Mobile Shopping Apps Adoption: A Systematic Review of Theories and Future Research Directions

In this study, 22 research papers published on consumer behavior and electronic commerce journals were selected and reviewed based on inclusion criteria of high-quality journals; the aim of this exercise was to conduct an analysis of the state-of the-art research in theories used for studies of MSA. Through this exercise, 22 consumer-level theories were grouped into seven categories. For each theory, its definition, current application in m-shopping apps (MSA) adoption research and suggestions for future research are presented. The review indicates the lack of a universal model of consumer and the predominant effect of cognitive factors i.e., perceived ease of use and utilitarian benefits in explaining usage and adoption intentions. The effects of hedonic benefits, experiential constructs and social influence are contextual and not homogenous. Most of the studies have adopted the behavioral theories of technology adoption by extending or modifying them or as components of multi theoretic approach. A relative lack of theories from socio-psychological, relationship marketing, experiential and emotion dominant disciplines is noted. There is an over-reliance on theories related to information systems, consumer behavior, and predominance of quantitative research-based techniques. Most of the studies focus on consumers pre-adoption intentions compared to usage behavior and consumer loyalty and fail to address the challenges of consumer retention, in-app purchase and consumer loyalty. A relative lack of cross-cultural and cross-country comparative studies is noted. A summary of theories applied and proposed for this study are presented along with proposed research questions. This review provides practitioners and policy makers with a framework of antecedent factors which can be applied for effective marketing strategies according to the stage of consumer adoption of MSA. While keeping in mind specific findings related to this literature review as well as the necessity to guide research in the future that deals with mobile and technology utilization in MSA, a research agenda is introduced.