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Introduction
With the rapid growth of mobile communication technologies, mobile apps are embedded in consumers’ daily lives (Kim et al., 2013). Branded mobile apps – the latest brand communication channel – present brand identities, create brand experiences and facilitate consumer engagement with brands (Bellman et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2013). One of the most important functions of branded mobile apps is personalization (Morosan and DeFranco, 2015). Personalization enables consumers to access customized information more efficiently any time (Nyheim et al., 2015). From a company’s perspective, personalization provides a way to build strong consumer relationships (Nyheim et al., 2015). A branded mobile app downloadable to a mobile device is created and distributed by the company carrying its brand for displaying a brand identity (Bellman et al., 2011).
In the food service industry, Starbucks might be the leading company actively using branded mobile apps in its marketing activities. They endeavor to create a more personalized service experience for their consumers and have attracted nearly 17 million mobile app users (Perez, 2016). Starbucks branded mobile apps enable consumers to find product and store information, manage their membership, communicate, order and pay (Perez, 2016). Consumers at coffee shops expect speedy service (e.g. ordering, payments and pick-ups); when a coffee shop has a branded mobile app, they are able to deliver service more quickly (Schneider, 2015). Mobile apps have shortened consumer queues and helped increase the efficiency of store operations (Hospitality technology, 2016).
However, personalization presents marketers with challenges as well as opportunities. Because personalization involves the collection and use of various types of personal information it is inevitably associated potential risks, such as privacy concerns (Morosan and DeFranco, 2015). Consumers who perceive privacy risks hesitate to register with mobile apps and refuse to provide personal information to firms. This threat to consumers’ privacy undermines a company’s marketing performance (Wirtz et al., 2007). Therefore, marketers in the hospitality industry should manage consumers’ perceived benefits and risks and make them download and navigate their mobile apps. This research investigated consumer behavior in the context of personalization of branded mobile apps by applying the technology acceptance model (TAM). To date, research on mobile app marketing has applied TAM, theory of planned behavior, theory of...