The Effect of Attachments toward Smartphone Applications on Brand Performance and Consumer s Quality of Life

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1 The Effect of Attachments toward Smartphone Applications on Brand Performance and Consumer s Quality of Life Mina Jun (Post-Doctoral Researcher, Korea University)

2 Table of Contents 1. Research Background 2. Significance of Research 3. Literature Review 4. Methods 5. Results 6. Discussions References

3 Research Background Attachment to Smartphone and Applications - Without my smartphone, I can t live. -Smartphones as an everyday item : the value of various smartphone applications increases. - Especially because the applications can be used anytime and anywhere they want. Existing Studies of this Issue: Antecedents and Outcomes - What leads people to build attachment to smartphones? - What are the consequences? Brand Performance and Consumer s Quality of Life

4 Literature Reviews :Brand performance The effect of attachment with application on parent brand supportive behavior and attachment with smartphone - When people establish emotional attachment or love to a certain object, they are likely to have positive feeling also for its related objects (Olsen, 1995; Feeney, 2004; Yeung and Wyer2005). - Positive feelings toward a certain brand are likely to transfer to affiliated brands because a person forms the desire to maintain or increase the scope of intentions with the brand (Fedorikhin et al. 2008) - It can be expected that attachment with applications is transferred to the parent brand or the developer of the applications. H1: Attachment with applications has a positive effect on parent brand supportive behaviour. H2: Attachment with applications has a positive effect on attachment with smartphone.

5 Broaden and Build Theory (BBT) Fredrickson and Cohn (2008)

Literature Reviews : Quality of life Short-term effect of attachment with applications on consumer QoLthrough stress relief - When people feel emotionally attached to a certain object, they

6 Literature Reviews : Quality of life Short-term effect of attachment with applications on consumer QoLthrough stress relief - When people feel emotionally attached to a certain object, they experience positive emotions, which in turn help them get rid of negative feelings like stress (Bowlby, 1988; Schore2003). - Stress refers to any threat, either real or perceived, to the well-being (Kumar 2013). Hence, stress relief means relieving any threat to the one s well-being (Shin and Johnson 1978). - Stressful events cause psychological distress such as depression, loneliness, and anxiety, resulting in decreased well-being that includes life satisfaction ( Kosteleckyand Lempers1998). H3-1: Attachment with applications has a positive effect on stress relief. H4-1: Stress relief has a positive effect on life satisfaction.

Literature Reviews Long-term effect of attachment with applications on consumer QoL through selfefficacy - Emotional states influence a sense of I can. (Bandura 1997).

7 Literature Reviews Long-term effect of attachment with applications on consumer QoL through selfefficacy - Emotional states influence a sense of I can. (Bandura 1997). - The positive emotions can increase perceived self-efficacy by generating agency thinking and belief that one will reach a goal through use of generated pathways (Cheavensand Ritschel2008; Snyder et al. 1994). - A sense of control over our own circumstances, thoughts, and feelings, which are important components of self-efficacy, is essential for people s well-being (Maddux 2009). - Broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson 2001): positive emotion broadens people s novel thoughtaction repertoires and builds enduring psychological resources, which in turn trigger upward spirals toward enhanced fulfillment. H3-2: Attachment with applications has a positive effect on self-efficacy. H4-2: Self-efficacy has a positive effect on life satisfaction.

8 ResearchMethods Participants - college students and full-time employees in South Korea participants (after removing 35 unusable samples) -demographics: male (60.2%), female ( 39.8%) / age range: from 18 to 59 years. Survey -Three types of applications (SNS and messenger, entertainment, education and information) Analysis - SPSS for basic analysis - Structural Equation Modeling for hypothesis test

9 Measurements Constructs Measurements References I would be sad if I can no longer use this app. Attachment with I would feel down if this app disappears. Smartphone App I would be upset if this app stops its service. Thomson (2006) I would be sad if I can no longer use a smartphone. Attachment with I would be upset if my smartphone was permanently gone from my life. smartphone I would panic if I lose my smartphone. Thomson (2006) Brand supportive I am willing to recommend this app to others. Zeithaml, Berry, and behaviour I will speak positively of this app to others. Parasuraman (1996) for smartphone App I will continue to use this app even if a competing company releases a similar one. I am willing to recommend this app s parent company to others. Parent brand supportive I will speak positively of the parent brand of this app to others. Zeithaml, Berry, and behaviour I am willing to use other apps from this app s parent company over those from competing companies. Parasuraman (1996) for smartphone App I am willing to support this app s parent company over the internet by leaving positive comments on it. Using this app helps me deal with the feelings of irritation or anger. Stress relief Using this app helps me deal with nervousness and stress. Using this app helps me deal with the feelings of discomfort and fear. Cohen et al. (1983) I am confident that I can deal efficiently with an unexpected event. Self-efficacy It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals. If someone opposes me, I can find the means and ways to get what I want. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough. Bandura (1977) If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing. Life-satisfaction I am satisfied with my life. Diener et al. (1985)

10 Validity and Reliability EFA Constructs Cronbach's α Factor loading Attachment with application Attachment with smartphone Brand supportive behaviour Parent brand supportive behaviour Stress relief Self-efficacy Life-satisfaction

11 Results of SEM Attachment with application.205*.422* (H3).487* (H2).539* (H1) Self-efficacy Stress relief Attachment with smartphone Parent brand supportive behavior.176*.427* (H4) Life-satisfaction Brand performance Consumer s quality of life CMIN/DF = 3.239, CFI=.944, NFI=.921 IFI=.944, TLI=.931, RMSEA=.070.

