw mobiele telefoon. Via de applicatie winkel van uw mobiele telefoon kunt u deze binnen een paar minuten
41
belangrijke telefoonnummers waar u de fabrikant kunt bereiken. Daarnaast is er ook nog een service desk in de applicatie waarmee u vragen kunt stellen over Bertolli producten. Verder geeft de applicatie u ook nog de mogelijkheid om op de hoogte gesteld te worden van de nieuwste producten van Bertolli. Mocht u interesse hebben in deze applicatie dan is hij gratis te downloaden via uw telefoon.
Scenario 4
Bertolli heeft het genoegen om een applicatie te introduceren voor uw mobiele telefoon. Via de applicatie winkel van uw mobiele telefoon kunt u deze binnen een paar minuten
downloaden. De applicatie van Bertolli geeft u meer mogelijkheden met producten van het merk Bertolli. Zo kunt u met deze applicatie meer informatie vinden over het product zoals ingrediënten die daarin worden gebruikt, winkels waar u het product kunt kopen en
42
Appendix D: Results H1-H4
TABLE 7 Results H1-H4
Hypothesis Mean SE F Sig
43
Appendix E: Overview hypothesis
TABLE 8: Overview Hypothesis
Hypothesis Results
H1: Paid applications have a stronger and more positive effect on brand attachment than free
applications.
Supported
H2: Emotional applications have a significant different effect on brand attachment than informational
applications
Supported, emotional stronger effect
H3: Paid applications have a stronger and more positive effect on purchase intention than free
applications.
Supported
H4: Emotional applications have a significant different effect on purchase intention than
informational applications.
Supported, emotional stronger effect
H5: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between paid/free application
and brand attachment in such a way that paid applications result in more mobile application use than free applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger brand attachment.
No support
H6: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between application theme
and brand attachment in such a way that emotional applications result in more mobile application use than informational applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger brand attachment.
Supported
H7: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between paid/free application and purchase intention in such a way that paid applications result in more mobile application use than free applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger purchase intention.
No support
H8: Frequency of using a mobile application mediates the relationship between application theme and purchase intention in such a way that emotional applications result in more mobile application use than informational applications and the greater mobile application use results in stronger purchase intention.
Supported
H9a: Males have a stronger and more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile application than
females.
No Support
H9b: Younger users have a stronger and more positive effect on frequency of using a mobile
application than older users
No Support
H10: Mobile applications from the Apple operating system have a more positive effect on frequency of
using a mobile application than mobile applications from the Android operating system.
44
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