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Essays on Mobile Application Performance in the Market
Blekinge Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Economics.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7928-2607
2022 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The mobile application has experienced rapid growth since its emergence in 2008. The mobile app platform, as the two-sided market for mobile apps, enables app developers and app users to make transactions in it. In this competitive market, app developers face different factors that influence the success of apps. This dissertation deals with mobile app performance in the market and studies the determinants of mobile app performance from app users’ and app developers’ perspectives. 

This dissertation consists of four essays and an introductory part. Each essay is a separate study, but all of them aim to explore the factors that impact mobile app performance in the market. Essay I investigates the combinatory effects of ratings and reviews from app users on new mobile app downloads. Ratings and reviews have been found to have direct and interaction effects on mobile app downloads. Essay II analyzes the effects of different revenue model choices from app developers on app revenue performance in the market. The findings show that free downloads combined with in-app payments are a superior revenue model for gaming apps, but either charging for downloading or in-app purchases is better for productivity apps. Essay III discovers the diffusion pattern of new mobile apps in the market. The Bass model is used to test the diffusion parameters, and the logistic model and the Gompertz model are used to do the robustness check. The results show that the Bass model is the best-fitting model for mobile app data compared with the other two models, and newly launched mobile apps follow the S-curve diffusion pattern, and the early expansion of the mobile app should achieve in the first 35 weeks. Essay IV studies how the launch timing of new apps affects app downloads. The backward launch competition, cross-category launch competition, and release-date launch competition are factors that impact app downloads. For all four essays, the US Apple App Store data is adopted because the Apple App Store is one of the leading app stores worldwide. Different empirical analysis methods are applied in the four essays. Hedonic and utilitarian consumption values are considered in differentiating app types in all four essays. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Karlskrona: Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, 2022. , p. 191
Series
Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series, ISSN 1653-2090 ; 6
Keywords [en]
mobile applications, market performance, ratings and reviews, revenue models, diffusion
National Category
Economics and Business Other Computer and Information Science
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:bth-23658ISBN: 978-91-7295-443-4 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:bth-23658DiVA, id: diva2:1696256
Public defence
2022-10-27, J1630, Karlskrona, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2022-09-16 Created: 2022-09-16 Last updated: 2022-10-05Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. The combinatory role of online ratings and reviews in mobile app downloads: an empirical investigation of gaming and productivity apps from their initial app store launch
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The combinatory role of online ratings and reviews in mobile app downloads: an empirical investigation of gaming and productivity apps from their initial app store launch
2023 (English)In: Journal of Marketing Analytics, ISSN 2050-3318, E-ISSN 2050-3326, Vol. 11, no 3, p. 426-442Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Mobile app ratings and reviews are important due to their influence on consumer behavior and the financial consequences for app developers and app platform providers. This paper contributes to prior work by analyzing how rating and review information in combination impact mobile app downloads. To achieve these ends, we utilize daily panel data of 341 gaming (hedonic consumption value-oriented) and productivity (utilitarian consumption value-oriented) apps tracked for almost two years from their release in the Apple App Store. Hence, we contribute to how ratings and reviews matter for the larger majority of apps, whereas previous research has mainly focused on either ratings' or reviews' impact on app performance for top-ranked apps. Results of fixed-effects regression analysis reveal different combinatory impacts of text review information (polarity, subjectivity, and review length) and rating information (average rating score, volume of ratings, and dispersion of ratings) on gaming versus productivity app downloads. Important implications of the findings for app developers and platform providers, and for future research into online ratings and reviews, are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
Keywords
Ratings, Reviews, Utilitarian, Hedonic, Apps, Downloads
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-23169 (URN)10.1057/s41270-022-00171-w (DOI)000803882500001 ()2-s2.0-85131077854 (Scopus ID)
Note

open access

Available from: 2022-06-17 Created: 2022-06-17 Last updated: 2024-10-10Bibliographically approved
2. The Impact of App Revenue Model Choices for App Revenues: A Study of Apps Since Their Initial App Store Launch
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The Impact of App Revenue Model Choices for App Revenues: A Study of Apps Since Their Initial App Store Launch
2022 (English)In: Economic Analysis and Policy, ISSN 0313-5926, Vol. 76, p. 325-336Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

