Understanding continuance in concentrated digital platform markets: the roles of perceived value and behavioural constraints

Digital platform markets often concentrate around dominant platforms through network effects and self-reinforcing dynamics, raising concerns about reduced competitive and innovation incentives. However, it remains unclear how concentrated market conditions become behaviourally relevant to users, particularly whether and through which mechanisms they are associated with continuance intention. This study develops a consumer-centred model examining how perceived platform concentration is associated with continuance intention through perceived value and behavioural constraints. Survey data from 310 Naver users in Korea were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling. The results show no significant direct association between perceived platform concentration and continuance intention, but significant indirect associations through both perceived value and behavioural constraints. These findings suggest that perceived platform concentration alone does not translate directly into continuance intention. Rather, its behavioural relevance is associated with users’ evaluations of the value and constraints of remaining with the focal platform. By identifying these parallel user-level pathways, the study highlights the role of users’ value- and constraint-oriented evaluations in linking perceived platform concentration to continuance. This suggests that perceived concentration alone may be insufficient to sustain user continuance and that continued value renewal and service improvement may remain strategically important even for established platforms.