Delving into the digital : A marketing investigation into determinants of app usage intention 

Since the advent of the smartphone, mobile applications on these devices have increasingly gained in popularity and have become a staple in the everyday lives of people. This trend has resulted in the development of millions of applications, yet the majority of them are never downloaded or used for a variety of reasons. It is therefore important for consumer behavior research to be conducted on a continuous basis in order to analyze and stay up to date with factors that lead to intention and thereafter, usage of mobile applications. Also, it is necessary to take into account the immense popularity of social media, which has provided firms with an effective avenue to market new applications. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate the determinants of usage intention of new and free mobile apps in the context of social media marketing. In order to measure intention, two proven and tested theoretical models were incorporated into the creation of the research model of this study and the formation of the hypothesis; namely the theory of planned behavior (TPB), as well as the technology acceptance model (TAM). To test the hypothesis, a quantitative study was conducted with the help of a self-completion questionnaire which was distributed on social media, and the data collection resulted in 250 valid respondents. The data was processed and analyzed using multiple regression using the statistical program SPSS in order to test the significance of the various independent variables with intention to use new and free apps. The regression analysis resulted in several hypothesis being accepted. Notably, intention to use was highly influenced by attitude, as well as significant relationships between intention and perceived ease of use, as well as perceived behavioral control. Significant relationships were also discovered between attitude, perceived usefulness, and trust. Marketers of new and free mobile apps should focus on fostering a positive attitude through marketing on social media, always be intent on trust-building activities, and work with the developers to create easy to use and highly useful apps. The authors recommend that future studies focus on the influence of different kinds of social media activities on consumers intention to use new and free apps, as social media was only the context of the current study.