When launching a new app in one of the major app stores, the developer must decide how to generate revenues from that app. The decision includes whether to charge an upfront payment from the customer or make it free to download and whether to include in-app payments. In this study, we analysed the effect of these decisions on the amount of revenue an app generates and if it differs for gaming (hedonic value-orientation) and productivity (utilitarian value-orientation) apps. To analyse this effect, we used approximately two years of mobile app panel data from 330 newly launched US Apple App Store gaming and productivity apps. Based on random effects regression analysis, we report that free downloads combined with in-app payments are superior in revenue generation for gaming apps. By contrast, for productivity apps, relying only on either upfront payment for the app or on in-app payments generates the highest revenues. For gaming app developers, offering free to download apps is thus recommended. For productivity app developers, charging for either downloading or in-app features is more successful. This study complements existing literature by investigating revenue generation of new apps and the performance effect of specific revenue model options that developers must make in app store settings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Mobile app, Revenue model, App revenue, Apple’s App Store, New release app
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-23657 (URN)10.1016/j.eap.2022.08.010 (DOI)000863324500005 ()2-s2.0-85137308181 (Scopus ID)
Note

open access

Available from: 2022-09-16 Created: 2022-09-16 Last updated: 2023-01-18Bibliographically approved
3. Early Expansion of User-base for Mobile Applications: Evidence from US Apply App Store
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Early Expansion of User-base for Mobile Applications: Evidence from US Apply App Store
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Mobile apps have been growing drastically since their birth in 2008. Acquiring more app users as quickly as possible after the app is released in the app stores is one of the key rules for app developers to survive in this emerging and competitive digital market. This paper uses cumulative weekly downloading data from the US Apple App Store during a two-year period of 2015 and 2016 to study the early expansion curves and diffusion patterns of mobile apps in the app market. Downloading payment methods (free or paid to download an app) and hedonic or utilitarian value-orientated app types (games and productivity apps) are considered when we study the diffusion pattern of mobile apps. The Bass model is used as the baseline model, and the logistic model and Gompertz model are used to conduct a robustness check. Non-linear least square is the measurement to obtain parameters of diffusion models. The results show that the Bass model is the best-fitting model compared with the other two models, and the diffusion pattern of mobile apps is S-shaped at the market level. The first 35 weeks are essential for the app developers to attract app users’ downloads. More app data from different app stores and more diffusion models can be tested for mobile app diffusion and early expansion patterns in the future research. 

Keywords
Mobile Apps, Early Expansion, Diffusion Pattern, Bass Model, Apple App Store
National Category
Economics and Business Other Computer and Information Science
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-23655 (URN)
Available from: 2022-09-16 Created: 2022-09-16 Last updated: 2022-09-16Bibliographically approved
4. Does New App Launch Timing Matter for App Download Performance?: The Role of Launch Competition in the App Platform Ecosystem
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Does New App Launch Timing Matter for App Download Performance?: The Role of Launch Competition in the App Platform Ecosystem
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

In this paper, we investigate how the launch timing of new apps due to launch competition affects new apps’ download performance. This was done using a 2-year panel data set of 1,100 U.S. Apple App Store apps divided into four categories (entertainment, gaming, productivity, and health and fitness). The study contributes to the literature on the determinants of mobile apps’ economic performance, including ratings and reviews, app updates, and revenue models, by investigating an understudied determinant—the launch timing of new apps. Using random effects panel regression analysis, we report how backward launch competition, cross-category launch competition, and release-date launch competition affect download performance differently for hedonic value- oriented (e.g., gaming, entertainment) and utilitarian value-oriented (e.g., productivity, health, fitness) apps—and moreover demonstrate these effects’ persistence over time. Important implications for app developers and app platform providers are discussed, as are directions for further research. 

Keywords
app launch timing, app release, app competition, utilitarian, hedonic, app platform ecosystem
National Category
Economics and Business Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Industrial Economics a nd Managemen
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:bth-23656 (URN)
Available from: 2022-09-16 Created: 2022-09-16 Last updated: 2023-01-31Bibliographically approved

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