See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/337999317

User willingness to purchase applications on mobile intelligent devices:

evidence from app store

Article in Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · December 2019

DOI: 10.1108/APJML-06-2019-0411

CITATIONS READS

21 1,495

3 authors, including:

Umair Akram
Jiangsu University
115 PUBLICATIONS 1,957 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Decomposing the decoupling of CO2 emissions from economic growth in Cameroon View project

Special Issue "Firm Responses to Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of the Digital Era" [Sustainability Journal, SCI & SSCI, Impact Factor 3.89] View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Umair Akram on 18 December 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1355-5855.htm

Applications
User willingness to purchase on mobile
applications on mobile intelligent intelligent
devices
devices: evidence from app store
Jie Tang and Bin Zhang
School of Economics and Management,
Received 29 June 2019
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China, and Revised 25 September 2019
Umair Akram 9 November 2019
Accepted 24 November 2019
Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Beijing, China

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the facilitating and inhibitory factors on paid app
downloading intentions based on an integrated valence theory, considering two social environmental factors
and two intermediate variables: perceived value and perceived trust.
Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on the integrated valence theory. After collecting
users’ data, partial least square analysis is used to examine the main driving and constraining factors for
users to download paid apps in Apple mobile devices.
Findings – The empirical results show that mediated through perceived value, perceived usefulness and
perceived compatibility are the absolute positive factors that affect user’s willingness to purchase apps,
whereas perceived cost is the main barrier for users to do so. Social environment where the users are in also
plays an important role in their purchase intentions.
Practical implications – This study hopes to offer guidance to paid app developers and general app
markets, and to help expand the consumer group, make the purchase experience more efficient and promote
the development of paid app market.
Originality/value – The finding not only enriches the adoption theory of mobile apps from the perspective
of valence theory, but also provides pricing and functional suggestions for platform suppliers and software
developers of paid apps.
Keywords Perceived value, Perceived trust, Social influence, Paid apps, Partial least squares analysis,
Valence theory
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
As one of the dominant paradigms in the future development of mobile commerce, paid mobile
applications (apps) reflect the ecological status of mobile app stores. In general, the app stores
in the mobile intelligent devices (MID) are either business to customer or consumer to
consumer service platforms composed of device users or software developers. According to
the data issued by iResearch (2018), as of the fourth quarter of 2017, the number of active
users on third-party mobile market has reached 464m in China and the market is developing
steadily. In terms of market scale, a striking contrast can be found in PocketGamer.biz (2019)
between free apps and paid apps. From the summary page updated in March 2019, paid apps
only made up 21.06 percent in the app marketplace and nearly half of them (9.39 percent) are
below the price of $1. Even though free apps still take up most of the market share but mobile
apps developers and platform suppliers have never stopped exploring the viability and the
revenue pattern of paid apps. In June 2018, Apple Inc. updated app store review guidelines
and incorporated the long-awaited “free trials for non-subscription apps.” Such free trials can
potentially help expand paid app user group, facilitate the decision-making process for
purchasing and promote the growth of mobile apps market. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics
Researches on the adoption of mobile apps have emerged in recent years and they mostly © Emerald Publishing Limited
1355-5855
reduced the decision of choosing or downloading mobile apps to a process of new technology DOI 10.1108/APJML-06-2019-0411
APJML adoption (Kang, 2014; Kim et al., 2016; Gurtner et al., 2014; Lee et al., 2017; Chopdar et al., 2018).
Nevertheless, as Kim et al. (2007) explained, technology acceptance models (TAMs) only may
not comprehensively reflect the intention of the users’ purchase behavior, thus we tend to
examine paid apps downloading intention from the consumer’s perspective, which
emphasizes that the anticipation of paid apps is often boosted by the perception that such
apps are of high values or do really deliver on their promises that they can make users gain
much better experience than the free ones. In this manner, the quality, performance and price
are the most important attributes that the paid apps must possess to attract users. In the
current literature of information systems (IS) and consumer behavior, value maximization is
the basic and most common assumption in examining consumers’ adoption intention (Hsiao
and Chen, 2016; Oyedele and Simpson, 2018; Karjaluoto et al., 2019). Besides, credibility is one
of the key elements for IS strategy while easing user skepticism and raising customer trust are
the main ways to enhance consumers’ purchase intention. Accordingly, we consider the use or
downloading intention of paid apps as a result of trade-off through cost-benefit analysis.
In addition to the original technology adoption models, perceived value and perceived trust
should be added as two mediators, which can better explain the paid app adoption not only
from the IS perspective but also from the point of consumer behavior.
Many studies on the adoption intention of mobile apps stop at the level of statistical
analysis and are lacking empirical tests from the angle of individual users. What is
more, there is little study that analyzes the MID user’s intention with mediators in
the individual adoption literature of mobile commerce. To fill this research gap, we
summarize the literature on mobile apps and design a new synthesized framework with
the benefit-and-cost valence analysis. In addition, as social environmental factors
have been providing more influence on users’ attitudes and behaviors, social influence
and facilitating conditions have been integrated into this framework as well. More
importantly, our research aims to examine paid apps downloading as a new IS adoption
from the consumer’s perspective and present the process as a comparison of benefits and
costs, so that the role of mediators is highlighted. In the data analysis, this study applies a
partial least squares (PLS) method to assess the relationships between various constructs
in the proposed model. The factors studied here could theoretically enrich the adoption
theories of individual consumers in the mobile app context and offer guidance to paid
app developers and general app markets in practice, which can potentially expand the
consumer group, make the purchase experience more efficient and promote the
development of the paid app market.
App store is a representative of other competing platforms in operation mode and
payment systems; Apple Inc. is not anchored in one type of mobile devices and comes up
with new versions annually; what is more, it covers a multitude of MID users and app
providers. Hence, taking the app store as an example, we will devise an assessment of the
paid apps intention and elaborate on the following questions:
(1) What are the key factors underlying MID users’ decision to download paid apps?
(2) How the mixed perspectives have an effect on user’s perceived values and perceived
trust to attain the downloading intention?
(3) What managerial insights can we get through the research conclusions?
The rationale of the study is organized as follows. The framework begins with an
integration and enlargement of the existing valence theory, along with the constructs
from multi-adoption models. Then the PLS method is used to assess the empirical
strength of the relationships among the constructs in the proposed model. Additionally,
perceived value and perceived trust are viewed as mediators that can mediate the
relationships between the positive utility, negative utility, social environment and
downloading intention.
2. Literature review Applications
Mobile apps have tremendous potentials and enormous space for development in the mobile on mobile
commerce market. By far, analysis on mobile apps based on the business model or industry intelligent
chain have been constantly emerging, but empirical studies on users’ willingness for app
purchase have rarely been carried out. From another perspective, in order to promote the devices
discriminative and forecasting capability, many researchers have evaluated the consumer
behavior in mobile commerce from traditional technology adoption theories and their
derivative versions, such as the TAM (Davis, 1989; López-Nicolás et al., 2008; Zhang et al.,
2012; Gurtner et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2017), the diffusion of innovations (DOI)
theory (Rogers, 1995; Wu and Wang, 2005; Lu and Yu-Jen Su, 2009) and the unified theory of
acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003; Duane et al., 2014;
Hew et al., 2015; Oliveira et al., 2016; Chopdar et al., 2018).
The TAM is one of the most prominent models that are widely used to explain the
behavioral adoption by individuals. Combining the technical characteristics in the new field,
Kim et al. (2016) extended the TAM theory and demonstrated that enjoyment, usefulness
and monetary value have a positive impact on customers’ behavioral intentions of app
purchase. Horst et al. (2007) believed that the perceived ease of use only takes time and
energy costs into consideration but ignores the perceived cost of consumers. Therefore, their
TAM model is integrated with the constructs of risk, cost and trust to elaborate the users’
adoption intention to the e-government services in the Netherlands. Kim et al. (2007)
developed the value-based adoption model and explained the adoption of mobile internet
(m-internet) by individual customers from the perspective of value maximization. The model
demonstrated that users’ perceived value of mobile internet is a principal determinant of
m-internet adoption intention, and the other beliefs mediated through perceived value have
been tested too. Following the views of perceived value, Oyedele and Simpson (2018)
examined the effects of perceived consumption values on using and recommending
streaming apps from the convenience, monetary, emotional and social perspectives.
DOI theory explains how an innovation communicated within a particular social system
over time and the indicators can influence consumer behavior from each aspect (Rogers,
1995). It was initially applied to social sciences, but more recent studies extended DOI to
examine the impact of internal or external factors on innovation adoption. Natarajan et al.
(2018) integrated TAM and DOI theory, with perceived enjoyment, perceived risk and
personal innovation added to the original models, and revealed that personal innovation and
perceived risk play a major role in deciding to use mobile shopping applications. Ko et al.
