Understanding continuance intention of mobile instant messaging : Motivators and inhibitors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the continued usage of mobile instant messaging (IM) from the perspectives of both motivators and inhibitors. Design/methodology/approach – To cast light on the motivators and inhibitors of continuance intention (CI) to use mobile IM, 268 responses from Chinese mobile IM users were collected via an online survey. Findings – The results suggest that perceived system quality, procedural switching cost and relational switching cost (RSC) positively affect resistance to change (RTC), while perceived user base, perceived quality of communication, RSC and RTC positively affect the CI. Among them, RTC has the greatest effect on the CI, and RSC has the largest effect on RTC. Originality/value – Extant research has mainly focussed on the motivators behind the continued usage of mobile services. However, the inhibitors, such as switching cost and RTC, have been less considered in the research on the continued usage of mobile services. Also, only a little research has examined the components of switching costs and how they affect the intention to continue using mobile services. The current study attempts to fill these research gaps.