A Study of the Effects of Social Factors and Innovation Characteristics on Search Effort and Uncertainty in Mobile App Adoption

The mobile economy is growing rapidly and creating increasingly diversified digital products available to consumers. Due to the cognitive limitation of adopters, they often face the issue of information overload. In order to cope with such issues, adopters typically utilize other information to reduce their uncertainty before adoption. This study focuses on determinants of uncertainty reduction during the adoption process. We do not study why individuals adopt mobile apps, but rather we are studying what perceptions individuals have on the innovation characteristics and social factors (such as friends who use and like the app) and how those perceptions affect their level of search effort and uncertainty. Innovation diffusion theory, herding behavior theory, information overload theory, and the theory of informational cascades are employed in the development of our research model. Findings from this study provide significant insights for developers and management in the mobile app economy.