What make people getting charged apps instead of free one?

Abstract

In recent year, mobile devices have become an indispensable product in our daily life. Extensive amount of mobile applications (Apps) have been developed and used on these devices. Restated, in terms of the Apps future development and popularization, to understand why people have willingness to pay for use certain Apps has apparently became an important issue. However, there are various homogeneity Apps, which people can easily find some free succedaneum for use. Consequently, it would be an interesting issue to realize individual`s intention to pay for use the Apps. In this study, the authors conducted a survey in Taiwan to realize individuals` willingness to pay for Cloud Storage Service (CSS), since CSS is one of the frequently adopted App for most mobile device users. The results show that both the perceived service quality and conformity positively affect the perceived value and then increases the user`s willingness to pay indirectly. In addition, the findings also support that the users` product knowledge about CSS produce negative moderating effects on the perceived value and the willingness of pay.