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Usability is a central issue for mobile phone design and service because users need to access various functionalities via limited user interfaces (UI) often while they are on the road. In this paper, we propose simplicity and interactivity as the key determinants of mobile phone usability and assess their significance in an empirical setting. Furthermore, we examine the effects of mobile phone usability on user satisfaction, trust, and brand loyalty and provide a holistic view of the causal relationships between the proposed UI features and important organizational variables for building and maintaining long-term customer relationships. The study was conducted using survey questionnaire data collected from 310 mobile phone users in South Korea. The findings of the study confirm that simplicity and interactivity are two significant determinants of mobile phone usability and that interface simplicity is an important precondition for positive interactivity and usability experience. Our findings also show that usability is a distal determinant of brand loyalty, exerting its influence indirectly through the mediators of satisfaction and trust. We discuss the implications of the study findings for usability research and UI design. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Usability is a central issue for mobile phone design and service because users need to access various functionalities via limited user interfaces (UI) often while they are on the road. In this paper, we propose simplicity and interactivity as the key determinants of mobile phone usability and assess their significance in an empirical setting. Furthermore, we examine the effects of mobile phone usability on user satisfaction, trust, and brand loyalty and provide a holistic view of the causal relationships between the proposed UI features and important organizational variables for building and maintaining long-term customer relationships. The study was conducted using survey questionnaire data collected from 310 mobile phone users in South Korea. The findings of the study confirm that simplicity and interactivity are two significant determinants of mobile phone usability and that interface simplicity is an important precondition for positive interactivity and usability experience. Our findings also show that usability is a distal determinant of brand loyalty, exerting its influence indirectly through the mediators of satisfaction and trust. We discuss the implications of the study findings for usability research and UI design. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Usability is a central issue for mobile phone design and service because users need to access various functionalities via limited user interfaces (UI) often while they are on the road. In this paper, we propose simplicity and interactivity as the key determinants of mobile phone usability and assess their significance in an empirical setting. Furthermore, we examine the effects of mobile phone usability on user satisfaction, trust, and brand loyalty and provide a holistic view of the causal relationships between the proposed UI features and important organizational variables for building and maintaining long-term customer relationships. The study was conducted using survey questionnaire data collected from 310 mobile phone users in South Korea. The findings of the study confirm that simplicity and interactivity are two significant determinants of mobile phone usability and that interface simplicity is an important precondition for positive interactivity and usability experience. Our findings also show that usability is a distal determinant of brand loyalty, exerting its influence indirectly through the mediators of satisfaction and trust. We discuss the implications of the study findings for usability research and UI design. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Korean IT industry has noticed innovative changes emerging along with the increased popularity of smartphones. Increase of smartphone user has extended the smartphone business arena from simple and personal applications and content to professional software for the purpose of working in- and out of the office. In this regard, developing their services to be mobile-friendly would be important business strategies for Web business companies. The mobile data traffic in Korea had been 11. 2 times increased from January 2010 to January 2011 and the average traffic per user in Korea is much higher than other countries. Usage of smartphones also has been steadily increased with the diffusion of smartphones. This may indicate that the dependency level on mobile portal service in Korea would be higher and more important than in other countries. This study analyzes the influences of UI simplicity and UI consistency on user perceptions of mobile portal services using PLS methodology. Simplicity shows a greater effect on usability and credibility than does consistency although consistency also shows a significant effect. In this regard, developing mobile Web services to be simple by following the selection and concentration strategy can be an effective strategic approach. Credibility shows a greater and direct effect on user satisfaction in this study than simplicity. But it does not mean that the perceived credibility should be treated simply as more important to user satisfaction than usability. Credibility of mobile Web services would be concreted more when the perceived usability would be developed with proper UI simplicity and consistency following the suggestion of Mann and Sahni. Also satisfaction significantly turns out to mediate the effect of credibility on loyalty. This study contributes as an earlier study on how and what the mobile Web service providers should design and provide their services. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Korean IT industry has noticed innovative changes emerging along with the increased popularity of smartphones. Increase of smartphone user has extended the smartphone business arena from simple and personal applications and content to professional software for the purpose of working in- and out of the office. In this regard, developing their services to be mobile-friendly would be important business strategies for Web business companies. The mobile data traffic in Korea had been 11. 2 times increased from January 2010 to January 2011 and the average traffic per user in Korea is much higher than other countries. Usage of smartphones also has been steadily increased with the diffusion of smartphones. This may indicate that the dependency level on mobile portal service in Korea would be higher and more important than in other countries. This study analyzes the influences of UI simplicity and UI consistency on user perceptions of mobile portal services using PLS methodology. Simplicity shows a greater effect on usability and credibility than does consistency although consistency also shows a significant effect. In this regard, developing mobile Web services to be simple by following the selection and concentration strategy can be an effective strategic approach. Credibility shows a greater and direct effect on user satisfaction in this study than simplicity. But it does not mean that the perceived credibility should be treated simply as more important to user satisfaction than usability. Credibility of mobile Web services would be concreted more when the perceived usability would be developed with proper UI simplicity and consistency following the suggestion of Mann and Sahni. Also satisfaction significantly turns out to mediate the effect of credibility on loyalty. This study contributes as an earlier study on how and what the mobile Web service providers should design and provide their services. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Korean IT industry has noticed innovative changes emerging along with the increased popularity of smartphones. Increase of smartphone user has extended the smartphone business arena from simple and personal applications and content to professional software for the purpose of working in- and out of the office. In this regard, developing their services to be mobile-friendly would be important business strategies for Web business companies. The mobile data traffic in Korea had been 11. 2 times increased from January 2010 to January 2011 and the average traffic per user in Korea is much higher than other countries. Usage of smartphones also has been steadily increased with the diffusion of smartphones. This may indicate that the dependency level on mobile portal service in Korea would be higher and more important than in other countries. This study analyzes the influences of UI simplicity and UI consistency on user perceptions of mobile portal services using PLS methodology. Simplicity shows a greater effect on usability and credibility than does consistency although consistency also shows a significant effect. In this regard, developing mobile Web services to be simple by following the selection and concentration strategy can be an effective strategic approach. Credibility shows a greater and direct effect on user satisfaction in this study than simplicity. But it does not mean that the perceived credibility should be treated simply as more important to user satisfaction than usability. Credibility of mobile Web services would be concreted more when the perceived usability would be developed with proper UI simplicity and consistency following the suggestion of Mann and Sahni. Also satisfaction significantly turns out to mediate the effect of credibility on loyalty. This study contributes as an earlier study on how and what the mobile Web service providers should design and provide their services. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand music sharing behaviour on social networking services (SNS). This study suggests and examines a research model which focuses on the influences of user motivations, such as self-expression, ingratiation, altruism, and interactivity, on music sharing behaviour in SNS through social motivation factors. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 153 Korean SNS (i.e. Cyworld, Naver Blog, Daum Blog, and Tistory) users, who have experience in purchasing music and legally sharing it on SNS. The partial least squares method was used to analyse the measurement and structural models. Findings - The study shows that interactivity, perceived ease of use, self-expression, social presence, and social identity are significant positive predictors of music sharing intention on SNS. Research limitations/implications - This research is significant in light of recent interest in user activities in SNS. Better understanding of the music sharing behaviour on SNS can be prompted by reflecting cultural differences in selecting the SNS for validation with a larger sample size. Practical implications - The findings emphasise the importance of providing users with interactive, self-expressive, and easily manageable services in order to increase their intention to share music through SNS. Service providers need to focus on improving the user experience of the systems. Originality/value - SNS based online music services have been increasing and are a new business model of music content distribution. However no academic research has examined music related services on SNS. This study is the first empirical study analysing music sharing behaviour on SNS. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand music sharing behaviour on social networking services (SNS). This study suggests and examines a research model which focuses on the influences of user motivations, such as self-expression, ingratiation, altruism, and interactivity, on music sharing behaviour in SNS through social motivation factors. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 153 Korean SNS (i.e. Cyworld, Naver Blog, Daum Blog, and Tistory) users, who have experience in purchasing music and legally sharing it on SNS. The partial least squares method was used to analyse the measurement and structural models. Findings - The study shows that interactivity, perceived ease of use, self-expression, social presence, and social identity are significant positive predictors of music sharing intention on SNS. Research limitations/implications - This research is significant in light of recent interest in user activities in SNS. Better understanding of the music sharing behaviour on SNS can be prompted by reflecting cultural differences in selecting the SNS for validation with a larger sample size. Practical implications - The findings emphasise the importance of providing users with interactive, self-expressive, and easily manageable services in order to increase their intention to share music through SNS. Service providers need to focus on improving the user experience of the systems. Originality/value - SNS based online music services have been increasing and are a new business model of music content distribution. However no academic research has examined music related services on SNS. This study is the first empirical study analysing music sharing behaviour on SNS. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand music sharing behaviour on social networking services (SNS). This study suggests and examines a research model which focuses on the influences of user motivations, such as self-expression, ingratiation, altruism, and interactivity, on music sharing behaviour in SNS through social motivation factors. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 153 Korean SNS (i.e. Cyworld, Naver Blog, Daum Blog, and Tistory) users, who have experience in purchasing music and legally sharing it on SNS. The partial least squares method was used to analyse the measurement and structural models. Findings - The study shows that interactivity, perceived ease of use, self-expression, social presence, and social identity are significant positive predictors of music sharing intention on SNS. Research limitations/implications - This research is significant in light of recent interest in user activities in SNS. Better understanding of the music sharing behaviour on SNS can be prompted by reflecting cultural differences in selecting the SNS for validation with a larger sample size. Practical implications - The findings emphasise the importance of providing users with interactive, self-expressive, and easily manageable services in order to increase their intention to share music through SNS. Service providers need to focus on improving the user experience of the systems. Originality/value - SNS based online music services have been increasing and are a new business model of music content distribution. However no academic research has examined music related services on SNS. This study is the first empirical study analysing music sharing behaviour on SNS. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.