(2009) identified perceived mobile commerce characteristics to consist of four factors:
usefulness, enjoyment, ease of use and instant connectivity, which further verifies that
perceived value mediates the consumers’ intention to adopt mobile fashion shopping.
UTAUT was brought forward as an extension of TAM, and it sheds light on the
intriguing studies that impede users’ adoption of innovative technologies (Venkatesh et al.,
2003). Oliveira et al. (2016) added hedonic motivation and price value to UTAUT with the
innovation characteristics of DOI and enabled a better explanation of mobile wallet
acceptance and usage behavior. As the payment involves personal information that is
associated with identity, Duane et al. (2014) confirmed that security issues related to cards
and accounts have become a resistance factor shown in prior technology adoption. In the
related fields of mobile app, Hew et al. (2015) has empirically determined the factors that lead
to mobile apps usage intention with UTAUT. From the results, expected price value and all
the other constructs are the significant predictors of behavior intention.
Therefore, we draw on the insights based on the valence theory and extract the core
variables in TAM, IDT and UTAUT theories. With social environmental factors and
perceptional mediators, the main factors affecting the willingness of MID users to purchase
and download apps will be summarized.
APJML 3. Research model and hypotheses
3.1 Valence theory
The valence theory is originally analogized to the decision-making theories based on rational
cognition of customers (Peter and Tarpey, 1975). It enumerates the strategies of perceived risk,
perceived return and the net valence. Results clearly indicated that consumers consider
expectations of both positive and negative utility in their automobile brand preference
decision. Against this background, we assume that when an app purchasing decision is
made, the positive valence will increase individuals’ incentive to implement, whereas the
negative valence will bring substantial uncertainty in payment. Thus, to better interpret and
illustrate the impact factors in the decision-making process, both desirable and undesirable
features should be taken into consideration.
3.1.1 Positive utility. In Peter’s strategy, only one construct is given to describe positive
utility (Peter and Tarpey, 1975). However, corresponding with adoption researches on the
mobile commerce, both TAM and DOI are classical models consisting of explanatory
variables in terms of how consumers considered adopting new technologies. Specific to the
mobile paid apps, we outspread the study with two adoption models integration, which
ultimately designates perceived enjoyment, perceived compatibility and perceived
usefulness as the positive utilities amid the adoption process.
3.1.1.1 Perceived enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment represents an intrinsic value outside
the instrumental one, which is also a driving force that independently attracts consumers to
embrace new technologies (Davis et al., 1992). In the mobile apps market, perceived
enjoyment is involved with the hedonic utility attached to users with the sensation of
novelty and satisfaction. Compared with physical products, app consumers focus more on
satisfying their own inner spiritual needs rather than targeting practical purpose.
At present, many game apps have been designed to meet people’s demand for passing
fragmented time and some deliberate ploys have been designed to maintain their attentions.
Studies on mobile apps found that enjoyment is positively associated with usage intention,
and with users’ entertainment needs met, the wonderful perceptions about the apps are
subtly increasing (Gurtner et al., 2014; Hsu and Lin, 2015; Hsiao and Chen, 2016).
Furthermore, mediated through perceived value, enjoyment is also an important factor to
influence users’ behavioral intention (Kim et al., 2007; Yang et al., 2016). Based on this
argument, we propose the following assumptions:
H1. Perceived enjoyment is positively related to MID users’ perceived value of paid apps.
3.1.1.2 Perceived compatibility. In DOI theory, perceived compatibility is the degree to
which a new technology meets the “values, past experiences, and existing practices” of the
potential adopters (Rogers, 1995). As most users’ experiences and preferences for MID apps
are accumulated from free apps, we can deduce that their previous usage behavior make
them more inclined to repeat free-downloading actions (Venkatesh et al., 2012). In other
words, identification and acceptance are indispensable for them to change their minds and
form their intention to download paid apps. The research of compatibility starts with a
direct, positive influence on users’ adoption intention (Cooper and Zmud, 1990; Hardgrave
et al., 2003; Lu and Yu-Jen Su, 2009) and the follow-ups gradually detect the importance of
perceived compatibility as an antecedent of usage intention, with the mediation of perceived
value or other perceived benefits (Schilling, 2002; Kleijnen et al., 2007; Hsu and Lin, 2016a, b).
Considering the cognitive differences between users’ preferences and consumption concepts,
here we continue the study of Kleijnen et al. (2007) and take the perceived compatibility as
another positive construct to affect paid apps users’ perceived value. The following
assumption is:
H2. Perceived compatibility is positively related to MID users’ perceived value of paid apps.
3.1.1.3 Perceived usefulness. The TAM theory postulates two core constructs and have Applications
received considerable empirical support (Davis, 1989; López-Nicolás et al., 2008; Zhang et al., on mobile
2012; Kim et al., 2016). Perceived usefulness refers to individual’s subjective judgments on intelligent
the act of carrying out a behavior to achieve specific outcomes. Based on its original
definition of “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would devices
enhance his or her job performance” (Davis, 1989), we define perceived usefulness as the
practicality that can be experienced by paid app users, analogous to the irreplaceable
functions or the privileged instructions. It has been shown in theory and practice that
functional value is the most pivotal ingredient for new technologies. Previous studies in the
context of mobile apps, such as Kang (2014), Kim et al. (2016) and Gurtner et al. (2014), all
demonstrated that perceived usefulness has the highest relevance for users’ acceptance and
usage intention. In other fields, there also exists an obvious positive relationship between
the usefulness and value maximization perception alongside the safety and reliability of the
new technologies (Kim et al., 2007; Wang, 2014; Yang et al., 2016). Connecting with the
practical situation in paid apps, we therefore hypothesize:
H3a. Perceived usefulness has a positive effect on MID users’ perceived value of paid apps.
H3b. Perceived usefulness has a positive effect on MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.
3.1.2 Negative utility. Consumers need to spend monetary or non-monetary costs in the
course of searching and making payment for the new technologies and related studies show
that perceived monetary price and perceived value are negatively related (Peter and Tarpey,
1975). On the basis of the existing risk factors, we take into consideration the perceived risks
and perceived complexity to measure respectively the costs and energy that a paid app user
has to spend.
3.1.2.1 Perceived cost. Traditionally, price or cost is viewed as an inescapable factor that
could restrict the product transaction. Likewise, in e-commerce and other emerging field of
studies, Sathye (1999), Anil et al. (2003), Carlsson et al. (2006) and many other researchers all
stress the importance of price or cost constructs in adoption of information technologies. By
analogy with the current app market dominated by free apps, cost is undoubtedly one of the
major factors in consumer adoption. Here perceived cost is defined as a judgment mainly
based on subjective expectation. In other words, the users will weigh the total expected costs
against the total expected benefits of the paid apps. If an app’s performance outweighs its
cost, it is more likely to be purchased and downloaded; otherwise, it will encounter a low
adoption rate. It has also been proven in studies of mobile app purchases that price value
has a positive effect on the behavioral intention to use mobile apps. (Kim et al., 2016; Hsiao
and Chen, 2016; Chopdar et al., 2018). In addition, Teo and Yu (2005) indicate that
consumers’ perceived transaction cost is associated with uncertainty and dependability of
online stores. Accordingly, we make the following hypotheses:
H4a. Perceived cost is negatively related to MID users’ perceived value of paid apps.
H4b. Perceived cost is negatively related to MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.
3.1.2.2 Perceived complexity. Perceived complexity represents the perceived non-economic
cost in users’ behavioral adoption, which is a similar concept and could be defined in other
intention-based models, including the theory of planned behavior and the TAM mode. In the
case of paid apps, it refers to the time and energy the users spend on account binding,
keyword retrieval, payment and downloading in the app store. The DOI theory has pointed
out that compared with the complicated innovative technologies, people would rather accept
some skills that can be more easily understood (Rogers, 1995). As the main platform and
medium to obtain apps, the store has to dedicate efforts to clean transaction interface and
convenient payment process, which can exert great influence on users’ expectation of
APJML product performance. Moreover, in addition to the direct influences on a consumer’s
purchase intention (Veryzer,1998; Lin, 2007; Molina-Castillo et al., 2012), it has been
proposed that complexity directly influences users’ perceived trust (Chircu et al., 2000;
Casaló et al., 2007). Accordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H5. Perceived complexity is negatively related to MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.
3.1.2.3 Perceived risk. The theory of perceived risk originates from the study of consumer
behavior. It is posited as a negative utility and acts as an inhibitor to one’s purchasing
behavior (Peter and Tarpey, 1975). In this study, perceived risk is defined as MID users’
subjective awareness of the potential negative value that may occur in the process of app
payment, subscription or direct downloading. On the one hand, MID users learn about a
paid app mostly just by the pictorial or written introduction, which is far from sufficient.
On the other hand, lax supervision of the store and inconsistent payment channels may
enhance users’ risk perception. As privacy issues become more salient, perceived risk
involves the unlawful personal information acquiring as well (Song et al., 2014). Chopdar
et al. (2018) separated the impact of consumer’s perceived risk into privacy risk and security
risk when they probed into the consumer adoption of mobile shopping apps. They also
proved that perceived risks are affecting m-shopping app adoption in India. Besides, trust
has been employed in many online contexts as a tool to dispel insecurity and encourage
adoption (Kim et al., 2009; Zhou, 2013; Arora and Sahney, 2018). Based on the above
analysis, we put forward this hypothesis:
H6. Perceived risk is negatively related to MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.

