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Understanding People's Switching Intentions of Health Apps from Exterior and Interior Drivers

Switching costs are subjective, emotional, and difficult to assess (Weiss and
Anderson, 1992). Past studies have showed that consumers estimate the benefits when
they intend to change suppliers. If consumers think that the cost is higher than the benefit

they will receive, they will not change (Jones et al., 2000). Therefore, the ultimate effect of
switching costs is to encourage customers to maintain relationships with current suppliers.
Hu and Hwang (2006) point out that the increase of the procedural switching cost and the

relationship of switching cost significantly reduce the willingness to switch in their study
of the mobile communication industry. In addition, Burnham et al., (2003) learn that the
higher the switching cost perceived by consumers, the higher the willingness to continue
to cooperate with the original supplier in the credit card and long-distance communication
industries. Considering the relationship between switching cost and intention, we propose

that:
Hypothesis 4 (H4): Procedural switching costs have a negative effect on the intention
to switch to other health apps.

Habits affect continuous use behavior when using health apps. When users’ behaviors
turn into automatic responses and actions, they demonstrate cognitive economics and
performance efficiency (Limayem, Hirt, and Cheung, 2007; Limayem and Cheung, 2011).
Users rely more on habits than on using external information for strategic use (Gefen,

2003). Colgate and Danaher (2000) point out that habitual behavior is the foundation of
human nature. As customers get used to specific things, there is no strong motivation to
find alternatives; that is, habits are developed in response to a person’s past, leading to an

automatic behavioral tendency. Since high-relational habit is a form of intuitive thinking,
when consumer behavior does not require much thinking, the willingness to switch may be
weakened. Accordingly, we propose the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 5 (H5): Habits negatively influence the intention to switch to other health
apps.

Since the effects of switching costs on switching intentions have been studied
extensively, this study explores the moderating effect of the switching cost between

dissatisfaction and switching intentions. A past study shows that consumers that are

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