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Motivating Effective Mobile App Adoptions: Evidence from a Large-Scale Randomized Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Tianshu Sun

    (Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089;)

  • Lanfei Shi

    (Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742;)

  • Siva Viswanathan

    (Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742;)

  • Elena Zheleva

    (Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607)

Abstract

Prior literature has established a positive association between mobile app adoptions and customers’ purchase behaviors. However, it is not clear whether and how firms can actively influence customers’ mobile app adoptions and increase their purchases through these induced adoptions . Using a randomized field experiment involving over 230,000 customers, we investigate the differential impacts of offering incentives or information on customers’ mobile app adoptions and subsequent purchase behaviors. We find that (1) providing monetary incentives and providing information can both lead to a significant increase in mobile app adoptions and that (2) the causal effect of induced mobile app adoptions varies greatly depending on how customers are motivated. Although providing monetary incentives leads to a larger increase in mobile app adoptions, such incentive-induced adoptions do not result in more purchases in the long run. In contrast, providing information leads to effective mobile adoptions that sustainably increase customers’ purchases and overall profits for the firm. In further examining customers’ multichannel purchase behaviors, we find that there is a complementary effect between the mobile app and the desktop channel for information-induced app adopters but a substitution effect between the mobile app and the mobile web channel for incentive-induced app adopters. For information-induced app adopters, the mobile app serves as a discovery tool and helps them find a greater variety of deals. Finally, in exploring the underlying drivers of such differences in the effect of induced adoptions, we find that information compared with incentives serves as a better sorting device and can attract customers who have a greater need for the app and use it more effectively. Our findings provide actionable insights to firms on designing interventions to motivate effective mobile adoptions. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0815 .

Suggested Citation

  • Tianshu Sun & Lanfei Shi & Siva Viswanathan & Elena Zheleva, 2019. "Motivating Effective Mobile App Adoptions: Evidence from a Large-Scale Randomized Field Experiment," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 523-539, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:30:y:2019:i:2:p:523-539
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2018.0815
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