3.2 Environmental influences

3.2.1 Social influence. When individuals decide upon whether to adopt new technologies,
they are often affected by certain attitudes and behaviors from their social networks.
Venkatesh et al. (2003) define social influence as the individual’s perceptions of social benefit
from using the innovation. This paper shows that the positive or negative evaluations from
paid app users can easily be passed on within their networks of social relationships.
Previous studies on social influence have confirmed that the construct has a positive
influence on usage intention (Venkatesh et al., 2003; Gao and Bai, 2014; Duane et al., 2014;
Oliveira et al., 2016). Along with the more recent in-depth researches, both Kang (2014) and
Chopdar et al. (2018) considered social influence as an important construct influencing the
adopting intention of mobile apps. We have reason to believe that the more positive
influences such as word-of-mouth recommendations are given, the stronger adoption
intention and value perception of the paid apps would attain (Al-Debei and Al-Lozi, 2014;
Yang et al., 2016; Yu et al., 2017). Thus, we postulate the following hypothesis:
H7a. Social influence is positively related to MID users’ downloading intention of paid apps.
H7b. Social influence is positively related to MID users’ perceived value of paid apps.
3.2.2 Facilitating conditions. Venkatesh et al. (2003) identifies facilitating conditions as a
motivating factor that guides availability and eventually facilitates users in overcoming
technology difficulties. For instance, normal network connectivity is an imperative
prerequisite to support app users to continue payment and downloading process. In
addition, for users with old versions of operating system (OS), the frequent updates of MID OS
will restrict app availability unavoidably. Therefore, dependable, robust and continuously
available MID and its OS play a major role in facilitating paid app adoption. Hew et al. (2015)
has proved that facilitating conditions have significant influence on behavioral intention and
if consumers have the necessary resources and supports, they will have the intention to use
mobile apps. Nicolaou and McKnight (2006) have proved in their electronic commerce research Applications
that facilitating conditions will promote consumers’ purchase intention and also have a on mobile
positive effect on consumers’ trust. In addition, certain facilitating conditions are the essence intelligent
in maintaining a trust environment (Lu et al., 2005). Thus, we make the assumptions below:
devices
H8a. Facilitating conditions are positively related to MID users’ downloading intention
of paid apps.
H8b. Facilitating conditions are positively related to MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.

3.3 Perceived value and perceived trust

3.3.1 Perceived value. In prior studies, perceived value was a multi-dimensional construct
comprised of performance value, value-for-money, emotional value and social value
(Zeithaml, 1988). From the perspective of valence theory, rational consumers attempt to
achieve utility maximization by means of gaining perceived benefits and economizing the
perceived cost till the balance is attained. In that sense, perceived value is the most essential
decision-making factor in voluntary consumption. It is not a conceptualization solely on
quality and monetary price but containing other attributes like emotional value, social value
and behavioral price (Khoi et al., 2018). Here, drawing from the most widely accepted
definition of Zeithaml (1988), we postulate that perceived value is MID users’ overall
appraisal of the net benefit between what is received with a paid app and what is given in its
searching, payment and downloading processes. Perceived value could not only play a
pivotal role in affecting consumers’ purchase intentions (Baker et al., 2002; Kim et al., 2007;
Kuo et al., 2009; Yang et al., 2016; Oyedele and Simpson, 2018; Karjaluoto et al., 2019), but
also have been confirmed to directly influence customer trust (Kim et al., 2008; Chen and
Chang, 2012). Therefore, we propose:
H9a. Perceived value is positively related to MID users’ downloading intention of paid apps.
H9b. Perceived value is positively related to MID users’ perceived trust of paid apps.
3.3.2 Perceived trust. Trust reflects a person’s belief about using m-commerce is secure and
has no privacy threats (Mayer et al., 1995). In mobile commerce, with the virtualization of
trading websites and the anonymity of trading parties, coupled with routine problems such
as low product quality, security and insufficient privacy, trust becomes a salient construct
to effectively reduce the consumers’ doubts and uncertainty in the adoption process. Here
we take perceived trust as an overall concept of weakening the uncertainty about
downloading the paid Apps and playing positive roles in the final decision-making. Many
other researchers have indicated that trust perception in m-commerce is much more
prominent than in traditional commerce (Corbitt et al., 2003; Cho et al., 2007; Shin, 2009;
Zhou, 2013), and have shown that trusting beliefs lead to users’ behavioral intentions
(Benbasat and Wang, 2005; Zhang et al., 2012; Pipitwanichakarn and Wongtada, 2019).
Hence, we hypothesize:
H10. Perceived trust is positively related to MID users’ downloading intention of paid apps.
Based on the above analysis, the research model and basic assumptions of MID users’
downloading intention of paid apps are established, as shown in Figure 1.

4. Methodology
4.1 Data collection procedure and sample
The purpose of the study is to explore the facilitating and inhibitory factors on paid app
downloading intentions with an integrated valence theory, considering two social
APJML
Perceived
Enjoyment
H1 Social
Influence
Perceived H7b
Positive H2
Compatibility
Perceived
H3a Value
H7a
Perceived H9a
Usefulness H4a
Downloading
H9b
Intention
Perceived Cost H3b
H10
H4b H8a
Perceived
Perceived Trust
Negative
Complexity H5
H8b Facilitating
Conditions
H6
Figure 1. Perceived Risk
Research model

environmental factors and the mediators of perceived value and perceived trust. To verify
the research model and hypotheses, this study designed a questionnaire survey, which has
emerged as an effective means of collecting data for academic research. Our survey targeted
at users who have downloaded Apps from App Store on Apple’s mobile devices. According
to the 44th China Statistical Report on Internet Development from CNNIC (2019), by
June 2019, Chinese netizens aged 10–39 accounted for 65.1 percent of the total, among which
20–29 years old Chinese netizens accounted for the highest proportion. In respect to
occupation, the largest number is students. Additionally, it has been identified that
university students have high potential to adopt new mobile technologies such as mobile
payment (Sohn and Kim, 2008). Therefore, we select students and young people who had
experience with smart mobile devices as the main subjects for the survey and the data were
collected through an online survey. Since Apple’s mobile device has special logos on many
social platforms, including Tencent QQ and Sina Weibo, so the questionnaires were mainly
distributed through those two platforms and along with a hyperlink to the survey form.
The announcement of the survey goals was administered to collect data over a period of
one month, and online participants could respond to the online questionnaire by linking
the survey URL provided in the message when the study was being conducted. To
encourage the participants to share the survey’s hyperlink with other Apple MID users and
ensure the validity, participants who submitted valid questionnaires were entered into a
lottery to receive my WeChat ID and a 10RMB red packet was received by each participant
via WeChat.
A total of 308 questionnaires were collected, of which 260 were valid and included in the
data analysis. Of these, 140 (45.45 percent) are females and 168 (54.55 percent) are males.
The detailed data are shown in Table I with the basic characteristics of collected samples.

