The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps

Online consumer ratings play a crucial role in determining a product's long-term success. This study examines the direct impact of consumer technology frustration and consumer passion on app ratings and evaluations over time. Beyond these direct effects, we propose that consumer passion moderat...

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Main Authors: Bidyut Hazarika, Utkarsh Shrivastava, Timothy McBush Hiele, Chi Pham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825003191
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author Bidyut Hazarika
Utkarsh Shrivastava
Timothy McBush Hiele
Chi Pham
author_facet Bidyut Hazarika
Utkarsh Shrivastava
Timothy McBush Hiele
Chi Pham
author_sort Bidyut Hazarika
collection DOAJ
description Online consumer ratings play a crucial role in determining a product's long-term success. This study examines the direct impact of consumer technology frustration and consumer passion on app ratings and evaluations over time. Beyond these direct effects, we propose that consumer passion moderates the relationship between technology frustration and evaluations—specifically, passion amplifies the negative impact of frustration, making a double-edged sword. Using data from the Google Play Store, we tracked the top 20,000 Android apps over three months (September 29, 2023–January 1, 2024), constructing a panel dataset with 11,568 panels and 13,810 observations. Our disaggregated analysis—considering download volume, app age, price, and publisher rating—confirms the hypothesized effects. Remarkably, established apps and publishers are particularly vulnerable to the intensified negative substitution effect. Our findings suggest that new app developers should prioritize a functional, intuitive platform and enhance it over time to foster consumer passion. Meanwhile, established apps must actively minimize technological frustration, as passionate users' negative experiences can significantly impact ratings and future downloads.
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spelling doaj-art-9befe27113a248c4bc920e0e07564f092025-08-20T03:09:44ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-06-0125610500610.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105006The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile appsBidyut Hazarika0Utkarsh Shrivastava1Timothy McBush Hiele2Chi Pham3Business Information Systems, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA; Business & Technology, The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Blvd., District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Corresponding author.Business Information Systems, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USABusiness & Technology, The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Blvd., District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamBusiness & Technology, The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam, 702 Nguyen Van Linh Blvd., District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamOnline consumer ratings play a crucial role in determining a product's long-term success. This study examines the direct impact of consumer technology frustration and consumer passion on app ratings and evaluations over time. Beyond these direct effects, we propose that consumer passion moderates the relationship between technology frustration and evaluations—specifically, passion amplifies the negative impact of frustration, making a double-edged sword. Using data from the Google Play Store, we tracked the top 20,000 Android apps over three months (September 29, 2023–January 1, 2024), constructing a panel dataset with 11,568 panels and 13,810 observations. Our disaggregated analysis—considering download volume, app age, price, and publisher rating—confirms the hypothesized effects. Remarkably, established apps and publishers are particularly vulnerable to the intensified negative substitution effect. Our findings suggest that new app developers should prioritize a functional, intuitive platform and enhance it over time to foster consumer passion. Meanwhile, established apps must actively minimize technological frustration, as passionate users' negative experiences can significantly impact ratings and future downloads.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825003191Consumer evaluationConsumer passionGoogle storeMobile appsTechnology frustration
spellingShingle Bidyut Hazarika
Utkarsh Shrivastava
Timothy McBush Hiele
Chi Pham
The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
Acta Psychologica
Consumer evaluation
Consumer passion
Google store
Mobile apps
Technology frustration
title The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
title_full The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
title_fullStr The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
title_full_unstemmed The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
title_short The impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
title_sort impact of technology frustration and consumer passion on consumer evaluation shift in case of mobile apps
topic Consumer evaluation
Consumer passion
Google store
Mobile apps
Technology frustration
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825003191
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