The role of experience in continuous IS use considering habit in addition to intention

One of the factors by which continuous uses can be differentiated from adoption of IS may be experience. While, in the stage adoption, the opportunities of experiencing an IS may not be relatively little provided, during routinzation stage, that is, in continuance use, users may have more opportunities for the experiencing the IS. Particularly, while experience may imply the accumulation of knowledge and skills, which may enhance the use of IS by the conscious intention with evaluations, it may lead the frequent uses which would formulate the habituation, unconscious automatic uses. Furthermore, experience may provide basic information for the evaluation of a particular IS, which would influence the formulation of both conscious intention and habit. Nevertheless, most of the previous studies have been conducted in frameworks for IT acceptance theories although continuance use is not an extension of acceptance, but a routine behavior which may be activated by habit. Moreover, while IT adoption is one-time decision, continuous uses may be a series of users’ decision and evaluation which may be based on satisfaction of using the IS. Both hedonic and utilitarian experiences may also play a critical role in formulating satisfaction during such series of decisions. The objective of this study was to explore and analyze the effects of experiences in continuance use. For this purpose, the literature for the effects of experiences and continuous IS uses was reviewed, and a research model was suggested for accounting continuance use considering both conscious intention and unconscious habit with satisfaction as well as experience. For the validation of this research model, Korean university students who are the users of ‘Cyworld’, one of the most influential social network services in South Korea, were surveyed. Analyzing the data by partial least square (PLS) showed that most of hypotheses suggested in this study were supported. The implications of this study summarized in the following four. First, both habit and intention can be the simultaneous activators of continuance use. Second, there may be the moderation effect of experienced duration in continuance use. Third, both hedonic and utilitarian experiences can play antecedents of satisfaction. Fourth, the reasoned action perspective may be valid in IS continuance use.