Antecedents and consequents of a mobile website’s interactivity

Abstract

The value proposition of mobile technology for education is expected to grow as forecasts speak of mobile internet users exceeding desktop internet users by 2014. A key concern for higher education administrators will be how to implement a mobile website that attracts and retains students in its use. To answer this question, a scenario-based study of 288 USA college students was conducted involving two wireframes of a mobile website design varying only in its degree of interactivity. A PLS-based data analysis offered support for the positive effects of interactivity on the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment of the university’s mobile website, which in turn positively influenced their intention to use it. The measurement model offered high explanatory power (47% of the variance in the behavioral intention to use the university’s mobile website was explained by its three antecedents). Implications for both theory and practice are also discussed.