Resistance to e-magazine adoption by mobile phone users: A South African consumer study
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Date
2019
Authors
Kok, Joelene
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
In recent years, the publishing industry has experienced competition from social media,
online publications and the proliferation of free information on the Internet. As a result digital
publishing started to grow during the 2000s and an e-magazine evolved as a digital replica
of a printed magazine. Even though e-magazines became available to the consumer to be
read on electronic devices including mobile phones; consumers continued to demonstrate
a preference for the physical or printed copy of a magazine, and showed reluctance to
explore the digital version. The aim of this study was to identify factors that influence South
African consumers’ resistance to the adoption of e-magazines on mobile phones. A
conceptual model was developed to study resistance behaviour in the adoption of emagazines
on mobile phones. The conceptual model consisted of the following constructs:
inertia, usage barrier, value barrier, risk barrier, tradition barrier, image barrier, attitude,
postponement, opposition and rejection. The research design of this study was quantitative and of a cross-sectional nature due to
the data being gathered from a large sample at a particular time. Due to convenience and
for time-saving purposes, convenience sampling was done by means of the distribution of
self-completion questionnaires to a sample size of 358 respondents that represented the
population of magazine readers in South Africa. Primary data was collected through the
distribution of the digital self-completion questionnaires to registered students at the
Business School of the University of the Free State with the permission of the director; as
well as on Facebook and LinkedIn groups. The questions in the questionnaire were kept
to a minimum in order to mitigate the risk of loss of work time by allowing for completion
within 20 minutes. IBM SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 3.2.8 software was used
to analyse the collected data. The main findings of the study were as follows. Mobile phone users’ inertia has a positive
influence on all five barriers: usage barrier, value barrier, risk barrier, tradition barrier and
image barrier. The following three barriers had a negative influence on mobile phone users’
attitude towards e-magazines: usage barrier, value barrier and image barrier. The risk
barrier and the tradition barrier did not influence mobile phone users’ attitude towards emagazines.
From the results it became evident that inertia did not have a direct influence on mobile phone users’ attitude towards e-magazines, when controlling for the influences of the five innovation resistance barriers. In turn, mobile phone users’ attitude towards emagazines
had a negative influence on two of the three types of resistance behaviour:
opposition and rejection. Mobile phone users’ attitude towards the adoption of e-magazines
proved not to influence postponement negatively, but that the influence was positive. Mobile
phone users’ attitude towards the adoption of e-magazines thus enhanced mobile phone
users’ adoption postponement. In conclusion, the study provided managers and magazine publishers with
recommendations on how to eliminate factors that contribute towards the resistance of emagazine
adoption on mobile phones. Recommendations were also given to promote the
adoption of the digital product, an e-magazine, amongst South African consumers.
Description
Dissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2019
Keywords
e-magazine, printed magazine, status quo, inertia, barrier, attitude, resistance, postponement, opposition, rejection