Determining Uses and Gratifications for Mobile Phone Apps

Mobile phone applications (apps) have been widely used in mobile marketing, but nothing is known about app user motives to adopt and use a particular app. This study employs the uses and gratifications (U&G) approach to develop a typology for the motives of app users to adopt an app, and further examines whether user motivations will influence their attitude and addiction to apps. A sample of 441 mobile phone app users was employed to generate information on the structure of user motives to adopt apps. The findings suggest that social benefits, immediate access & mobility, entertainment, self-status seeking, pursuit of happiness, information seeking, and socializing are the primary factors driving app user’s adopting behavior. These motivations explain 53% of the variance in user addiction to apps and 58% of the variance in user attitudes to using apps.

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