Mobile Interactivity and Perceived Waiting Time

Abstract

While perceived waiting time can undermine user evaluation and cause application abandonment, there is little scientific research on waiting in mobile applications. This paper incorporates three mobile interactivity features (ubiquitous connectivity, active control, and responsiveness) into the model and examines the mediating role of cognitive absorption and the moderating role of perceived procedural justice between these features and perceived waiting time in a short-waiting application. The researchers empirically examine the model using data from 468 uses of the ride-sharing mobile application. The results reveal that mobile interactivity can directly and indirectly (via cognitive absorption) lead to more tolerance in perceived waiting time. The findings elicit several implications for theories and practice.