4.2 Instrument
In the questionnaire, all the variables are derived from the relevant literature and some
measurement items are reviewed and slightly modified in combination with the actual
situation of the paid apps. For instance, the three positive utilities dimensions – perceived
enjoyment, perceived compatibility and perceived usefulness – are respectively
Demographic variable Items Frequency Percentage
Applications
on mobile
Gender Male 168 54.55 intelligent
Female 140 45.45
Age (years) o18 4 1.3 devices
18∼24 168 54.55
25∼30 124 40.26
⩾ 31 12 3.9
Profession High school or less 0 0
College degree 8 2.6
Bachelor degree 116 37.66
Master degree or high 184 59.74
Apple mobile devices iPhone 192 62.34
iPad 144 46.75
iPod touch 8 2.6 Table I.
Others 36 11.69 Descriptive statistics
Note: n ¼ 308 of respondents

contextualized from Agarwal and Karahanna (2000), Wu and Wang (2005) and Davis (1989).
The items of perceived cost, perceived complexity and perceived risk are mainly based on
the studies of Voss et al. (1998), Rogers (1995) and Featherman and Pavlou (2003). For social
influence and facilitating conditions, we draw from the model of UTAUT developed by
Venkatesh et al. (2003). The construct of perceived value and perceived trust are derived
from Sirdeshmukh et al. (2002) and Gefen et al. (2003). Finally, we measure the behavioral
intention with the items adapted from Venkatesh and Davis (2000). Each questionnaire item
was measured on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 7 (totally
agree). Since we choose Chinese consumers as the participants of our research, the English
version of the questionnaires was translated into Chinese by a professional translator and
then back-translated into English to ensure construct equivalence. Prior to the formal
questionnaire, we first corrected and perfected some issues based on the pre-tested
feedbacks from 15 students who have downloaded paid apps. With their responses the
survey questionnaire was finalized, as shown in Table AI.

5. Data analysis and hypothesis testing

5.1 Reliability analysis
To test the overall reliability, Cronbach’s α was used, and the reliability of each item was
analyzed when certain items were deleted. As shown in Table II, α values of all variables
other than PR were greater than 0.7. When PR4 was deleted, PR’s reliability coefficient
reached 0.735, and the number of remaining variables was still no less than two. Thus, PR4
was deleted. Similarly, after removing PC3, PC’s reliability was 0.791, which was greater
than the value before (0.766). Therefore, PC3 was also deleted. The adjusted overall
Cronbach’s α value was 0.754, while each variable had an α value larger than 0.7, exhibiting
improved internal consistency and adequate reliability.

5.2 Validity analysis

An exploratory factor analysis in SPSS18.0 was conducted, which led to the result that the
sample’s KMO value was 0.811, and the p-value of the Bartlett test was significant at the
level of 0.001, suggesting suitability for principal component analysis. Varimax rotation was
adopted in this paper to obtain the rotated factor loading matrix (shown in Table III) of
Apple mobile device users’ willingness to download paid apps. Confirmatory factor analysis
was performed by using Smart PLS 2.0.
APJML Items Cronbach’s α Composite reliability AVE

PEN 0.891 0.960 0.853

PCOM 0.863 0.953 0.834
PU 0.857 0.949 0.816
PC 0.766 0.934 0.826
PR 0.633 0.926 0.808
PCX 0.807 0.920 0.794
SI 0.835 0.947 0.856
FC 0.808 0.929 0.813
PV 0.861 0.930 0.815
PT 0.853 0.951 0.865
BI 0.934 0.947 0.857
Notes: Composite reliability (CR) ¼ (square of the summation of the factor loading)/{(square of the
summation of the factor loadings) + (square of the summation of the error variance)}; average variance
Table II. extracted (AVE) ¼ (summation of the square of the factor loadings)/{(summation of the square of the factor
Reliability analysis loadings) + (summation of the error variances)}

PEN1 0.878 −0.020 0.077 −0.019 −0.029 −0.032 0.024 −0.038 0.038 0.023 0.033
PEN2 0.868 −0.034 0.119 0.019 −0.046 0.009 −0.029 0.043 0.129 0.083 −0.020
PEN3 0.813 0.007 −0.087 0.036 0.076 0.043 0.036 0.004 0.110 −0.080 0.060
PEN4 0.871 −0.084 0.117 −0.078 0.047 0.012 −0.031 0.042 0.128 −0.012 0.011
PCOM1 −0.021 0.824 0.097 0.000 0.065 −0.132 0.021 0.014 −0.039 −0.053 0.053
PCOM2 −0.111 0.815 0.000 0.051 0.126 0.032 −0.056 −0.013 −0.023 −0.039 0.073
PCOM3 −0.016 0.863 0.079 0.036 0.033 −0.025 −0.064 −0.053 0.005 0.112 −0.042
PCOM4 0.022 0.836 0.059 −0.105 −0.004 0.011 0.020 0.095 0.012 0.097 −0.027
PU1 0.040 0.021 0.797 0.144 −0.094 0.008 0.068 0.038 0.133 −0.003 −0.057
PU2 −0.049 0.111 0.833 −0.066 −0.026 0.049 0.053 0.056 0.037 −0.036 −0.011
PU3 0.076 −0.011 0.818 −0.028 −0.025 −0.104 −0.018 0.017 0.211 −0.093 0.070
PU4 0.177 0.127 0.827 −0.098 −0.044 0.010 0.045 −0.039 0.091 0.053 0.086
PC1 0.078 0.092 0.035 0.005 0.090 −0.058 0.024 −0.038 −0.082 0.869 −0.026
PC2 −0.038 0.082 −0.056 0.092 0.011 0.037 0.041 0.047 0.002 0.847 0.135
PC3 −0.028 −0.054 −0.056 −0.011 0.050 0.101 −0.090 0.084 0.157 0.763 −0.071
PCX1 0.091 −0.009 0.121 0.053 0.086 0.119 0.097 −0.076 0.789 0.040 −0.017
PCX2 0.124 −0.043 0.192 −0.010 0.000 −0.021 0.070 −0.036 0.819 −0.011 −0.055
PCX3 0.233 0.005 0.166 0.052 −0.063 −0.036 0.015 0.025 0.829 0.051 0.014
PR1 −0.029 0.024 0.048 −0.274 −0.015 −0.051 −0.056 0.017 −0.022 0.090 0.724
PR2 0.024 0.004 −0.010 0.071 0.023 0.008 −0.007 −0.060 −0.062 −0.065 0.854
PR3 0.087 0.028 0.036 −0.064 −0.096 −0.064 −0.003 −0.095 0.027 0.019 0.803
PV1 0.007 −0.079 0.054 0.044 0.075 0.018 0.851 −0.046 0.027 0.072 −0.029
PV2 −0.015 0.034 0.064 0.022 0.103 −0.062 0.848 0.020 0.074 −0.108 −0.064
PV3 0.013 −0.031 0.027 0.131 −0.057 0.012 0.873 −0.003 0.071 0.006 0.031
PT1 0.022 −0.032 0.142 0.025 0.166 0.000 −0.077 0.785 −0.089 0.051 −0.158
PT2 0.055 0.050 −0.054 0.119 0.028 0.022 −0.039 0.867 −0.026 −0.016 0.046
PT3 −0.028 0.024 0.006 0.094 −0.040 0.060 0.077 0.866 0.021 0.061 −0.052
SI1 0.057 0.074 −0.084 0.250 0.866 0.109 0.021 0.017 0.020 0.036 −0.065
SI2 0.025 0.169 −0.055 0.239 0.812 0.140 0.064 0.061 0.030 0.088 −0.048
SI3 −0.022 0.027 −0.069 0.251 0.800 −0.043 0.047 0.063 −0.018 0.048 0.016
FC1 0.045 −0.011 −0.036 0.030 0.067 0.854 −0.025 0.014 0.103 −0.042 −0.062
FC2 0.018 −0.120 0.010 0.182 0.061 0.839 −0.058 0.018 −0.002 0.047 −0.028
FC3 −0.033 0.012 0.001 0.109 0.046 0.903 0.052 0.052 −0.043 0.079 −0.015
BI1 −0.019 0.050 −0.033 0.810 0.342 0.098 0.100 0.157 0.066 0.024 −0.146
Table III. BI2 −0.028 −0.006 −0.021 0.871 0.315 0.122 0.089 0.090 0.004 0.036 −0.091
Factor loading matrix BI3 −0.008 −0.061 0.003 0.889 0.228 0.170 0.064 0.070 0.043 0.049 −0.051
rotated by Varimax Note: All italic value of each item should be higher than 0.7
It can be seen from the results that 11 factors with eigenvalues greater than one were Applications
extracted, accounting for 75.81 percent of the overall variance. The loadings of related items on mobile
were greater than cross-loadings – indicating a clear factor structure and thus a convincing intelligent
model. Discriminant validity was examined by the Fornell and Larcker (1981) approach – the
square root of the AVE should be higher than intercorrelations of the construct. As shown in devices
Table IV, the square root of AVE of each variable was greater than the correlation coefficients
between variables, indicating fundamental differences between the latent variables. Thus, a
good discriminant validity was proved.