12 Summary of Results Path Estimate S.E. C.R. P H1: APP_attachment Brand supportive behavior *** H2: APP_attachment Smartphone attachment *** H3: APP_attachment Stress relief *** APP_attachment Self-efficacy *** H4: Stress relief Life-satisfaction *** Self-efficacy Life-satisfaction ***

13 Exploring both positive and negative effect of smartphone attachment Under review in JMR (+) (+) - ( ) 13

14 Discussions Positive consequences of attachment with applications on brand performance and quality of life. - Brand performance: Attachment with application leads to parent brand supportive behaviour and smartphone attachment. -Quality of life : Attachment with smartphone, life-satisfaction through stress relief (short-term) and self-efficacy (long-term)

15 Contributions Academic Contributions Build a more comprehensive model explaining the positive consequences of attachment with applications on brand performance and quality of life. Bringing to mobile studies psychological theories and perspectives (broaden-and-build theory) Showing attachment with applications positively affects the quality of life through both long-lasting and temporal psychological effects. Managerial Implications Smartphone brands such as Apple, Samsung, and others may consider developing specialized Apps for their own smartphone products. Suggesting that developing specialized powerful Apps can be the key to success for smartphone brands. Because consumers who feel attached to an App are likely to evaluate positively other Apps of same developer, the developer is advantageous when launching new Apps.

16 Limitations & Future Research Research method Using the experimental method or the qualitative research method: such as in-depth interview will help further studies understand how attachment with application -influences consumers quality of life more deeply. Negative effects of attachment Finding unintentional negative consequences of attachment with applications : escapism Moderating role of positive effect on self-efficacy Hope and fantasy Antecedents of attachment : 3Es benefits Finding other antecedents that lead consumers to build attachment with applications will add more richness to existing literatures (Park et al. 2010)

17 References Aaker, J., Fournier, S. and Brasel, A. (2004) When good brands do bad, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 31, Bandura, Albert (2002), Social Foundations of Thought and Action in The Health Psychology Reader, David Marks, eds. London: Sage, Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary(1995), "The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation," Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), Diener, Ed, Robert Emmons, Randy Larsen, and Sharon Griffin (1985), The Satisfaction with Life Scale, Journal of Personality Assessment, 49 (1), Fedorikhin, Alexander, C. W. Park, and Matthew Thomson (2008), Beyond Fit and Attitude: The Effect of Emotional Attachment on Consumer Responses to Brand Extensions, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 18 (4), Epley, Nichoias, Scott Akalis, Adam Waytz, and John T. Cacioppo (2008), "Creating Social Connection through Inferential Reproduction: Loneliness and Perceived Agency in Gadgets, Gods, and Greyhounds," Psychological Science, 19(2), Hall, Edward T. (1976), Beyond Culture, Anchor Books. Henrich, Joseph, Steven J. Heine, and Norenzayan Ara (2010), The Weirdest People in the World? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, Hofstede, G. (1990) Cultures and organization: Software of the mind, McGraw-Hill, London. Kim, Chung. K., Mina Jun, Jeongsoo Han, J., Miyea Kim, and Joshua Y. Kim (2013), Antecedents and Outcomes of Attachment toward Smartphone Applications, International Journal of Mobile Communications, 11(4), Kim, Hyunji, Ulrich Schimmack, and Shigehiro Oishi (2012), Cultural Differences in Self- and Other-Evaluations and Well-Being: A Study of European and Asian Canadians, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102 (4), Oishi, Shigehiro, Ed Diener, Dong-Won Choi, and Chu Kim-Prieto (2007), The Dynamics of Daily Events and Well-being Across Cultures: When Less is More, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(4), Park, C. Whan, MacInnis Maclnnis, Joseph Priester, Andreas Eisingerich, and Dawn Iacobucci (2010), Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers, Journal of Marketing, 74 (November), Malär, Lucia, Harley Krohmer, Wayne Hoyer, and Bettina Nyffenegger (2011). Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self, Journal of Marketing, 75(July), Thomson, Matthew, Deborah MacInnis, and C. Whan Park (2005), The Ties that Bind: Measuring the Strength of Consumers Emotional Attachments to Brands, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15 (1), Thomson, Matthew (2006), Human Brands: Investigating Antecedents to Consumers' Strong Attachments to Celebrities, Journal of Marketing, 70 (3), Rice and Steele (2004) subjective well-being and culture across time and space, Journal of Cross cultural psychology, 35, Ryan, Richard M. and Edward L. Deci(2000), "Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social-Development and Well-Being," American Psychologist, 55(1),

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