User’s perceived quality of mobile message app: Experience from Taiwan

Following advancements in network information technology, mobile broadband Internet and smart handheld devices have been growing increasingly popular. The functions and uses of mobile device apps are also becoming more extensive and diversified. The integration of numerous mobile service devices into smartphones has increased ease of use for consumers substantially. Within the intensely competitive instant messaging software market, LINE has come into prominence within a short time thanks to its ability to allow free video or voice calls in real time, it’s convenient group chat function, and its more than 10,000 stickers and emoticons. It has quickly become the social networking and chatting app with the highest usage rate in Taiwan. Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), several additional external variables; such as, Perceived Playfulness, Media Richness, and Relative Advantage have been integrated to explore Line’s success. This framework provided an understanding of the key factors influencing the usage attitudes and willingness to use regarding mobile instant messaging software among Taiwanese users. Our study confirms that the external variables of Perceived Playfulness, Media Richness, and Relative Advantage were key factors in LINE’s success in Taiwan. © 2017, Chinese Society for Quality. All rights reserved.