5.3 Hypothesis verification and result analysis

This study validated the model and related hypotheses using multivariate PLS, an approach
to causal modeling mainly for multiple dependent variables and independent variables,
proposed by Wold (1985), a Swedish scientist. Generally, the minimum sample size should be
ten times that of the largest number of items of one single factor. A total of 260 samples were
collected in this study, and the largest number of items of one single factor was four,
suggesting that the sample size has met the PLS requirements. In addition, given that some
hypotheses here were built based on previous studies, and PLS relies more on relations
between variables, this paper selected variables including perceived value, perceived trust and
downloading intention as dependent variables, and the remaining were independent variables.
A linear regression was conducted between eight independent variables X ¼ (X1, X2, …, X8)
and three dependent variables Y ¼ (Z , Y1, Y2). The regression model of the standardized
variable _
y k with respect to th (h ¼ 1, 2, …, 8) is as follows:
_y ¼ r t þ r t þ    þr t ðk ¼ 1; 2; 3Þ:
k 1 1 2 2 8 8

Since th (h ¼ 1, 2, …, 8) can be written as a function of the standardized variable _ x, a PLS

model consisting of th can be obtained. When the standardized variables were respectively
reverted to the original ones, the coefficients of the regression equations are shown in Table V.
The regression equations are:
8
< Y 1 ¼ 2:8662 þ0:144X 1 þ0:3051X 2 þ0:3462X 30:4199X 4 þ0:0627X 7
>
Y 2 ¼ 4:33090:02326X 30:1128X 4 þ0:0804X 50:3538X 6 þ0:036X 8 þ0:4879Y 1 :
>
:
Z ¼ 0:00012 þ0:2908X 7þ0:1513X 8 þ0:3025Y 1 þ0:1082Y 2

The t-test results for Y1, Y2 and Z showed that at the p-level of 0.05, results for the 13
hypotheses out of 15 were significant, while the other two were not. The overall goodness

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

PEN 0.853
PCOM 0.267 0.834
PU 0.351 0.134 0.816
PC 0.012 0.081 0.045 0.826
PCX 0.295 0.226 0.325 0.055 0.808
PR 0.055 0.041 0.054 0.016 0.041 0.794
PV 0.013 0.346 0.420 0.217 0.147 0.057 0.856
PT 0.026 0.034 0.046 0.082 0.049 0.131 0.014 0.813
SI 0.025 0.151 0.119 0.137 0.024 0.110 0.104 0.137 0.815
FC 0.021 0.074 0.028 0.076 0.052 0.100 0.007 0.082 0.177 0.865 Table IV.
BI 0.020 0.003 0.047 0.095 0.076 0.219 0.175 0.220 0.567 0.277 0.857 The correlation
Notes: AVE, average variance extracted. Diagonal represents the square root of average variance extracted. coefficients and the
The correlations are represented below the diagonal square root of AVE
APJML Dependent/ Correlation coefficients and Correlation coefficients and Correlation coefficients and
mediating variable T values for Y1 T values for Y2 T values for Y1

PEN X1 0.1440; 2.1158

PCOM X2 0.3051; 3.8044
PU X3 0.3462; 3.8916 −0.02326; 1.1464
PC X4 −0.4199; 4.8296 0.00804; 0.0751
PCX X5 −0.1128; 2.5012
PR X6 −0.3538; 3.5421
SI X7 0.0627; 3.5223 0.2908; 6.3669
Table V. FC X8 0.0360; 2.7162 0.1513; 2.7445
Regression equations PV Y1 0.4879; 5.4829 0.3025; 2.3795
coefficients PT Y2 0.1082; 2.6418
and T values Constant terms 2.8662 4.3309 0.00012

of fit (R2 ¼ 0.423) indicates that the research data and model analysis provide a reasonable
explanation for users’ willingness to download paid apps. Taking the proposed
hypotheses into consideration, correlations between the dependent variables and the
independent variables as well as the results of the hypothesis testing were obtained, as
shown in Table VI.

6. Discussion
According to analysis results of the above model, except for H3b and H4b, our hypotheses
are confirmed, and most results are consistent with previous studies. Back to the
independent variables, perceived enjoyment is a positive factor to perceived value (H1),
which emphasizes the significance of hedonic motivation in the paid apps adoption behavior
and is consistent with Hsu and Lin (2015) and Hsiao and Chen (2016). Similarly, in line with
Kleijnen et al. (2007), perceived compatibility and perceived usefulness are the most critical
factors that affect perceived value (H2 and H3a). This reconfirms that for enterprises and
software developers, effectively improving app performance must be a top priority to elicit
users’ app downloading intention. However, there is an inconformity with previous research
results such as Gefen et al. (2003) that perceived usefulness has no significant influence on
users’ perceived trust (H3b), but is just affecting perceived trust through perceived value.
One possibility is that though perceived trust is critical with the users’ decision, this trust is

Hypothesis Testing results

H1 The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation

H2 The hypothesis is tenable, significant negative correlations
H3a The hypothesis is tenable, significant negative correlations
H3b The hypothesis is untenable
H4a The hypothesis is tenable, significant negative correlations
H4b The hypothesis is untenable, positive correlation
H5 The hypothesis is tenable, negative correlations
H6 The hypothesis is tenable, negative correlations
H7a The hypothesis is tenable, significant positive correlation
H7b The hypothesis is tenable, significant positive correlation
H8a and H8b The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation
H9a The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation
Table VI. H9b The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation
The results of H10 The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation
hypotheses testing H10 The hypothesis is tenable, positive correlation
more related to their own risk awareness and the operating difficulty of Apps. As for paid Applications
apps, most users perhaps have no actual experience before downloading, therefore it is hard on mobile
to believe that the paid apps have really good value for the money. Thus, no significant intelligent
direct effect was found in this study regarding perceived usefulness on perceived trust.
As suggested by Teo and Yu (2005), our research has shown parallel finding that the devices
main negative utility for users to purchase paid apps comes from perceived cost (H4a).
It provides some evidence that lowering app prices at appropriate times is an effective way
to increase the market share of paid apps and maintain the stickiness of users. However,
contrary to previous researches (Zhang et al., 2012; Wu and Wang, 2005), our result
indicates that users’ perceived cost has no distinct negative effects on perceived trust (H4b).
We consider this conclusion to be one of the peculiarities in the background of paid apps. As
it stands, high-price apps can stimulate users’ anticipated function and thus users will
develop higher expectations toward such paid apps, which has instead caused users’ trust
perception on the paid apps function and performance to not fall but rise. For the remaining
factors, perceived complexity and perceived risk have negative effects on downloading
intention through perceived trust (H5 and H6). It can be concluded that emphasizing
the importance of perfecting app trading platforms, lowering operating difficulty and
increasing consumers’ perception of reliability can strengthen users’ app purchase and
adoption intentions.
In line with some prior studies stating that the constructs from UTAUT theory influence
behavioral intention positively (Venkatesh et al., 2003; Duane et al., 2014; Oliveira et al.,
2016), we proved again that social influence is a necessary factor affecting users’ adoption of
paid apps (H7a) as well as enhancing users’ perceived value for paid apps (Yang et al., 2016;
Yu et al., 2017) (H7b). With the advent era of superfast 5G, the high availability of mobile
network environment and sound system coordination are also important prerequisites for
enhancing users’ trust in operation and increasing their purchase intention (H8a and H8b).
Hence, it is quite essential to amplify the promotion of paid apps to improve their popularity
and influence. And for platform configuration, ensuring the usability and improving the
compatibility of the system is a significant precondition for strengthening users’ intention to
accept paid apps.
MID users’ perceived value for paid apps can positively affect their purchase intention
(H9a), supporting the generally accepted viewpoint that perceived value has a significant
influence on consumers’ decision to adopt new products or services (Baker et al., 2002; Kim
et al., 2007; Kuo et al., 2009; Yang et al., 2016). Alternatively, supporting the previous
studies on trust and perceptions of the value (Kim et al., 2008; Chen and Chang, 2012), we
verify that high perceived value can reinforce MID users’ confidence to choose and
download relevant paid apps (H9b). Therefore, it stresses software developers must be
made to improve the overall paid app values in order to ensure that they will be willing
and relieved to use them. Finally, the result indicates that trust has a direct and positive
impact on downloading intention (H10), which supports the argument of Shin (2009) and
Zhou (2013). The above conclusion further verifies the interpretation ability of the
extended valence theory in this paper.

