User continuance of a green behavior mobile application in China: An empirical study of Ant Forest

Abstract

Abstract In China, a new green behavior mobile application named Ant Forest was lunched, in which users can plant trees to protect the environment. Ant Forest offers an information technology based way that enables people to engage in green behavior. The application has attracted a large number of users, and millions of trees have been planted. However, the users' participation in this new kind of green behavior has been rarely studied in current literature. To fill this gap, we built a research model to study antecedents of user's continue intention to use Ant Forest. Survey data were collected from Ant Forest users and 278 valid questionnaires were received. Partial least squares path modeling method was used to analyze the data. Results show that satisfaction influence users' intention to continue using Ant Forest. Environmental concern, perceived enjoyment, and game interaction have positive influence on satisfaction, while perceived cost has negative influence on satisfaction. This paper contributes to researchers' understanding of green and low-carbon behaviors. In addition, suggestions on promoting new forms of green and low-carbon behavior were proposed for policy makers, and management suggestions on how to promote Ant Forest were also proposed which may benefit Ant Forest managers.