The Future of Mobile Commerce Application in a Post Pandemic Period; An Integrative Model of UTAUT2

Abstract

The massive adoption of mobile commerce during the COVID-19 period has become the only way for consumers to sustain their consumption. However, as we enter the endemic phase, the continuity of this modern shopping mode is still questionable, whether consumers continue to use it or discontinue it. To address this issue, we integrate the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to empirically predict the antecedents of consumers' continuous usage of m-commerce in a post COVID-19 setting. Through an online survey, primary data was collected from 202 consumers in Indonesia who had at least twice purchased via an m-commerce application in the last six months. The data was then analyzed using a variance-based structural equation modeling technique (SEM-PLS). The results showed that all nine identified constructs from UTAUT2 (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, habit) and SDT (autonomy, competence, relatedness) had a positive and significant impact on the continuous usage intention of m-commerce among Indonesian users and affirm prior research findings as well. Furthermore, habit was found to be the strongest predictor of influencing consumer behavior towards m-commerce applications. This finding provides further enrichment to the theory based on the integrated UTAUT2 and SDT models. Practically, the current results are essential to marketing strategies as they add novel insights pertaining to consumers' expenditure through m-commerce apps during post-COVID-19 in emerging markets.