From past to future: exploring two decades of branded apps
| Date | 28 November 2024 |
| Pages | 61-83 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2023-4726 |
| Published date | 28 November 2024 |
| Author | Shiva Sadat Mostafavi,Alexis Mavrommatis |
From past to future: exploring two decades of
branded apps
Shiva Sadat Mostafavi and Alexis Mavrommatis
Department of Marketing, Esade Business School –Sant Cugat Campus, Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to offer an integrated framework for branded apps (BAs) that highlights research gaps and points to areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach –Using a systematic literature review approach, the authors analyzed more than 100 articles published between
2009 and the present. This research used databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, EBSCO and Elsevier’s Science Direct, with a partic ular focus on
articles listed in the 2021 ABS index. The reviewed papers were coded and organized into four categories in terms of themes and concepts:
antecedents, mechanisms, outcomes and moderators.
Findings –The study identified four types of antecedents (app benefits, personal traits, brand benefits and others) that influence outcomes via
cognitive, affective and a mix of both mechanisms, which is termed multipaths. The authors classified outcomes into five areas (financial gains; app
benefits; brand benefits; customer benefits; and others). Moderators were grouped into four types (customer individuality; app features;brand
characteristics; and others). The authors concluded by recommending promising directions for future research. Specificall y, the authors suggested an
inverted U-shaped relationship between escapism and customer responses to BAs.
Originality/value –This paper focused exclusively on BAs, differentiating them from other mobile apps. The authors integrated nearly 1001
studies conducted over two decades. This integrated model serves as a guiding tool for understanding the past, present and future of BAs.
Keywords Branded apps, Escapism, Conceptual model, PRISMA process, Systematic literature review
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
The use of mobile devices and the number of available apps
have increased considerably.In 2026, it is projected that people
will download 143 billion mobile apps from the Google Play
Store, along with approximately38 billion downloads from the
Apple App Store. Compared with 2021, this is a 15% increase
for the former and a 30% increasefor the latter (Sensor Tower,
TechCrunch, 2022). Mobile apps have become a crucial
revenue stream for retailers (Gu and Kannan, 2021),
prompting brands to invest heavily in developing their own
mobile applications,often referred to as branded apps (BAs).
Bellman et al. (2011) describes BAs as mobile software that
prominently features a brand’s identity,including its name and
logo, throughout the user experience. Adding further clarity
and specificity, Mondal and Chakrabarti (2019) recently
described BAs as designed to extend a brand’s identity and
support its marketing goals; they detailed potential goals for
BAs, including “showcasing products or services, promoting
the brand through advertising, offering consumerservices, and
conducting consumerresearch.”
It is crucial to acknowledge that while all BAs are mobile
apps, the reverseis not true. Mobile apps can be eitherbranded
or nonbranded.Non-BAs, such as revenue-generatingapps, are
typically developed by third parties, caterto abroader audience
and are not necessarily associated with any specificbrand
(Tang, 2019).The distinction betweenBAs and non-BAs lies in
their branding, purpose and target audience. BAs are
customizedfor customers of a brand (Son et al.,2020), whereas
non-BAsaddress a more diverse set of needsand interests.
Firms use BAs to support their businesses. Research has
shown that BA adoption positively influences net annual
revenue (e.g. Gill et al.,2017), purchase intentions and brand
spending (e.g. van Heerdeet al., 2019), although it may reduce
total spending in highly competitivemarkets (Gu and Kannan,
2021). BAs foster engagement with other brand platforms,
such as brand websites, and enhance app loyalty, customer
satisfaction and word-of-mouth (WOM) (Arya et al.,2019).
Despite the potential benefits, firms face challenges in
maintaining customerinterest and loyalty in their BAs, as users
often spend little time using them (Darvasi et al.,2024;Li and
Fang, 2019). Thus, to developthe most effective BA strategy, it
is crucial for brands to have a deep understanding of BAs and
the characteristics that set them apart from other mobile apps.
However, existing reviews, such as those by Stocchi et al.
(2022),Tang (2019), have focused on all mobile apps (both
branded and nonbranded), thus, overlooking a detailed
analysis of the distinctive technical, design and brand-related
aspects of BAs. To address this gap, we focus on BAs,
highlighting their significant role as a “brand in the hand”
(Rohm et al.,2012). Moreover, unlike Stocchi et al. (2018),
who categorized the literature into the pre- and postadaptation
The current issue and full text archiveof this journal is available on Emerald
Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
34/1 (2025) 61–83
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-09-2023-4726]
Received 19 September2023
Revised 10 June 2024
31 August 2024
31 October 2024
Accepted 6 November 2024
61
stages of mobile apps, our approach comprehensivelyanalyzes
variables in various studies and conceptual stages, irrespective
of timing in the adaptation of the BA; this delineates the direct
and indirect effects of BAs on consumer behavior and clarifies
the mediating and moderating factors that influence these
effects. By using this framework,the research provides a clearer
mapping of causal pathways andadetailed examinationof how
variables interact.
This paper reviews the researchonBAs and uncovers trends,
perspectives and novel themes within a conceptual framework
that organizes the reviewed studies in a clear, coherent and
practical manner, highlighting their respective contributions
(Schmeisser, 2013). Second, an integrated model of BAs is
developed that helps researcherstest variables in various
scenarios and enables practitionersto use BAs more effectively.