6.1 Theoretical implications

This research makes multifold theoretical contributions. First, we examine the MID users’
paid apps downloading or purchase intention from the consumers’ perspective, and enrich
the existing mobile app literature by explaining and testing other decision factors, such as
perceived risk and perceived price of paid app purchase. What is more, not just as the TAMs
used commonly, it is emphasized that the pursuit of new IS product and technology is a
process of perceiving/building value and trust. Hence, we consider the downloading
intention of paid app is a trade-off between the two mediators-perceived value and
APJML perceived trust, which can better explain the paid app adoption not only with IS perspective
but also from the viewpoint of consumer behavior.
Second, the previous studies on mobile apps usually limited to the perspectives of
facilitating users’ adoption and studied single (Kang, 2014; Gurtner et al., 2014; Chopdar
et al., 2018; Oyedele and Simpson, 2018), here both the promotion and restriction during paid
app downloading are identified. In addition, we design an innovative research model to
describe the mechanism behind the decision making of paid app adoption. The model is
developed with the extension and improvement of valence theory where all the added
constructs are extracted from well-known theoretical models. What is more, it extends the
application of perceived value and perceived trust to paid app adoption domain.
Finally, mediated through the two mediators, the proposed model has a good explanation
in what are the facilitating and inhibitory factors that decide their downloading intention.
In the context of paid apps, we draw a conclusion that perceived usefulness is the most
important factor that affects MID users’ perceived value for paid apps and the
corresponding resistance factor is perceived cost, which hinders MID users from purchasing
paid apps severely. Considering the environmental factors, social influence confirms a
significant indicator affecting MID users’ purchase intention as well. Whenever possible, the
framework can be applied to different scenes.
In particular, unlike other consumer behavior studies, our results reveal that some
decision factors do not impact paid app downloading intention. Among them, usefulness
has been concluded to be of little influence on paid app purchase intention mediated by
perceived trust. In the same way, perceived trust is not a good mediator for the monetary
factor. In this manner, our study enriches the literature on the interrelationship between
perceived trust as a mediator and other dependent variables in certain scenarios of users’
behavior intention analysis. All the insights gleaned from this study may prompt future
research and provide a basis for other m-commerce acceptance models.

6.2 Practical implications

With the promotion factors, first, our findings bear out the importance of value-for-money.
As a diverse set of free apps are launched to meet users’ demands, only high-quality paid
apps can motivate users to purchase. Therefore, platform suppliers and software developers
should pay close attention on developing high-availability apps, maximizing efficiency and
effectiveness, and highlighting comparative advantages, so as to make more users bound to
adopting multifunction paid apps or the paid version instead of the free one.
In addition, consumption concepts and payment habits are also crucial factors that affect
the adoption of paid apps. So a wide range of promotional activities, which aim at guiding
Chinese users to purchase legitimate apps and conforming to users’ usage habits should
be launched. Platform suppliers can guide consumers’ buying behavior and increase the
proportion of paid apps, even if their price is not high at the outset. And for some free apps,
they can attempt to change the “all-free” strategy into “try before you buy,” which may
encourage users to purchase the full version in the future and promote the development of
paid apps’ ecosystem.
In turn, to eliminate users’ downloading concerns and to arouse their enthusiasm, app
developers and marketers could take a full range of effective measures. First and foremost,
they should adjust their pricing strategies, give priority to micropayments and launch
promotional activities in time. Moreover, because of the different acceptance and recognition
with paying for an app, app developers and marketers could rationally allocate different
marketing strategies according to different functional requirements. For example, app users
play paid games mainly for entertainment purposes, and their affordable price for a game
app is more likely to be low. So the strategy of “low price but large sales” can be adopted to
expand the user group. However, for large-sum business apps with perfect functions and
strong technology, buyers are usually businessmen with special functional requirements. Applications
Since their price acceptance level is relatively high, based on function perfecting, such on mobile
business apps can be highly priced in due course. intelligent
In terms of operational complexity, app store can adopt more methods such as
optimizing the operation process and interface design to make apps more conform to users’ devices
mental mode. For instance, app store can deepen the strategic cooperation with operators by
supporting points exchange and other acquisition methods to enrich the purchase channels
of paid apps. These are the behaviors to better enhance people’s acceptance and emotional
resonance with paid apps; and it is also crucial to enable users to find required apps in a
timely and accurate manner. Therefore, platform suppliers and software developers can add
more download links of apps to social platforms in a targeted manner. By enriching the app
promotion links, users can be accurately attracted to relevant app scope, and the loss of
users and some uncertainties during the app searching process can decrease.
Regarding the risk perception, especially for a high-priced business app, it is natural
for users to make a conservative choice and avoid risks owning to their uncertainties
about the operationality. Therefore, a time-limited free trial version or a low-price
simplified version is very essential before a paid app is normally released, which provides
an adequate determination whether to download it or not according to their own needs.
Through the above measures we can eliminate the purchase burden caused by users’
doubts on apps functions to a great extent and gradually realize the experiential
marketing for high-priced apps.
In China, people are easily influenced by group orientation and product evaluation when
deciding whether to pay for a new product. Paid apps are the same as real goods, which
means consumer management and good reputation are necessary for keeping steady and
substantial profits in the long run. In this era, the dissemination of technical products
through media interaction is more convincing than the top-down publicity on platforms.
Paid apps can be popularized through opinion leaders who interact closely with the public in
social networks. By doing so, users’ acceptance of paid apps will be increased, and more
users will be effectively guided to join the wave of app purchase.

6.3 Boundaries and future opportunities

This study takes Apple’s intelligent devices as an example to study MID users’ intention to
purchase paid apps. Although some practical conclusions have been obtained, there are still
some deficiencies that need to be improved. First of all, in the study of purchase intention,
there may be different influence factors on MID users’ initial purchase intention and
continuance usage intention of paid apps. Future studies should focus on the differences of
these two intentions’ influence factors. Second, in the data sample, the proportion of
students and young people under 30 years old is relatively high, which cannot fully
represent the entire Apple MID users in the market. Subsequent analysis should broaden the
data source to improve the universality of the study. Finally, this study makes an empirical
analysis on the adoption intention of Chinese MID users, without considering the research
deviation caused by regional differences. Subsequent studies can set mediators in
accordance with different countries or business backgrounds to conduct cross-cultural
comparative studies.

7. Concluding remarks
In conclusion, this research explained the facilitating and inhibitory factors behind paid app
downloading intention. Here we presented a more comprehensive overview and formulated
an innovative and integrated research model. The goal of this study is to better understand
the adoption theory of mobile apps from the perspective of valence theory and combine two
social environmental factors and the mediations of perceived value and perceived trust into
APJML the model. Based on users’ data, we used PLS to analyze the main driving and constraining
factors for users to download paid apps in Apple mobile devices. With the empirical results,
we found that mediated through perceived value, perceived usefulness and perceived
compatibility are the positive factors that affect user’s willingness to purchase apps,
whereas perceived cost is the main barrier for users to do so. The social environment the
users are in also plays an important role in their purchase intentions. The findings not only
enrich the adoption theory of mobile apps from the perspective of valence theory but could
also serve as a basis for other models to be developed, such that the model could also be
extended for some other mobile commerce field, not only for paid apps. In practice, the
results provide manifold pricing and functional suggestions for platform suppliers and
software developers on paid apps and hope to offer the guidance for them to expand the
consumer group, make the purchase experience more efficient and promote the development
of the paid app market.

