Can Brand Sponsorship Increase Download Intention for mHealth Apps? The Role of Issue Relevance, Brand Involvement, and Perceived App Quality

Given the ubiquity of mobile health apps, marketers are increasingly using this technology as a popular promotional strategy. The current study investigates the roles of health issue relevance, brand involvement, and perceived app quality in influencing individuals’ download intention for sponsored mobile health apps. Results showed that health issue relevance strongly predicted consumers’ download intention for sponsored mobile health apps through the mediation effect of perceived app quality. Brand involvement was a significant moderator in the mediation model, such that the impact of issue relevance on app download intention mediated by perceived app quality was the strongest at higher levels of brand involvement. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed in terms of dual processing model frameworks (i.e., elaboration likelihood model and heuristic systematic model), theory of reasoned action, and sponsorship literature.