Why do people switch mobile platforms? The moderating role of habit
Abstract
Purpose
Smartphones have become a critical medium by which people remain in contact with family, friends, and colleagues. A variety of factors have contributed to the rapid prevalence of smartphones. The most influential factor is definitely the mobile platform or mobile operating system (OS). The purpose of this paper is to employ a theoretical framework based on an information systems success model and a theory values to examine the factors that affect smartphone users’ switching mobile OSs. Habit is regarded as a moderating variable to construct an integrated research model which helps researchers unveil the puzzle of users’ switching mobile OSs.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 424 users on their perceptions of smartphones. A structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships of the research model.
Findings
The results of the study have shown that users consider the perceived switching value and satisfaction arising from their behaviors when deciding whether to switch to another mobile OS. Quality characteristics, including information quality, system quality, and service quality, are the key factors determining people’s perceived switching value and satisfaction. The participants of the study were grouped by degree of habit. The effect on satisfaction was not significant in the high-habit subgroup. Nevertheless, it has been found that the influence of the perceived switching value was stronger in the low-habit subgroup than in the high-habit subgroup.
Originality/value
This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’ intention to switch mobile OSs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology: Project No. 104-2410-H-275-004.
Citation
Lin, K.-Y., Wang, Y.-T. and Hsu, H.-Y.S. (2017), "Why do people switch mobile platforms? The moderating role of habit", Internet Research, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 1170-1189. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-04-2016-0087
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited