Linking self-congruence and functional congruence to mobile health apps

Purpose Consumers often start using mobile health apps but quit using them after a brief period of time. However, app providers can only ensure their long-term existence in the market if their app is used a long period, so that they can thus generate long-term revenue from advertising, subscriptions and sponsorships. Therefore, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the determinants of consumers' continuous usage intention. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 274 current mobile health app users, this study tests whether ideal self-congruence and/or functional congruence strengthens consumers' continuous usage intention. Findings The results reveal that ideal self-congruence and functional congruence positively affect consumers' continuous usage intention. Furthermore, an initial favorable attitude toward a mobile health app (i.e. ideal self-congruence) leads to a more favorable evaluation of the functional attributes of the app regardless of consumers' objective evaluation of these attributes. Practical implications Providers should specifically take consumers' ideal self-concept into consideration to increase consumers' continuous usage intention of mobile health apps. Matching consumers' ideal self-concept further leads consumers to a more favorable evaluation of the functional attributes of mobile health apps. Originality/value Only a few studies have examined factors influencing the continuous usage intention of mobile health apps; moreover, these studies have largely neglected the symbolic dimension of consumption behavior. Therefore, this study introduces congruence theory into the context of mobile health apps to provide a holistic view of the influence of the symbolic (i.e. ideal self-congruence) and utilitarian (i.e. functional congruence) dimensions on mobile health app consumption.