Exploring Apps with Mixed Ratings: Examining How Users Find Regulatory Fit in Making Purchase Decision

Include App stores present a unique challenge for users because they must make quick decisions based on limited information. This speedy decision making process is not favorable for apps with mixed reputations (e.g., having many 5-star ratings but also many 1-star ratings). We seek to understand, in part, why users might still be attracted to purchase such apps, despite their bi-polar ratings distributions. Regulatory focus theory, which is gaining traction in information systems research, helps explain how users make decisions on such fast-paced and uncertain online platforms, by distinguishing between the choices of people who are promotion focused versus being prevention focused. We thus expect that users' regulatory focus (promotion or prevention) shapes which app they finally choose to purchase. But we further propose that their choice is contingent on whether they explored the app and how well it matched their regulatory focus. This match is called regulatory fit in earlier theory development, but its utility seems to have been lost in empirical studies; however, modern platforms like app stores give new grounds to examine and reinvigorate this theoretical concept. We test our proposed model using a randomized experiment of users on a mock app store. Our results demonstrate that by inducing a prevention-focused mindset, users become more willing to consider apps with mixed ratings, but only if they chose to explore them prior to making the purchase decision. Our renewed perspective of regulatory fit highlights the nuances of the exploration process itself, which has not yet been closely examined by researchers. Our findings extend how regulatory focus theory could be applied in information systems, and offer practical insights for app developers who seek to survive on competitive digital platforms.