References
Agarwal, R. and Karahanna, E. (2000), “Time flies when you’re having fun: cognitive absorption and
beliefs about information technology usage”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 665-694.
Al-Debei, M.M. and Al-Lozi, E. (2014), “Explaining and predicting the adoption intention of mobile data
services: a value-based approach”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 35, June, pp. 326-338.
Anil, S., Ting, L.T., Moe, L.H. and Jonathan, G.P.G. (2003), “Overcoming barriers to the successful
adoption of mobile commerce in Singapore”, International Journal of Mobile Communications,
Vol. 1 Nos 1-2, pp. 194-231.
Arora, S. and Sahney, S. (2018), “Consumer’s webrooming conduct: an explanation using the theory of
planned behavior”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 1040-1063.
Baker, J., Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D. and Voss, G.B. (2002), “The influence of multiple store environment
cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66
No. 2, pp. 120-141.
Benbasat, I. and Wang, W. (2005), “Trust in and adoption of online recommendation agents”, Journal of
the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 72-101.
Carlsson, C., Walden, P. and Bouwman, H. (2006), “Adoption of 3G+ services in Finland”, International
Journal of Mobile Communications, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 369-385.
Casaló, L.V., Flavián, C. and Guinalíu, M. (2007), “The role of security, privacy, usability and reputation
in the development of online banking”, Online Information Review, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 583-603.
Chen, Y.S. and Chang, C.H. (2012), “Enhance green purchase intentions: the roles of green perceived
value, green perceived risk, and green trust”, Management Decision, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 502-520.
Chircu, A.M., Davis, G.B. and Kauffman, R.J. (2000), “Trust, expertise, and e-commerce intermediary
adoption”, AMCIS 2000 Proceedings, p. 405.
Cho, D.Y., Kwon, H.J. and Lee, H.Y. (2007), “Analysis of trust in internet and mobile commerce
adoption”, 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’07), IEEE,
January, p. 50.
Chopdar, P.K., Korfiatis, N., Sivakumar, V.J. and Lytras, M.D. (2018), “Mobile shopping apps adoption
and perceived risks: a cross-country perspective utilizing the unified theory of acceptance and
use of technology”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 86, September, pp. 109-128.
Cooper, R.B. and Zmud, R.W. (1990), “Information technology implementation research: a technological
diffusion approach”, Management Science, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 123-139.
Corbitt, B.J., Thanasankit, T. and Yi, H. (2003), “Trust and e-commerce: a study of consumer perceptions”,
Electronic Commerce Research And Applications, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 203-215.
CNNIC (2019), “The 44th China statistical report on internet development”, CNNIC, Beijing, available at:
www.cac.gov.cn/2019-08/30/c_1124938750.htm
Davis, F.D. (1989), “Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information Applications
technology”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 319-340. on mobile
Davis, F.D., Bagozzi, R.P. and Warshaw, P.R. (1992), “Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to use computers intelligent
in the workplace 1”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 22 No. 14, pp. 1111-1132.
Duane, A., O’Reilly, P. and Andreev, P. (2014), “Realising M-payments: modelling consumers’
devices
willingness to M-pay using smart phones”, Behaviour & Information Technology, Vol. 33 No. 4,
pp. 318-334.
Featherman, M.S. and Pavlou, P.A. (2003), “Predicting e-services adoption: a perceived risk facets
perspective”, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 451-474.
Fornell, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable
variables and measurement error”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 39-50.
Gao, L. and Bai, X. (2014), “A unified perspective on the factors influencing consumer acceptance of internet
of things technology”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 211-231.
Gefen, D., Karahanna, E. and Straub, D.W. (2003), “Trust and TAM in online shopping: an integrated
model”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 51-90.
Gurtner, S., Reinhardt, R. and Soyez, K. (2014), “Designing mobile business applications for different
age groups”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 88, October, pp. 177-188.
Hardgrave, B.C., Davis, F.D. and Riemenschneider, C.K. (2003), “Investigating determinants of software
developers’ intentions to follow methodologies”, Journal of Management Information Systems,
Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 123-151.
Hew, J.J., Lee, V.H., Ooi, K.B. and Wei, J. (2015), “What catalyses mobile apps usage intention: an
empirical analysis”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 115 No. 7, pp. 1269-1291.
Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M. and Gutteling, J.M. (2007), “Perceived usefulness, personal experiences,
risk perception and trust as determinants of adoption of e-government services in
The Netherlands”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 1838-1852.
Hsiao, K.L. and Chen, C.C. (2016), “What drives in-app purchase intention for mobile games?
An examination of perceived values and loyalty”, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications,
Vol. 16, March-April, pp. 18-29.
Hsu, C.L. and Lin, J.C.C. (2015), “What drives purchase intention for paid mobile apps? – an expectation
confirmation model with perceived value”, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications,
Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 46-57.
Hsu, C.L. and Lin, J.C.C. (2016a), “An empirical examination of consumer adoption of internet of things
services: network externalities and concern for information privacy perspectives”, Computers in
Human Behavior, Vol. 62, September, pp. 516-527.
Hsu, C.L. and Lin, J.C.C. (2016b), “Effect of perceived value and social influences on mobile app
stickiness and in-app purchase intention”, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 108,
July, pp. 42-53.
iResearch (2018), “2017-2018 China mobile app store market monitoring report”, available at: www.
iimedia.cn/c400/60947.html (accessed December 10, 2018).
Kang, S. (2014), “Factors influencing intention of mobile application use”, International Journal of
Mobile Communications, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 360-379.
Karjaluoto, H., Shaikh, A.A., Saarijärvi, H. and Saraniemi, S. (2019), “How perceived value drives the
use of mobile financial services apps”, International Journal of Information Management,
Vol. 47, August, pp. 252-261.
Khoi, N.H., Tuu, H.H. and Olsen, S.O. (2018), “The role of perceived values in explaining Vietnamese
consumers’ attitude and intention to adopt mobile commerce”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 1112-1134.
Kim, C., Zhao, W. and Yang, K.H. (2008), “An empirical study on the integrated framework of e-CRM in
online shopping: evaluating the relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and trust
based on customers’ perspectives”, Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations ( JECO),
Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 1-19.
APJML Kim, D.J., Ferrin, D.L. and Rao, H.R. (2009), “Trust and satisfaction, two stepping stones for successful
e-commerce relationships: a longitudinal exploration”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 20
No. 2, pp. 237-257.
Kim, H.W., Chan, H.C. and Gupta, S. (2007), “Value-based adoption of mobile internet: an empirical
investigation”, Decision Support Systems, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 111-126.
Kim, H.W., Kankanhalli, A. and Lee, H.L. (2016), “Investigating decision factors in mobile application
purchase: a mixed-methods approach”, Information & Management, Vol. 53 No. 6, pp. 727-739.
Kleijnen, M., De Ruyter, K. and Wetzels, M. (2007), “An assessment of value creation in mobile service
delivery and the moderating role of time consciousness”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 83 No. 1,
pp. 33-46.
Ko, E., Kim, E.Y. and Lee, E.K. (2009), “Modeling consumer adoption of mobile shopping for fashion
products in Korea”, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 7, pp. 669-687.
Kuo, Y.F., Wu, C.M. and Deng, W.J. (2009), “The relationships among service quality, perceived value,
customer satisfaction, and post-purchase intention in mobile value-added services”, Computers
in Human Behavior, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 887-896.
Lee, E.Y., Lee, S.B. and Jeon, Y.J.J. (2017), “Factors influencing the behavioral intention to use food
delivery apps”, Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, Vol. 45 No. 9,
pp. 1461-1473.
Lin, H.F. (2007), “Predicting consumer intentions to shop online: an empirical test of competing
theories”, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 433-442.
López-Nicolás, C., Molina-Castillo, F.J. and Bouwman, H. (2008), “An assessment of advanced mobile
services acceptance: contributions from TAM and diffusion theory models”, Information &
Management, Vol. 45 No. 6, pp. 359-364.
Lu, H.P. and Yu-Jen Su, P. (2009), “Factors affecting purchase intention on mobile shopping web sites”,
Internet Research, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 442-458.
Lu, J., Yu, C.S. and Liu, C. (2005), “Facilitating conditions, wireless trust and adoption intention”,
Journal of Computer Information Systems, Vol. 46 No. 1, pp. 17-24.
Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H. and Schoorman, F.D. (1995), “An integrative model of organizational trust”,
