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Research on Factors Affecting Smartphone App Market Selection: App Market Platform Provider’s Perspective

  • Journal of Knowledge Information Technology and Systems
  • Abbr : JKITS
  • 2018, 13(1), pp.11-23
  • DOI : 10.34163/jkits.2018.13.1.002
  • Publisher : Korea Knowledge Information Technology Society
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Published : February 28, 2018

Ho Lee 1 Jae Sung Kim 2 Kyung Kyu Kim 3 Youngin Kim 3

1정보통신정책연구원
2KBank
3연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper empirically investigates the factors that influence the consumer choice of an app market based on the rational choice theory. The app market is the only channel where a consumer can buy smartphone apps, which give various functional convenience and are considered to be a major contributor to the proliferation of smartphones. Analyses of 281 questionnaires show that usability and structural guarantees as benefit factors significantly influence the app market choice. From the cost perspectives, both monetary and non-monetary conversion costs are found to significantly influence the app market choice. On the other hand, customer trust, information quality, and market image were found to have no significant effect on app market selection. In particular, Korean app market platform providers (KT, LG U +) seem to be superior in terms of structural guarantees, such as customer center operation and damage compensation regulations, compared to overseas app market platform operators (Google). However, in the case of the Google App Market, it is pre-installed on all Android phones, so it is not inconvenient to install additional apps to use other app market. This is disadvantageous to domestic app market platform operators, and it is necessary to establish a policy solution point. In terms of operator costs, both monetary and non-monetary conversion costs have a significant impact on app market choice. In particular, non-monetary conversion costs have a negative impact on Korean app market platform operators. It can be explained that the service expectation level of the domestic app market is low and it is recognized that the time cost factor such as membership is large for new users to use. It seems to be necessary to improve the domestic app market business. Meanwhile, extant research on smartphone apps focuses on the purchase of apps themselves, but not on the selection of the app market itself. In order to fill in this gap, this study focuses on the determinants of app market selection, including the characteristics of an app market and the switching costs.

Citation status

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