Users' Status Quo Bias in the Mobile Application Context : From the Myopic Loss Aversion Perspective

Purpose While individuals have unique abilities for planned behavior, they also often act irrationally. In this study, we draw on myopic loss aversion perspective as a meta-theoretical lens to explain why mobile applications users have inertia from updating their applications, ultimately leading them to use current version of applications. Design/methodology/approach Based on a survey of 219 users, this study conducts its research model using partial least square analysis and also demonstrates that both subconscious triggers (habit and anxiety) of system 1 thinking and conscious triggers (sunk cost and transition cost) of system 2 thinking promotes user's inertia, thus leading to the willness to continue use current versions. Findings By grounding the research model in the combination of both status quo bias and dual information processing theory from the behavioral economics, this study provide an alternative theoretical lens to describe why mobile users hesitate to update their applications. The results of this research show that all triggers have significant impacts on inertia. This study also found that the relationship between inertia and willingness to continue to use current version was positively significant.