While Mondal and Chakrabarti (2019) reviewed the existing
BA literature, their primarygoal was to summarize BA research
rather than develop an integrated model of BAs (including the
antecedents, mechanisms, outcomes and moderators) or
propose detailedresearch ideas for each stage of the model.
In terms of structure, we begin with the systematic literature
review method and data collection process. We then synthesize
the research across conceptual stages, suggesting future
research and presenting our proposition on escapism. We
conclude with keytheoretical and managerial contributions.
Methodology
Using a systematic literature review –a respected academic
method often used in top-tier journals –facilitates transparent
and repeatable processes and is more effective than traditional
narrative and bibliometric reviews are (Parris and Guzman,
2023). This method provides a detailed summary of evidence,
highlights gaps in the current knowledge and lays a foundation
for future studies (Hulland and Houston, 2020). We use the
PRSIMA process, which is a standard method for conducting
systematic reviews (Liberati et al., 2009). Since no papers on
BAs were found before 2009 and since Friedrich et al. (2009)
first introduced the concept in 2009 as a “branded mobile
portal,”the search focused on articlespublished between 2009
and mid-2024. The search was performed in seven leading
academic databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science, EBSCO,
Elsevier’s Science Direct,SAGE Journals and the Wiley Online
Library. We searched the following keywordsin each database:
“branded mobile phone application,”“branded mobile
application,”“brand’s mobile phone application,”“branded
app,”“branded application,”“branded smartphone app,”
“branded mobile app,”“mobile app for brand,”“brand’s
mobile app,”“brand’sapp
,”“brand app,”“mobile branded
app,”“retailer’sapp
,”“retailer app,”“retailer’s mobile
application,”“retailer’s mobile app,”“branded mobile
phone app,”“retailer’s m-commerce application,”“retailer
branded app,”“retailer branded mobile app,”“branded
retailer’sapp
,”“branded retailer app,”“brand’s mobile
application,”“brand application”and “branded service app”
in the title, abstract and keyword sections of the manuscripts.
Our selection is consistent with priorresearch, such as that of
Mondal and Chakrabarti (2019), and includes synonyms for
BAs found in the recent literature to determine the number of
available papers, which were then filtered using exclusion
criteria. We also consideredrelevant keywords related to BAs in
retail and services. This search identified 894 publications. We
subsequently excluded duplicates; publications not in English;
and those from disciplines other than business, management,
accounting or computer science. To maintain quality and
consistency, we also excluded conference papers, books, book
chapters, doctoral dissertations and any articles not published
in peer-reviewed international journals, resulting in 417
remaining papers(Newman et al.,2019).
At this stage, to achieve our goal of reviewing both
conceptual and empirical research with strong methodological
and theoretical standards, we sought publications from leading
business journals (Leonidou et al.,2020). We included only
journals ranked 1 or higher in the 2021 Association of Business
Schools Academic Journal Quality Guide (ABS, 2021). We
meticulously reviewed and analyzed the abstracts, and when
necessary, the full texts, of the remaining 272 papers to assess
their relevance to BAs. This processled to the exclusion of 156
articles because of a lack of relevance. For retail apps
specifically, only thosepapers where the authors clearly defined
and provided examples aligned with the definitionof BAs were
included, and studies with a narrower focus (such as location-
based retail apps) were excluded. To ensure accuracy, we
reviewed the references of the selected papers but did not find
any other relevant studies. The final set for in-depth review
consisted of 101 papers that met all the inclusion criteria.
Figure 1 providesanoutlineof the selection process.
Results
In the next step, we engaged in a bottom-up inductive coding
method to explore the antecedents, mechanisms, outcomes,
moderators and theories discussed in the BA literature. This
process was carried out independently by two trained
researchers. To strengthen the reliability of their findings, the
coders convened to compare and discuss their categorizations.
The intercoder agreement was measured at 83%, and Cohen’s
kappa was calculated at 0.65, suggesting substantialagreement
(Landis and Koch, 1977). Any disagreements were resolved
through discussion. Following Schmeisser (2013) and Rojas-
M
endez and Khoshnevis (2023), we categorized the existing
BA literature using a four-stageconceptual model: antecedents,
mechanisms, outcomes and moderators. This framework
combines various constructs from earlier studies, connecting
independent and dependent variables, mediators and
moderators for different types of consumption. It is important
to note that few studies have used certain conceptsat different
conceptual stages, depending on the research questionand the
objective of the study. This approach simplifies the diverse
theoretical foundationsand offers a broad roadmap for research
and practical applications, as it enables the organization of the
contributions from the reviewed studies in a comprehensible,
coherent and pragmaticmanner (see Figure 2).
Consideringthe broader picture, the antecedent stage includes
key independent variables in the BA literature. The mechanism
stage examines the mediators, explaining how the antecedents
impact the final behavioral, brand-related and monetary
outcomes. The outcome stage includes dependent variables,
whereas the moderator stage, adapted from prior literature,
either weakens or strengthens the observed main effects.
Exploring two decades of branded apps
Shiva Sadat Mostafavi and Alexis Mavrommatis
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 34 · Number 1 · 2025 · 61–83
62
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