Role of perceived interactivity in intended loyalty for mobile cell-phones

SuJin Yang, Purdue University

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the way in which firms interact with consumers is a critical element in determining the success of the firm. The advance of the new media has now created a new interaction point between salespeople and consumers that is accessible through virtual space. Also, the commercial value of interactivity has increased greatly with the emergence of the Internet. But in spite of the numerous studies on the concept of interactivity in virtual space, researchers do not agree on the concept, and the way to measure it is still under debate. Moreover, even though it has been asserted that mobile related technologies have brought out new characteristics of the Internet, the concept of interactivity within the mobile Internet has not been researched comprehensively. Thus, the current study has attempted to conceptualize m-interactivity, that is, the interactivity of the mobile Internet, and to lay the grounds for measuring the perceived m-interactivity through both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Furthermore, the expected favorable role of m-interactivity in intended loyalty toward mobile websites has been investigated using a survey of mobile phone users. In order to achieve the two research purposes, research hypotheses have been designed based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model. Study One, the qualitative approach, attempts to explore how potential users of the mobile Internet perceive m-interactivity (Organism) when given interactive cues of mobile websites (Stimuli). Seventeen mobile phone users were asked to explain why the given cues can be interactive by categorizing the cues into three traditional types of interactivity: human-to-human, human-to-document, and human-to-system. Five constructs, which are two-way communication, active control, synchronicity, richness of content, and connectedness are proposed. Two-way communication focuses on the bi-directional information flow. Active control includes control over all the activities happening in mobile websites. Synchronicity concentrates on reducing the time lag between sending and receiving messages and connectedness represents the ubiquitous access to the mobile Internet. Lastly, richness of content refers to variety of documents posted on the websites including product information and context-awareness services. The quantitative Study Two develops a new measurement for perceived m-interactivity and confirms that the five constructs exist and are correlated with each other. Based on the articulated definition of the five constructs of perceived m-interactivity, surveys were given assigning potential users to one of two scenarios describing high vs. low interactive cues of mobile websites. The anticipated role of perceived m-interactivity in intended loyalty was found to be significant only when the relationship was mediated by satisfaction with the websites. Also, only two constructs, two-way communication and active control, showed a favorable impact on satisfaction and intended loyalty, while the other three constructs failed to do so.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Park, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Marketing

COinS