Exploring the antecedents of mobile payment service usage. Perspectives based on cost–benefit theory, perceived value, and social influences
| Date | 01 January 2020 |
| Pages | 299-318 |
| Published date | 01 January 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-05-2018-0175 |
| Author | Kuan-Yu Lin,Yi-Ting Wang,Travis K. Huang |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Exploring the antecedents of
mobile payment service usage
Perspectives based on cost–benefit theory,
perceived value, and social influences
Kuan-Yu Lin
Department of Information Technology,
Ling Tung University, Taichung, Taiwan
Yi-Ting Wang
Department of Applied Foreign Languages,
Ling Tung University, Taichung, Taiwan, and
Travis K. Huang
Department of Information Management,
Ling Tung University, Taichung, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose –The number of smartphone users has increased with the maturity of mobile networks, which has
not only led to a new lifestyle but has also facilitated the development of mobile application services.
Smartphones are regarded as essential communication devices. Currently, diverse groups of people are
considering using mobile payment services. Thus, the motives for using mobile payment as well as individual
motives for continuing usage are of great research interest. The purpose of this paper is to examine the
behavioral motivations underlying individual intentions to continue using mobile payment.
Design/methodology/approach –To explore the factors affecting the intention to use mobile payment
services, this study constructed a theoretical framework based on cost-benefit theory that also considers
social influences to form an integrated research model that explains the intentions of individuals to use mobile
payment services. Online questionnaires were used to evaluate individuals with experience using
mobile payment services. A total of 302 questionnaires were collected. Structural equation modeling was
employed to assess the relationships among factors included in the research model.
Findings –Perceived value, social norms and social self-image played crucial roles in the intention to use
mobile payment services. Furthermore, perceived benefits (relative advantage and service compatibility) and
perceived costs (security risks and perceived fees) determined users’perceived value. Social self-image
positively affected users’perceived value; in the context of a mobile-oriented information system, the abilityof
a mobile payment service to satisfy a user’s demands with respect to social self-image influenced the user’s
perceived value of using such services.
Originality/value –This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’
intention to use mobile payment services.
Keywords Perceived value, Mobile payment, Cost-benefit theory, Social influences
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Smartphones and fully developed mobile networks have not only introduced new lifestyles
centered on mobile devices but also boosted the development of other mobile services such
as mobile payment. Smartphones are crucial to daily communication (Koo et al., 2015).
People have expressed growing interest in mobile payment (MIC, 2018), which enables
consumers to use a mobile device (such as a smartphone) to send non-cash financial
instruments through a specific transfer technology, device or network coupled with
verification processes (e.g. wireless application protocol, unstructured supplementary
service data, short messaging services and general packet radio service). After the
transaction has been completed, goods or services can be obtained at a brick-and-mortar
Online Information Review
Vol. 44 No. 1, 2020
pp. 299-318
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-05-2018-0175
Received 20 May 2018
Revised 30 March 2019
Accepted 19 November 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1468-4527.htm
299
Antecedents of
mobile
payment
service usage
location (Oliveira et al., 2016). The payment is completed using mobile devices. In the
absence of cash, checks or credit cards, consumers can use mobile devices to pay digitally
for goods and services acquired at brick-and-mortar locations (Cao et al., 2018). According to
a Statistia (2018) survey, there were 721m mobile payment users worldwide in 2017, and this
number is expected to reach 1,115m in 2021. Mobile payment revenue is predicted to
increase from $450bn (2015) to $780bn in 2017 and to $1,080bn in 2019. Both the number of
users and the market size have increased annually. Nielsen (2014) discovered that mobile
payment users most commonly used payment service applications for dining (49 percent),
entertainment (43 percent), shopping (39 percent), bill payment (36 percent), traffic
(36 percent) and leasing (19 percent). Approximately 40 percent of users expressed the
intention to use mobile payment as their primary form of consumption thereafter. The use of
mobile payment services has attracted public attention, and the market for mobile payment
services is potentially lucrative. Understanding the factors that promote the use of mobile
payment services is essential to the providers of mobile payment services. This study
examined the factors that affect user acceptance of mobile payment services.
According to cost-benefit theory, when adopting an information system, users consider
the effort or financial expenditure required in addition to the benefits of the system
(Hernandez-Ortega et al., 2017). After comparing the costs and benefits, users can perceive
value, which further affects their intention to use the information system (Kim et al., 2007;
Lin and Lu, 2015). Zeithaml (1988) defined perceived value as an assessment of the total
effects of a product or service on consumers who have decided to purchase the product or
service after evaluating its costs and benefits. Therefore, perceived value is specific to the
product or service (Cocosila and Igonor, 2015; Zeithaml, 1988). The analysis of product and
service attributes (both positive and negative) leads to a clearer understanding of the
formation of consumer-perceived value (Kim et al., 2007; Lu et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2016).
This study regards mobile payment as having both positive and negative characteristics.
Positive characteristics include convenience in terms of time and accessibility; compared
with offline payments (e.g. using cash or credit cards), users can quickly pay and provide
purchase information records with smartphones. Additionally, mobile payment
demonstrates service compatibility, meaning that users can interact with one another in
the same manner as they would when utilizing offline payment services. Regarding negative
characteristics, Tan et al. (2014) stated that the perceived cost of using mobile payment
services includes both currency and non-monetary costs. Scholars (Lu et al., 2011; Tan et al.,
2014) have noted that when using mobile payment services, the monetary costs that users
incur include access and transaction fees, and the non-monetary costs include perceived
risks, such as those to personal information, privacy and security. This study suggests that
the attributes of these mobile payment services are related to the framework proposed by
Rogers (1995) for perceived characteristics of innovation, which includes relative advantage,
compatibility and complexity. This study investigated the service attributes of mobile value
based on perceived innovation characteristics.
Social influences are among the key factors affecting the behaviors of information
technology (IT) users (Arrieta et al., 2019; Baptista and Oliveira, 2015; Hsu and Lu, 2004;
Lin and Lu, 2015; Oliveira et al., 2016; Venkatesh et al., 2003). Proposed theories posit that
social influences are crucial to determining the behavioral intentions of individuals. For
example, the theory of reasoned action contends that an individual’s behavioral intentions
are affected by social norms and attitude (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Research related to
information systems (Hsu and Lu, 2004; Lee, 2009; Lu and Lee, 2010; Yang et al., 2012) has
also demonstrated that the intention to use IT is affected by social norms. By adopting the
perspective of innovation diffusion to study mobile payment services, Liébana-Cabanillas
et al. (2014) discovered that in addition to personal decision patterns and technology
features, social influences (e.g. social self-image) affect an individual’s decision to use IT.
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