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 709-734.
Molina-Castillo, F.J., Lopez-Nicolas, C. and Soto-Acosta, P. (2012), “Interaction effects of media and
message on perceived complexity, risk and trust of innovative products”, European Management
Journal, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 577-587.
Natarajan, T., Balasubramanian, S.A. and Kasilingam, D.L. (2018), “The moderating role of device type
and age of users on the intention to use mobile shopping applications”, Technology in Society,
Vol. 53, May, pp. 79-90.
Nicolaou, A.I. and McKnight, D.H. (2006), “Perceived information quality in data exchanges: effects on
risk, trust, and intention to use”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 332-351.
Oliveira, T., Thomas, M., Baptista, G. and Campos, F. (2016), “Mobile payment: understanding the
determinants of customer adoption and intention to recommend the technology”, Computers in
Human Behavior, Vol. 61, August, pp. 404-414.
Oyedele, A. and Simpson, P.M. (2018), “Streaming apps: what consumers value”, Journal of Retailing
and Consumer Services, Vol. 41, March, pp. 296-304.
Peter, J.P. and Tarpey, L.X. Sr (1975), “A comparative analysis of three consumer decision strategies”,
Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 29-37.
Pipitwanichakarn, T. and Wongtada, N. (2019), “Leveraging the technology acceptance model for
mobile commerce adoption under distinct stages of adoption”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics, available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2018-0448
PocketGamer.biz (2019), “App store metrics”, available at: www.pocketgamer.biz/metrics/app-store/
(accessed April 5, 2019).
Rogers, E.M. (1995), Diffusion of Innovations, 4th ed., Free Press, New York, NY.
Sathye, M. (1999), “Adoption of Internet banking by Australian consumers: an empirical investigation”, Applications
International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 7, pp. 324-334. on mobile
Schilling, M.A. (2002), “Technology success and failure in winner-take-all markets: the impact of intelligent
learning orientation, timing, and network externalities”, Academy of Management Journal,
Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 387-398.
devices
Shin, D.H. (2009), “Towards an understanding of the consumer acceptance of mobile wallet”,
Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 1343-1354.
Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J. and Sabol, B. (2002), “Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational
exchanges”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 15-37.
Sohn, S.Y. and Kim, Y. (2008), “Searching customer patterns of mobile service using clustering
and quantitative association rule”, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 34 No. 2,
pp. 1070-1077.
Song, J., Kim, J., Jones, D.R., Baker, J. and Chin, W.W. (2014), “Application discoverability and user
satisfaction in mobile application stores: an environmental psychology perspective”, Decision
Support Systems, Vol. 59, pp. 37-51.
Teo, T.S. and Yu, Y. (2005), “Online buying behavior: a transaction cost economics perspective”,
Omega, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 451-465.
Venkatesh, V. and Davis, F.D. (2000), “A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four
longitudinal field studies”, Management Science, Vol. 46 No. 2, pp. 186-204.
Venkatesh, V., Thong, J.Y. and Xu, X. (2012), “Consumer acceptance and use of information technology:
extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 36 No. 1,
pp. 157-178.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M.G., Davis, G.B. and Davis, F.D. (2003), “User acceptance of information
technology: toward a unified view”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 425-478.
Veryzer, R.W. Jr (1998), “Key factors affecting customer evaluation of discontinuous new products”,
Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 136-150.
Voss, G.B., Parasuraman, A. and Grewal, D. (1998), “The roles of price, performance, and
expectations in determining satisfaction in service exchanges”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62
No. 4, pp. 46-61.
Wang, C. (2014), “Antecedents and consequences of perceived value in Mobile government
continuance use: an empirical research in China”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 34, May,
pp. 140-147.
Wold, H. (1985), “Partial least squares”, in Kotz, S. and Johnson, N.L. (Eds), Encyclopedia of Statistical
Sciences, Vol. 6, Wiley, New York, NY, pp. 581-591.
Wu, J.H. and Wang, S.C. (2005), “What drives mobile commerce?: an empirical evaluation
of the revised technology acceptance model”, Information & Management, Vol. 42 No. 5,
pp. 719-729.
Yang, H., Yu, J., Zo, H. and Choi, M. (2016), “User acceptance of wearable devices: an
extended perspective of perceived value”, Telematics and Informatics, Vol. 33 No. 2,
pp. 256-269.
Yu, J., Lee, H., Ha, I. and Zo, H. (2017), “User acceptance of media tablets: an empirical examination of
perceived value”, Telematics and Informatics, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 206-223.
Zeithaml, V.A. (1988), “Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: a means-end model and
synthesis of evidence”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52 No. 3, pp. 2-22.
Zhang, L., Zhu, J. and Liu, Q. (2012), “A meta-analysis of mobile commerce adoption and the moderating
effect of culture”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 1902-1911.
Zhou, T. (2013), “An empirical examination of continuance intention of mobile payment services”,
Decision Support Systems, Vol. 54 No. 2, pp. 1085-1091.
APJML Further reading
App Store (2018), “App store review guidelines”, available at: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/
review/guidelines/ (accessed July 2, 2018).
Bouwman, H., Carlsson, C., Molina-Castillo, F.J. and Walden, P. (2007), “Barriers and drivers in the
adoption of current and future mobile services in Finland”, Telematics and Informatics, Vol. 24
No. 2, pp. 145-160.
Natarajan, T., Balasubramanian, S.A. and Kasilingam, D.L. (2017), “Understanding the intention to use
mobile shopping applications and its influence on price sensitivity”, Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, Vol. 37, pp. 8-22.
Patterson, P.G. and Spreng, R.A. (1997), “Modelling the relationship between perceived
value, satisfaction and repurchase intentions in a business-to-business, services context: an
empirical examination”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 8 No. 5,
pp. 414-434.
Peter, J.P. and Ryan, M.J. (1976), “An investigation of perceived risk at the brand level”, Journal of
Marketing Research, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 184-188.
Sweeney, J.C. and Soutar, G.N. (2001), “Consumer perceived value: the development of a multiple item
scale”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77 No. 2, pp. 203-220.
Appendix Applications
on mobile
intelligent
Construct Item Wording devices
Perceived PEN1 Paid apps can inspire my imagination
enjoyment PEN2 The function of paid apps can stimulate my curiosity
PEN3 The process of accessing paid apps is enjoyable
PEN4 Overall, I believe that paid app usage is a fun
Perceived PCOM1 In my consumption concept, I can accept paid apps
compatibility PCOM2 Using paid apps is consistent with my past experience
PCOM3 Paid apps and mobile terminals match well
PCOM4 In general, using paid apps fits into my current habits and needs
Perceived PU1 Compared with free apps, paid apps are more functional
usefulness PU2 Compared with free apps, paid apps can improve my productivity
PU3 Compared with free apps, paids app are more convenient
PU4 In general, I think paid apps are very useful to me
Perceived cost PC1 Paid apps purchased in the app store are expensive
PC2 Compared with paid apps, free apps are also versatile
PC3 In general, the charging standard of paid app is not reasonable
PC4 In general, buying paid apps are not worthy
Perceived PCX1 It is difficult to find an paid app exactly
complexity PCX2 It is complicated to get an information registration for app payment
PCX3 Compared with free apps, paid apps have fewer comments to check their availability
Perceived risk PR1 I am worried that the functionality of paid apps is not as perfect as described
PR2 I am worried that my personal information will be revealed in the process of
registering and purchasing
PR3 I am worried that the payment process is insecure
PR4 I am worried that the password stolen or mishandled will cause my property loss
Perceived value PV1 Compared with the fees I paid, it is worthy to download paid apps
PV2 Compared to the time and effort I put, it is worthy to download paid apps
PV3 Balancing profits and losses, I think downloading paid apps are worthy
Perceived trust PT1 I think the download platform is trustworthy
PT2 I think the informations of paid apps are trustworthy
PT3 I think the qualities of paid Apps are guaranteed
Social influence SI1 People around me think that paid apps make life more convenient
SI2 People around me have already downloaded paid apps
SI3 Various medias actively disseminate the paid apps
Facilitating FC1 The current fast and stable network has attracted me to download the app
conditions FC2 The mobile terminal bring me a wonderful experience
FC3 In the app store, there are enough paid apps to download
Downloading BI1 I am willing to download paid apps on my mobile terminals
intention BI2 I will frequently purchase paid apps in the future Table AI.
BI3 I will recommend the great paid apps to others Survey instrument

Corresponding author
Umair Akram can be contacted at: leo_umairinfo@yahoo.com; akram.umair88@pku.edu.cn

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

View publication stats