轻量化视角下微信小程序持续使用研究

A research on the continuous usage of WeChat applets from the lightweight perspective

以微信小程序为代表的轻量应用一定程度上改变了企业与用户之间的互动方式,如何提高"用户留存"已经成为企业进行社交媒体营销所面临的重要问题。在社交媒体情境下,小程序具有哪些特征、这些特征是否以及如何影响用户的持续使用意愿,并未得到理论界的足够重视。本研究从轻量化视角深入分析,基于信息系统成功模型与情绪理论构建了小程序轻量化特征影响用户持续使用意愿的理论模型。研究表明:信息-任务匹配、系统易用性以及服务响应性正向影响用户持续使用意愿;信息-任务匹配、服务响应性分别对用户积极情绪和流体验有促进作用,系统易用性正向影响用户流体验而对积极情绪的影响不显著;积极情绪分别在信息-任务匹配、服务响应性与用户持续使用意愿之间起到完全中介作用,流体验则完全中介了小程序轻量化特征与持续使用意愿之间的关系。研究构筑了"轻量化特征-情绪反应-行为意愿"完整的传导机制与影响路径,拓展了轻量应用持续使用、社交媒体用户情绪成因相关研究,结论对企业借助轻量应用进行社交媒体营销具有借鉴意义。

With the rise of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, a new marketing ecology is constantly being formed and focuses more on customer value and sustainable business capabilities. Under such situation, the lightweight applications represented by WeChat applets are changing the way companies interact with customers. Many companies are promoting their brand applets in order to build marketing ecology, such as Pinduoduo, Tongcheng-Elong, etc.. How to improve user′s continuance intention has become a key factor for the success of social media marketing. However, in the mobile social context, what lightweight features the applets have, whether and how these features affect the user′s continuance intention, will be the issues that this paper urgently needs to solve.The definition of lightweight originates from the field of automobile quality control, which refers to the process of improving the performance of automotive product through lightweight design, lightweight manufacturing and other processes while ensuring the basic performance. In this paper, lightweight is defined as the process of improving user experience and promoting user participation by optimizing information presentation, simplifying system functions, and improving service quality. Lightweight is also an important issue compared to overload in the field of social media marketing. In recent years, the information overload, communication overload, and social overload have caused a series of negative problems such as user burnout, inconsistent use, and technical stress. These issues have been the focus of research in information systems and social media marketing. However, applets can help users to complete convenient functional experiences. In other words, the lightweight features of applets may have a certain effect on user′s behavior and intention. This paper analyzes in depth from the perspective of lightweight, and puts forward the theoretical model based on the information system success model and theory of emotion. And the theoretical model describes how the lightweight features of WeChat applet(i.e., information lightweight feature, system lightweight feature, and service lightweight feature) affect users′ positive emotions, flow experience, and continuance intention.The empirical results reach the following conclusions. First, applet lightweight includes three dimensions: information lightweight, system lightweight, and service lightweight. Information lightweight emphasizes the task-oriented information judgment of users. System lightweight focuses on the technical features of the system featuring ease of use. Services lightweight emphasis on service characteristics characterized by responsiveness and response speed. Second, information-task fit, ease of system use and service responsiveness positively affects the users′ continuance intention. The information-task fit and service responsiveness positively affects the positive emotion and flow experience respectively, and the ease of use has a positive relation to the flow experience, but we don′t find evidence that it is related with the positive emotion. Third, positive emotion plays a completely mediating role between information-task fit and service responsiveness and the users′ continuance intention, and the flow experience completely mediates the relationship between lightweight and continuance intention.Our findings have theoretical significance and practical implications. Theoretically, our research provides empirical evidence that lightweight characteristics of the application affect users′ continuous usage. The information systems success model has been widely used in the research of government affairs and medical information systems. This paper takes the information system success model as the theoretical basis, which makes this theory empirically supported by lightweight application research in the context of social media. Previous social media marketing studies have explored the effects of advertising, product attributes, customer satisfaction, and service failure on user emotion. This paper analyzes the causes of users′ positive emotions from a lightweight perspective, and builds a complete transmission mechanism and influence path which describes how lightweight characteristics further affect users′ behavior and intention through emotional responses.The conclusions of this research have certain references for the social media marketing practice. First, in terms of lightweight information, companies or brands should pay attention to how marketing information is presented and provide their users with the appropriate amount, type, and form of information. While fully satisfying the needs of users, companies also need to reduce the recommendation of unnecessary information, and reduce negative emotions such as fatigue, burnout, and stress caused by users due to information overload, and make users get a more positive emotional experience.Second, companies should emphasize the usefulness, availability, and reliability of applet in terms of system lightweight practices.These companies should focus on accessibility and ease of use of applet as an information systems. It is much more convenient and less expensive for users to obtain applets than using mobile applications. So the companies should pay attention to the convenience and ease of use of the system to help users form a better experience.Third, companies or brands should improve the integrity and reliability of applet services in terms of service lightweight practices. The service providers ought to provide users with accurate and responsive service support and assistance. These companies must improve the user′s immersive experience through professional services and fast response, to avoid the negative emotions of users caused by the provision of unreliable services. Most importantly, companies can increase the lightweight of information, systems, and services to provide users with an efficient and convenient service experience to attract more users.Of course, there are some limitations in this study. First, this study only focuses on the continuance intention of WeChat applet users. In the future, further researchers can explore the influencing factors of users′ initial use intentions and the formation mechanism, and combine the two to fully explore the formation of applet users′ continuance intention. Secondly, although the proposed theoretical model can better explain the formation of applet user′s continuance intention, more studies are necessary to test the robustness of the model. The research can incorporate the lightweight applications of Alipay, Baidu, and other social medias into the research horizon to further test the validity of the model. Finally, this study mainly examines the emotional response mechanism formed by users′ continuance intention, and does not discuss other possible mediation processes. Future research can analyze from the aspects of perceived value and user habits, and can also examine the effects of user characteristics, social influences and other condition.