The Direct and Indirect Effects of Perceived Usability of Smartphone Applications on User Satisfaction

Recently many innovative, technological advances have been introduced in smartphone applications. Nevertheless, not every application is usable because some are neither simple to understand, nor easy to use. In some cases, users are not motivated to use new applications, and this lack of motivation is believed to be related to a lack of satisfaction with less usable applications. A review of the relevant literature reveals little research of the direct and indirect effects that the perceived usability of smartphone applications has on user satisfaction. This study aims to examine: 1) the effects that perceived usability of applications has on both user satisfaction with the given application as well as users' intrinsic motivation, 2) the effect that users' intrinsic motivation has on user satisfaction. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze data collected through a survey. The results indicate that direct and indirect effects of the perceived usability of smartphone applications influence user satisfaction. This study contributes to the IS literature by presenting empirical evidence relevant to usability and users' intrinsic motivation with respect to using a smartphone application.