Gameful experience and consumers’ intention to continue using running apps: the roles of brand attitude and negative online reviews

Purpose Given the potential benefits of gamification in running apps, it is necessary to explore the impact of users’ gameful experience on their intention to continue using running apps. This study aims to empirically investigate this relationship along with the roles of brand attitude as a mediator and negative online reviews as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach The study surveyed 332 running app users in China. The reliability and validity of measures were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The proposed hypotheses were verified by Process Macro. Findings The results show that (1) gameful experience positively impacts intention to continue using running apps, (2) brand attitude mediates the relationship between gameful experience and intention to continue using running apps and (3) negative online reviews moderate the relationship between gameful experience and brand attitude but not the relationship between brand attitude and intention to continue using running apps. Specifically, the effect of gameful experience on brand attitude decreases as users’ perception of negative online reviews increases. Originality/value These findings have both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the relationship among users’ gameful experience, brand attitude and intention to continue using running apps, as well as for developing effective gamification strategies to enhance user engagement and retention in running apps.